So true
They always match tire shops
And you get a free wash and vac 
2 Likes
My tire replacement, Bridgestone Dueler, was $196 installed with tax at the dealership…and they did an alignment, filled my washer fluid and fixed my window . Costco tires, for example, has them at $240 installed. Tirerack.com is 199 base price. It was $228 when I blew one last year…went to West Coast Tires and they’re a pretty decent shop.
I was thinking about replacing all 4 earlier this summer, and amazingly the dealership was the cheapest I could find.
And it was easy, convenient and pleasant…despite the silly sales shennanigans!
I love how only dealers, brokers and “industry folks” all liked your post. There must be something there 
6 Likes
Well, I could have been playing Golden Tee which I just installed instead…so there is that! Unfortunately my Ashley Madison account is frozen…
My posting was less about this particular situation than this predicament happening over and over again…figured I’d start a thread because it’s Friday afternoon and I’m bored!
dont forget though, tirerack includes insurance on their tires. I’ve used that insurance 11 times… Pot holes in NY/NJ SUCK.
Sam’s (and probably Costco too) includes alignment, rotation and tire hazard warranty for like 3 years.
1 Like
But I’m turning my lease in 35 days, or less if someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse.
Potholes are bad here, but don’t hold a candle to the East Coast.
I’m assuming that this is Truth. It’s a weird system (from the little I know of it), and I don’t see how it couldn’t pit customer against business…
So what’s the alternative? The Tesla way?
No thanks.
2 Likes
It’s a catch-22. People whine and complain about the dealer system now, and margins aren’t nearly as huge as Tesla claims theirs are (30% for the 3 or something along those lines). I mean, sure it would be nice to know I’m paying the same as everyone else, but knowing they’re profiting off of me that much…eh. I think I prefer the traditional dog and pony show today.
1 Like
Somehow I doubt their margins are anywhere near that high. But it’s possible if you take leasing into account considering Model 3 have no buyout option clause.
Not saying i would buy after leasing it but if there was a way to recover even a piece of my cost to lease by selling outside their system based on their residuals vs current resale values for clean examples I’d consider taking the jump as I love the tech and am keen to try it long term.
Costco does not do alignment. do you mean tire balancing then yes.
Good to know, though I said Sam’s and probably Costco. Sam’s does it.
Edit: no alignment, my bad.
The Sam’s Club All-in tire installation includes:
- 24-hour emergency roadside tire service (Emergency tire change service, phone# provided with installation paperwork)
- Road hazard protection
- Lifetime tire balance, rotation and free flat repair (Lifetime of the tire)
- Flat Repair is a membership benefit and does not require the tires to be purchased or installled at Sam’s Club.
Despite the economy being remade over the last 20 years, the traditional Realtor® 6% commission model and the state protected auto franchisee system have barely changed. Oddly enough the two biggest purchase items Americans make in their lifetime.
Sure the current dealer system makes it possible to get good deals for us that like to work the system and find inefficiencies, but there is still a lot of wasted expense and time in the system with another layer of expensive distribution and sales/mkt in-between the manufacturer and the buyer.
There is a reason most Americans despise the entire car buying process.
4 Likes
i mean… do they not? o.O am i missing something here?
The point was, the dealer said it in an extremely demeaning way when I showed him a valid sales offer from competing dealership and asked if he was willing to counter. He basically told me to f off and stop wasting his time. *paraphrasing
“And a buyer is allowed to ask for a discount, isn’t it great to be live in a free country?”
There needs to be a balance of profit deals and losing deals in order to keep the business thriving because at the end of the day dealerships are BUSINESSES and need to make profit. Managers aren’t going to be able to dictate who’s a savy shopper and who isn’t before speaking with the customer so they are going to start high and work lower from there but you need some sort of proof / research if you are going to ask for a super aggressive discount. They aren’t just going to give it to you because you asked.
If you know the car is going for $800 a month and you go in saying you have an offer at $600 a month then a dealership has every right to be skeptical and ask for some sort of proof or deal on paper.
I like the discussion going on here because it gives opinions of people on both sides of the desk and gives some insight on why sales representatives do and say they things they do.
2 Likes
For future reference don’t buy a new tire for a lease turn in. Get used ones that meet the minimum grad depth. Much cheaper.
3 Likes
Maybe we should just go back to the Saturn model and say goodbye to hacking…
1 Like