I have been looking for an easy way to buy tires without having to drive and visit or call tire shops. I noticed that on the Internet there are some companies that sell tires, but I started thinking on the installation and shipping cost. I figured it may be more expensive and just not a smooth process. I tried one of those websites, and I realized that they work with a network of shops around your area which basically means you are buying from a local place after all. This makes the installation and shipping concerns null. I want to share my experience with this service with the hope that it may help others.
I visited TiresHookUp.com (there are other sites). This website requires the user to enter some information that enables them to contact the user and figure out the type of tires needed. One has to submit the car model and some tire size information which can be obtained from the side of your tires (see image below). In my case, I drive a Nissan Altima and my tire is a 195/65/R15. These values represent the tires dimensions and rim size.
I provided my name, car (most the times just providing the car info is sufficient), tire, email, city and zip code information. The city and zip is needed to be able to identify the shops around your neighborhood. A couple of hours later, the customer service department contacted me via email. You can also provide your phone number, and they will call you. I received a few quotes which I compared to other retail shops I had visited before. I realized the prices are actually a lot cheaper.
The installation of the tires was also easy. With the quote, they also provide the contact information for the shop closest to you. You select the address you like, and TiresHookUp.com does the negotiation with that shop. Because this is a network of shops, and the shops need people to come into their stores, they lower the prices on the tires. That is basically their business model.
I was wondering what would happen if I just want to pick up the tires and take them to my favorite shop. TiresHookUp.com indicated that I could just pick up the tires from the shop closest to me and have them install with my mechanic (if I had one). The tech at the tires shop told me that if I did not like the brand name, I could contact TiresHookUp.com and have them change the tires or just cancel the order. The warranty on the tires also work the same way. If there is a problem, one just need to go back to the same shop and return and/or exchange the tires. One can also contact customer service at TiresHookUp.com, and they will address the issue and arrange another visit to the shop.
I am very surprise to see how easy the buying process is. I would definitely recommend this to people who like to save some money and time. To me, this process feels like having an agent deal with the research and customer issues while I save money and a lot of time.
