tire buying info

I read some threads about tires on these forums. My car needs new tires and i was just going to replace them with the same kind but saw that some posters mentioned that the stock tires were not the best for handling and safety, leading to research of the subject. Apparently there are several good choices.
I decided on the widely recommended goodyear assurance Triple Treads, 195 width.

So now, hopefully tomorrow or sunday, i need to find a place to buy these tires and have them installed.

I know that this is a naive question but i would appreciate some advice or perspective on where to buy or not buy them. I expect that buying on line would be the best price, but i would like to get them this weekend. This time of year, i never know when there might be rain, haven't seen any yet since i got the car, but not being that used to the car, with the tread down to 5/32 ande 6/32, i just want to get it done ASAP.

I expect that buying them and having them installed at the Toyota dealer would be the most expensive, right?

In the past, all my life really, i've gotten tires at Sears, my dad got me started on it, because they had a good guarantee that they stood behind. I looked on the Sears website and didn't see the tires i want, they had ComfortTread but not TripleTread. Also, the way the economy is, i'm not sure Sears is still going to be there in a few months. It feels kind of like the 80s when all those business that had always been part of the landscape forever suddenly disappeared.

There are various tire places around here, one that's in walking distance.

If you get tires that come with a guarantee, like 60,000 mi or 80,000, if your tire blows, do you have to come to the place where you bought it for replacement, or is the warranty through the tire company and covered at any store that sells those tires?

One time with my Accord, instead of going to Sears, i had the Honda dealer replace one tire that had a problem, i always got the ones that came on the car, they were Michelins, i don't know which model, i always got them replaced at Sears. After i got the tire at the Honda agency, it developed a problem, it was damaged on the road. They told me there is no warranty on tires they sell. I was shocked to hear that. After some back and forth, with a higher level manager involved, they agreed to replace the tire, i was a long time customer there, but they told me that tire would not have any guarantee.

i realize there's a lot i don't know about buying tires.

 

Thanks Tom, that's the info i needed.
so,
I found a Goodyear place (Discount Tires) that has them in stock, or can get them in a couple of hours. It's expensive compared to what i was hoping for, $129.95 a tire, plus all the stuff, disposal, valve stems, road hazard warranty, also he said on the Prius, it's recommended to replace the grommets, whatever that means. Out the door it's $695. I called around locally and didn't find anything better. Sears for example was $139.95 a tire before everything. Discount Tires is a chain where i can get service at any of their stores so, that's something i was wanting.

In the threads i read on this forum about what the prices were, they were closer to $100 - $115 a tire. But i guess those might've been online prices. Also, those threads weren't that recent. Since then, there was the fuel crisis that drove prices on everything up. I live in the Los angeles area. That probably affects the price of things. most things are more expensive here.

The first place i called didn't have the tires and couldn't get them til Monday. He was trying to sell me some Michelin Primus MXV4 tires instead. They were only $113 a tire. He said they were better, quieter.

The TireTrack price for the Triple Treads with road hazard warranty is about $113. With shipping, the price is a little over $500.

How much should installation run if i bring my own tires? I called a place called Just Tires and they said installation would be $100 for 4 tires. That would be before tax. Also, i didn't tell him i have a Prius with the tire pressure sensors and grommet replacement, maybe it would be more.

Do you just take it to any tire place to have them installed, like a Goodyear dealer?

If i ordered them online, would i have them delivered to my address or to the place where i want to have them installed?

Based on the $500 including shipping for the tires from TireTrack, assuming no tax (?), and $100 or so for installation, it sounds like i'd save between $50 and $100 that way. If TireTrack charges any tax, the savings would be less. Not sure if i would have to pay more to dispose of the old tires.

I think I'll probably just have it done at the local Discount Tires place, today, get it done, that would be worth something to me. He said it only takes 45 minutes, an hour max.

Is it right that the grommets should be replaced?

 

Uh oh. I got the tires before seeing your post Tom. I'm looking on my invoice. It says they put 4 new valve stems on. eek.

Does that for sure mean i no longer have tire pressure sensors? I told the guy about them when i called on the phone and he responded as if he knew about them, and i mentioned it again when he took the car from me, and he acknowledged what i said, or seemed to. In the car manual, it says to use a Toyota dealer for tire changes.

i just went out and turned on the car. The tire monitoring system light came on and went off normally. Does that mean anything?

I think every tire i ever got came with new stems or valves. They tell you a price for the tire and you think, "Fine," and then they add up your bill and list off all this other stuff and it's like, whoa, what is all that stuff? I never knew any of those things weren't required.

Other than the tires, what i paid for was valve stems, balancing, waste disposal, and $12.99 per tire for a Life of the Tire road hazard warranty (with a 30 day low price guarantee) which includes free tire rotation and balancing every 5000 miles, and flat repairs for the life of the tires. Total: $695. It comes with a $40 mail in rebate.

They put 37 psi in the tires. I thought i remembered reading in the threads on these forums that 40-41 was recommended? but i wasn't sure. I was talking to the guy that did the actual installation and i told him that but he said 37 was perfect around town and that on the freeway it would go up to 40, which was all perfect. So i would appreciate any more clarification on that point.

One good thing happened. A week ago i had bought one of those Toyota cargo nets when i first got the car, I thought it was something you could just clip right on but when i opened package, I found that it needed two holes drilled into the car which stopped me in my tracks, not something i can do. I asked the Toyota service department if they could do it. I was told the charge was $70 and i would have to wait at least two hours. I decided to postpone it, wondering if i really needed a cargo net.

As i was leaving the tire place today, and talking to the guy about tire pressure, i was putting something in the hatchback. I noticed the cargo net laying there, and i asked the guy if he knew anywhere around there (it's an automotive part of town) where i could have that cargo net installed, i showed it to him, he looked at the instructions and said he'd do it for me, and he did it, no charge. It took at most 10 minutes. i sure appreciated it. I put my groceries in it on the way home. Glad to have it.

 

On the invoice, at the end, there is a list of 4 items, each starts with the word Registration, and then there is a serial number. Each of the 4 serial numbers is identical. Right below that, it says "State Fee $7." Does this have anything to do with the tire sensors?

 

For whatever this is worth, I called the tire place today. It was a different man from the one i spoke to yesterday. I told him i had a Prius and that when the tires were in stalled i also got new valve stems, and then later in the day, someone told me i'm not supposed to change the valve stems because the tire pressure monitor sensors are on them, and i wanted to know how that works when tires are changed. He asked if my car has the sensors. I said i believed so, the question threw me off. He said "well, does it?" i said the owners manual said it does. He said that doesn't mean anything, the manual talks about all the options whether you have them or not. I said my car has all the options. He said that the valves would not be changed then. I said the invoice said i got new valve stems. He said there was a core and the core had to be changed but that the part with the sensor would not be changed, he said it was changing the core that i was charged for.

That seems pretty ambiguous to me.

Is there any way of seeing the sensors if i look at the stems?