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hybrid
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
13:31:35
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 Subject: what is convenience worth to you?
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I've been in the market for some new wheels for my new vehicle. Here's my dilemma, I can purchase some wheels online through a online company (wheelwarehouse.com) or I can purchase them through a local tire store (les schwab).
The wheels and tires online are about $600 cheaper then the local tire store but they are not the same wheels or tires.
The wheels are comparable in price, but the tires are where the difference is.
The online place has I believe run of the mill bfg T/A's and the local place has a much better toyo proxes. So with that said, the actual price difference is about $300 +/- a little.
Now if I buy them online and I have a problem, I'm pretty much stuck with them, Say they weren't balanced good enough and I have a vibration at 60mph I cant just drive down to where i bought them and have them fix it, or if something else is wrong I have to pay for shipping back to the company. now if I go to the local company and I have a problem I can just drive down there, and have them fix it. No worries about them being damaged in shipping, or being off balance, flat tire repare, etc...
I think I just figured out what the cost of convenience is to me. I'll ask anyways. So to you whats is the cost of convenience worth to you?
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sr
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
13:44:31
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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Your problem is that you are comparing apples and oranges here. Neither the wheels nor the tires are the same, so it's a little difficult to make a knowledgeable price comparison. Wheels are for looks, and the tires are for traction--I'm personally more concerned about the traction, but that's just me.
Nothing says you couldn't buy the wheels online, and the tires locally. Just about any tire shop can mount and balance the tires, and fix flats, so I wouldn't give that part of the equation much weight in your decision.
As far as shipping damage, it's pretty hard to mess up rims and/or tires in transit, particularly if the tires are already mounted on the rims. In the unlikely event you end up with a defective rim, whoever mounts them won't be able to balance the tire, so they'll know before they put it on your truck.
Nothing says you can't try to negotiate the local dealer down a bit.
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hybrid
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
16:42:33
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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Correct, apples and oranges.
I'm more or less comparing the price I would pay for custom wheels and in the event that something goes wrong.
I like both sets of wheels so it comes down to how much I want to pay. I'm not trying to compare the wheels as the same...
Let me try this.
I am buying these wheels for the look. I've bought other wheels in the past for performance (light weight wheels for the track)
I don't care if they are weld racing, enki or centerline. It's the look that I'm after. With that said i'm buying the best looking wheels I can find at the cheapest price.
The tires are not as important but I'm not going to buy crap walmart special tires. These wheels an tires are going on my family rig, I'm not lookig for the best handling or the most grip (I have my wheels and tires for that sitting im my garage on my car). I want a decent long tread life tire that will be good for highway driving and have decent traction. By decent I mean good wet and dry traction because this is afterall a family rig.
Since they will only be on the vehicle during the summer months I'm not concerned with snow/ice traction.
Les schwab offers free flat tire repair on their tires, the other place doesn't.
Say in the event that one of my tires developes a bulge in the sidewall, I'd have to send it back if I bought them online, as where locally I can just drive down there and they will take care of the problem. Rotating the tires, while it's an easy task i'd much rather drive down there, have them spend 15 min rotating the tires and i'm back in the road. Do you get where I'm going?
Lets assume for the sake of the argument that I found the same wheels and tires at both places, but online they were $300 cheaper. Is it worth $300 to you to have a local place that can and will take care of your tires?
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Justi
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
17:56:52
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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I agree with Sr. Just buy the wheels online because they're cheaper and if there's a problem it'll be noted immediately. Buy the tires locally. Most local stores offer free rotation for the life of the tire, which makes buying them locally make more sense anyway. His recommendation allows you to save money AND get decent service. And if the tires are still too expensive then shop around. Sears has decent selection and lifetime rotation, as does WallyWorld. (though Walmart's selection is less). It's up to you. You're not talking about just "convenience", you're talking about service. The on-line ones come with none, local ones come with the rotation, maybe even balances and like you said, flat repair..
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Rich
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
18:11:52
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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screw buying wheels from a local shop, they'll bend you over on that transaction. What I did was buy the tires locally, and the wheels online. Will let you know how it works out shortly
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hybrid
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
18:22:32
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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Buying the wheels online and the tires locally was an option I looked into. I found that buying the wheels online would cost about the same as if I bought then locally. If anything I would save about $50 at best. IMO it's not worth it.
I bought my very first set of wheels online. I bought just the rims and had a local shop mount some tires. I saved about $300 by doing it that way. Thats not the case this time. The discounted price is only realized when you purchase the wheels and tires as a package.
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SR
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
20:31:42
|  RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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Hybrid,
Buddy, you're meandering all over the place in this thread...like you've lost traction, or something! You're intertwining cost, service convenience, and product features; in random order. Reminds me of an old joke referring to manufacturing/contracting... it's a sign saying: "Price, Product, or Delivery time/service : Pick any TWO" , as one of them has to be sacrificed in order to optimize the other two. You need to mentally rank the price, peace of mind of and perceived advantage of having a local supplier, and the pros and cons of the tires and wheels you are considering in order to solve this problem.
As far as convenience, yes, if there is a minimal price difference between online and local, I agree with you and want to buy local.
However, you need to reconcile your relative preferences between the various packages, if going piecemeal is not a realistic option. You could keep looking for additional sources of the tires and wheels you want, and if the online/local shops don't list them, ask them for a custom quote.
As far as putting a value to "free" rotations/balances/flat fixes, you can make the following estimates:
How much do wheel rotations cost (probably around $20, if that). How often during the life of the tires do you plan to do it? Multiplying these two together will give you the "value" of this service.
How many flats do you plan to get...within a short range of the tire shop you are thinking of using? How much does a good flat repair cost? Does Les Schwab repair flat by plugging them from the outside (the cheaper and less durable way), or remove the tire and apply a patch from the inside (the more difficult, costlier, and durable way)?
Nothing for or against Les Schwab, but I'd think that any business would tend to complementary services like free flat repairs and balances only when they've serviced all their paying and waiting customers, so your service might be slower than if you walked in and paid for a flat repair/balance.
Most tires have pretty limited warranties, so unless the tire develops its sidewall bulge very soon after you buy it, you're probably SOL regardless of where you buy it.
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Rich
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2005
00:48:11
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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hybrid, you must be looking at them wheels at a very expensive online store. When I paid for mine online I saved over a grand for them lol. I called around for price quotes locally and they were trying to sell me some cheap "polished" ones for nearly $2000! Take the good with the bad, it does really suck when buying online because you physically can't see the product you are buying and then the dreaded "waiting period" after you do buy them. All in all, I think I got a great deal but I still don't have my dubs on my truck.
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hybrid
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2005
00:50:50
| RE: what is convenience worth to you?
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Part of that is due to multi-tasking and as you can see i'm not very good at it.
I'm familiar with that old joke, but relating to adding performance to a vehicle (In my case forced induction)
cheap,
reliable,
fast,
.. pick 2 and you sacrifice the third.
Anyways my whole distorted thought process has lead me to this conclusion. I am going to purchase the wheels and tires through a local shop.
Although I may pay a little more up front I feel that I may possibly gain more in the end.
Basically I'm paying a little more for the extra sevices that the local shop will provide.
my mind has been very scattered lately, to much going on to concentrate. Anyways thanks.
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