Did Town Fair Tire overcharge me?
#1
Did Town Fair Tire overcharge me?
Hey all, My fiancee's 2004 Dodge Stratus Sedan needed a new set of tiers. Someone local suggested I go to Town Fair Tire so I went with their suggestion. I did a little research prior to going in (didn't have time to post here first). The salesperson talked me into buying 4 Mastercraft (made by cooper) 205/65R15 94T tires. Rated for 55,000 miles with care, 30,000 without care. The tires previously on the car were 205/65R15 92T (back) and 92H (front)
I guess whats done is done but I am just trying to gauge whether I should go back to this place and if these tires are a good choice for this car. As far as our driving habits go: We drive mostly local, less than 30 miles a day. I would say 30% highway. Occasional 100 mile road trip once a year. Weather, decent amount of snow (this years snowfall was insane) and Low-Moderate rainfall. Temperatures maybe hit 100 a couple days a year. Winters gets down to 0 degrees F
A link to the tires I got
Here is what my bill looked like:
$420.00 - Tires
$49.00 - Alignment
$15.80 - Valve Stem
$55.80 - Balancing
$8.00 - Tire Disposal
$32.92 - Tax
$581.52 - Total
I live in southwest Connecticut so prices are going to be higher in general because of where I live. To give you perspective about this region if your not familiar: I work at a place where people buy $1000 sheets for their beds and I make 19/hr without a college diploma.
I guess whats done is done but I am just trying to gauge whether I should go back to this place and if these tires are a good choice for this car. As far as our driving habits go: We drive mostly local, less than 30 miles a day. I would say 30% highway. Occasional 100 mile road trip once a year. Weather, decent amount of snow (this years snowfall was insane) and Low-Moderate rainfall. Temperatures maybe hit 100 a couple days a year. Winters gets down to 0 degrees F
A link to the tires I got
Here is what my bill looked like:
$420.00 - Tires
$49.00 - Alignment
$15.80 - Valve Stem
$55.80 - Balancing
$8.00 - Tire Disposal
$32.92 - Tax
$581.52 - Total
I live in southwest Connecticut so prices are going to be higher in general because of where I live. To give you perspective about this region if your not familiar: I work at a place where people buy $1000 sheets for their beds and I make 19/hr without a college diploma.
#2
well, start with online comparison shopping (like www.tirerack.com )
Do you have a $5000+ wheel balancer? $55.80 isn't that far out of line.
Do you have a $20,000 alignment rack and a $25,000 alignment machine? $49.99 for checking the alignment to verify the tires won't wear out premanturely seems like a fair price.
$15 for valvestems is a bit pricy. They are less than $1 each. However the $5000+ tire changer isn't free to the shop.
$8 for tire disposal is CHEAP. You could have saved the $8 and taken the old tires then tossed them out on the highway
The only thing she got screwed on is the Tax!!!!
Dont forget the building, wages, benifits, taxes, permits, utilities, insurance, and other cost's the company has to pay in order to provide you the service of having new tires installed on your car. If you can do it cheaper yourself and save a buck, then you should buy your own tire changer, balancer, lift, etc. etc. etc.
Do you have a $5000+ wheel balancer? $55.80 isn't that far out of line.
Do you have a $20,000 alignment rack and a $25,000 alignment machine? $49.99 for checking the alignment to verify the tires won't wear out premanturely seems like a fair price.
$15 for valvestems is a bit pricy. They are less than $1 each. However the $5000+ tire changer isn't free to the shop.
$8 for tire disposal is CHEAP. You could have saved the $8 and taken the old tires then tossed them out on the highway
The only thing she got screwed on is the Tax!!!!
Dont forget the building, wages, benifits, taxes, permits, utilities, insurance, and other cost's the company has to pay in order to provide you the service of having new tires installed on your car. If you can do it cheaper yourself and save a buck, then you should buy your own tire changer, balancer, lift, etc. etc. etc.