I?ve just had to get some rear tyres for my wife?s car and I am really surprised at some of the prices for these tyres I was quoted. No need to go into details of the car but I asked for the price for Continentals, same size, same speed and load rating for all my quotes. A large national tyre fitter quoted me £100/per tyre and immediately came down to £90/tyre when I said that was a bit expensive. I said I still had a few quotes to get and I?d come back to them if they were the cheapest. He then advised me to come back to him anyway and he would see what he could do.
Out of interest, I went to that company?s website and checked the prices there including fitting, valve, balancing and tyre disposal. £149 for the two tyres vs £200/£180 quoted on phone!!!
I phoned my local indie fitter, same tyres, £75.10 per tyre was his first and best price. He did not know what I had been quoted by the other retailer.
So £149 for the national that I had to go online to get the best price or £150.20 for the indie who immediately gave me his best price. I know that the national was just trying to get a better margin from the phone price but how much business are they losing by doing this? I certainly went to the indie for the sake of £1.10 but I feel a better ?moral? service.
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A large national tyre fitter quoted me £100/per tyre and immediately came down to £90/tyre when I said that was a bit expensive. I said I still had a few quotes to get and I?d come back to them if they were the cheapest. He then advised me to come back to him anyway and he would see what he could do.
I hate this attitude with suppliers - not just tyres, but insurance, too. To me it is akin to saying "We would like to rip you off, but if you rumble us we will charge you a fair price."
They should give their best price, like your indy did. I take my business elsewhere when faced with this response to a price query.
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It's a bit like buying a used car - you never know if you could have done even better after all the haggling and only the used car salesman/saleswoman is privy to the truth.
Edited by Stuartli on 24/07/2009 at 16:50
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It's a bit like buying a used car >>
I disagree.
Tyres, or insurance are much lower value 'consumables' where they should just quote their best price and let you decide. Cars are of far higher value and as with any high value item a bit of negotiation is to be expected.
When you do your weekly shop, does the supermarket ever offer to reduce their price to match the best price you found elsewhere when you are at the check-out? Of course not, so why should tyre suppliers or insurers do it?
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When you do your weekly shop, does the supermarket ever offer to reduce their price to match the best price you found elsewhere when you are at the check-out?
Your supermarket may not but other retailers will. Just got £75 off a new TV at John Lewis who agreed to price match a local independant. It's a competative world out there. I always ask for discount on any major purchase. Its suprising how often the shop will oblige.
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My point is that I was quoted £200, reduced to £180 on querying, however the company concerned is openly advertising £149 on their own website.
Competitors are freely undercutting/correctly pricing their goods over the phone and I wonder how much business this national retailer is losing by using this pricing strategy?
Edited by a900ss on 24/07/2009 at 19:27
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Competitors are freely undercutting/correctly pricing their goods over the phone and I wonder how much business this national retailer is losing by using this pricing strategy? >>
If it is the one we can all guess [although I think it is against site rules to make it easy to guess the name], then on their website you will find a promise "we go that extra mile to make sure that every single one of our customers is totally satisfied " by their named Chairman, and a "contact" page.
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People get what they can... I bought two tyres from National, via Tyre Shopper. They were cheaper than the National branch I 'phoned could do the same tyres for - however, National Online were only about 1% dearer than Tyre Shopper.
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I'm currently looking for four new 195/55/16s. If I'd known before I'd probably never have bought the car (Nissan Almera). About seventy five quid apiece for Avons from my local, preferred tyre dealer. I won't consider some of the cheaper options available with funny names.
About a year ago, my daughter bought a couple of Michelins for her MX5 from Costco (195/50/15s IIRC) for less than ninety quid. They quoted one twenty apiece for mine.
What's going on in the tyre world?
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These any good Tom?tinyurl.com/nvo2c9
I'd recommend Vredesteins or Toyo T1R's all day long.
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I've just fitted a pair of Kuhmo 31s to our Mx5 - I did a lot of research beforehand. I must say I'm very pleased, smooth, quiet, with wet grip as good as if not better than the 1/3rd worn Bridgestones that came off ( I damaged one, so replaced the pair). I shall certainly be using them again on the rest of the fleet.
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gb. I've got Camskills bookmarked already. If I buy from there I've still got to pay fitting, valve, balancing and disposal.
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I just use the best online prices as a bargaining tool, and consider carriage to roughly equal fitting anyway. The online prices show what prices are easily achievable. Thankfully, my local independent has very good prices so it stays folded up in my pocket.
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I've got Camskills bookmarked already.
Sorry Tom, teaching me granny etc.....i use a very competent indy in our town who though not exactly matching camskills prices will supply and fit at such a price the same tyres that we are both better off for it if you follow...he seems to like to have a figure to work to, and i do my part by bringing in the wheels already off the car if i'm only having 2 fitted at a time, so i'm a 5 minute in/out.
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...bringing in the wheels already off the car...
We used to balance them on the car, but I think that's gone out of fashion.
Just checked the CC3 handbook re: front/back.
It says swap the wheels front to back and vice versa every 5-10k to even out wear.
Don't think I can be bothered to do that, particularly as the car doesn't come with a jack, or a wheelbrace.
Thinking about it, suppose you'd need two jacks, or better still a wheel-free ramp.
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Thinking about it suppose you'd need two jacks or better still a wheel-free ramp.
Invest around 150+ quid in a reasonable quality highish lift trolley jack (6" +ish cup size), easily my best tool ever something like 25 years old now.
If you don't get all the use out of it, it may save your children from injury at some point in the future when they need to do something to their car...just a thought, much better than the toy that masquerades as the typical car jack.
If you carefully jack up on the chassis behind the rear mount of the front wishbone in most cases it will lift one side completely, i keep some good hardwood blocks for such escapades, sometimes the sills are reinforced for jacking purposes too, seems to depend on the model.
Edited by gordonbennet on 25/07/2009 at 12:51
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...Invest around 150+ quid in a reasonable quality highish lift trolley jack...
Reminds me of an old saying: 'Money spent on tools is never wasted.'
Or, more pertinently: 'Money spent on quality tools is never wasted.'
Having said that, I'd be a bit reluctant to shove a trolley jack under the CC3 because of its clever roof.
I put a Lancia on a wheel-free ramp years ago, making the mistake of doing so with the driver's door open, although we were trying to bleed the brakes.
Dropped the car and the door wouldn't shut.
The terms 'Lancia' and 'structural integrity' are not happy bedfellows. :)
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So £149 for the national that I had to go online to get the best price or £150.20 for the indie who immediately gave me his best price. I know that the national was just trying to get a better margin from the phone price but how much business are they losing by doing this? I certainly went to the indie for the sake of £1.10 but I feel a better ?moral? service.
The national firm, with all its corporate overheads etc etc, probably doesn't make much money at £75 per tyre but has to offer that price online to compete with all the other online sellers. Knocking 25% off the price could be knocking 75% (or more) off their profit.
They probably rely on people just walking in and paying the full price. What does seem a bit stupid is to quote a highish price to people who are obviously 'phoning around. They might as well quote their lowest price up front or else just not bother.
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