xviper

I'm in the process of buying some snow tires and rims for my daughter's car. We have always been under the impression that TireRack will only ship via UPS. We all know that UPS will stick it to us in brokerage far worse than any other carrier.

TireRack just emailed an answer to me about shipping. They will ship FedEx if so requested (must be done by phone). This should save a considerable amount on brokerage.

For example, I can get a set of 4 Blizzak Revo 1 tires and black, steel wheels from Blaskin and Lane for a total of about $1200.00. MyTire is a little better at about $1100.00. This is all taxes in, mounted and balanced.

TireRack can supply me with the same tire and ALLOY rims for about $860.00 + brokerage and shipping. I don't think FedEx ground will eat up anywhere near the balance of what I would pay here.

HondaGal

Really happy you brought this up dave. I am looking for Kuhmo tires for my mazda. Price in Regina is 120ea, plus plus plus... it will be 600 and change said and done.

Tirerack has them for 70 ea. Now I realize I have to get them mounted balanced etc. Is it worth it.

xviper

Well that depends on the shop you intend to go to for mounting and balancing. They always cut you a deal if you buy the tires from them. They may jack up the price for this service if you buy them from someplace else. You should check. Tell them you are getting a set of new tires from someone who bought them and then sold the car before the tires arrived.
A $70.00US tire would translate into about a $90.00 Cdn. tire (worst case). And the Cannuck buck is quite strong right now. Of course, on a cheaper total price, the declared value will be less and thus Canada Custom will assess less GST compared to what your tire shop will charge.
You then need to see what the shipping will be. Since shipping is the same regardless of price of tire, sometimes a cheap tire may not end up being worth it to go through TireRack. Send a email to TireRack and ask what it would cost to ship to your postal code for only tires using FedEx. Do your homework so you don't get disappointed.

LUV2REV

Dave, I think it will be very close to the cheapest rate you have been quoted here. While Fed Ex will definately be cheaper than the retards in brown, the sheer weight of the wheels may account for a higher shipping cost regardless of who the carrier is. I have found DHL to have the best rates but many do not ship with them for whatever reason. I will be curious to know how it turns out.

xviper

I have conferred with my daughter and she's OK with the rims they offer. I will phone them tomorrow and get a shipping cost before I finalize the buy. Will post here to let everyone know. Anything much more than $200.00 for shipping and brokerage and I'm better buying them locally, except for the fact that locally, I'm looking at cruddy black steel wheels.

xviper

Shel, I just put my order in for the tires and rims. The cheapest FedEx ground shipping came to $168.00US (so about $200.00Cdn).

For you, this is NOT worth it. Your savings on the tires would be about $120.00Cdn. It'll cost about the same to ship your four tires, maybe a bit less because of the lower weight but the box size will be the same.

For me, this is going to end up marginally advantageous because the GST will be based on a much lower declared value, I will be getting alloy rims instead of cheap steelies and I had to do very little except sit in front of my computer and talk to some guy on the telephone. In a couple of weeks these things will arrive at my door, all mounted and balanced and ready to go. I don't have to make another 2 trips to the tire shop (one to order and one to pick up). How easy was that?

On expensive tires and/or rims, TireRack is a viable option to take.

I'll let you know once I get the final charges from FedEx at what the total tally will come to. The centering caps are delayed a couple of weeks, so it'll be about 3 to 4 weeks before I get the statement from FedEx.

HondaGal

Thanks Dave...

Glad this works out for you! sometimes it is beneficial to buy from the states, some times not.

xviper

Exactly! We need to do our research first.

koala

Let me know how this turns out... I'm going to try some Advan Neova AD07's once my RE-050's wear out, and tirerack is far cheaper than anyone else (hell, most places up here can't even get them)

xviper

Will do. Like I said, shipping will always hover around the $200.00Cdn mark (with a few bucks for brokerage). If you can save more than this amount of money, then it's worth it. But just remember, you'll probably pay more for mounting and balancing if the shop never got your tire sale. B&L was going to charge me 16 bucks per tire had I bought from them. I've paid double and triple this when I brought my own tires in to get them done.