Can anyone recommend a tire place in the Minneapolis area?

belfert · May 14, 2011, 01:06:53 PM

I may end up buying tires this summer yet. Anyone have place to buy tires in the Minneapolis area that is inexpensive? The prices I got recently were really high I thought. The prices were at least $100 more than other folks here have reported buying the same tires for in other states.

I did find a tire place in Motley, MN that is somewhat less expensive, but half the savings would go towards fuel for the 300 mile trip.

Brian Diehl · May 14, 2011, 04:37:05 PM

Royal tire in Minneapolis is who I would work with. They even delivered my tires to me at no extra charge since I could wait until they were in the area. They also claim to use torque wrenches when they do the R&R themselves. This is a huge plus.

buddydawg · May 14, 2011, 05:02:15 PM

What prices are you getting? I just bought 2 Sumitomo ST727 12R22.5 steers for $1012 mounted. That is almost $200 more for two tires than I paid 20 months ago.

belfert · May 14, 2011, 05:02:35 PM

Royal Tire was the first tire place I went to. The two employees in the sales area kinda treated me like I was wasting their time. I think they are used to dealing with fleets who buys lots of tires. I knew exactly what tire size and type of tire I wanted so it wasn't like I was taking a lot of their time. Their prices seemed kinda steep for the two different tires they quoted.

belfert · May 14, 2011, 05:08:58 PM

Firestone FS590 plus tires were almost $500 mounted and out the door. I don't know if that is a good price or not. They quoted some other brand for about $30 less. (Tire size is 11R24.5)

They advertise a lot of different brands, but they didn't seem interested in quoting any of the less expensive brands. It seemed like they didn't want to quote anything that wasn't in stock. I told them I could wait for the tires to come in, but it didn't sway them. Their HQ and main warehouse is 90 miles away and I am sure they get regular deliveries.

John316 · May 15, 2011, 05:35:00 AM

We have Michlen XZA on every position except for the tag. We paid about 900 each plus mounting for the steer axle six months ago. That was about the same price that it had been before, so apparently we hadn't hit the steep climb yet.

Not sure if that helps.

God bless.

John

Brian Diehl · May 15, 2011, 05:45:44 AM

Quote from: belfert on May 14, 2011, 05:08:58 PM
Firestone FS590 plus tires were almost $500 mounted and out the door. I don't know if that is a good price or not. They quoted some other brand for about $30 less. (Tire size is 11R24.5)

They advertise a lot of different brands, but they didn't seem interested in quoting any of the less expensive brands. It seemed like they didn't want to quote anything that wasn't in stock. I told them I could wait for the tires to come in, but it didn't sway them. Their HQ and main warehouse is 90 miles away and I am sure they get regular deliveries.

Brian,
A good alternative to Firestone around here is the Toyo tire. I am running Toyo's on my bus since I bought it. They wear well and hold up really well. I have been pleased with them and don't mind having a few extra dollars left in my pocket compared to buying Firestone tires.

robertglines1 · May 15, 2011, 05:51:28 AM

Brian-I sent you a pm sorry it was for the wrong size tire but you might ck with him any way: might get lucky. You are running 24.5 inch? Bob

gumpy · May 15, 2011, 05:58:33 AM

I bought a couple steer tires last summer through Royal Tire in Monticello. They were pretty good to work with.

Two FS590s @ $350 each plus tax. I even had them sandblast and paint the rims for $45 each.
They also gave me $100 credit on a brand new tire I was using for a spare, and threw in the mounting
of the new ones because $100 was all they could give me on that spare.
Total bill was $842.

They had to send them to St. Cloud to get them balanced because they don't have the machine in Monticello,
but that was not a problem. I removed them from the bus at home. That might be an issue for you, so you might
want to try the St. Cloud location.

luvrbus · May 15, 2011, 06:02:17 AM

A good outlet for tires if there is one in your area is Farm Bureau cost you a little to join but a friend saved some big bucks on a set of 12Rx 22.5 and he buys his batteries there also at a good saving

good luck

belfert · May 15, 2011, 06:31:03 AM

Quote from: gumpy on May 15, 2011, 05:58:33 AM
I bought a couple steer tires last summer through Royal Tire in Monticello. They were pretty good to work with.

Two FS590s @ $350 each plus tax. I even had them sandblast and paint the rims for $45 each.
They also gave me $100 credit on a brand new tire I was using for a spare, and threw in the mounting
of the new ones because $100 was all they could give me on that spare.
Total bill was $842.

$350 plus tax for the same tires I have would be a really good price. I'll try contacting them Monday.

I don't really need new tires quite yet, but I think if I replace them this year the old tires would be worth a lot as used tires. There would be little value left if I waited another year or two.

opus · May 15, 2011, 07:04:11 AM

Remember, tire prices seem to follow fuel prices.

belfert · May 15, 2011, 09:19:23 AM

Trying to time oil prices is like gambling. There is no way to know if oil prices will be lower than $90 to $100 ever again.

My luck is if I bought tires today the price of oil would fall to $70 by next week. If I don't buy tires soon the price of oil will probably be $140 a barrel in a few weeks. That seems to be the way my luck runs. If I buy something I find the same item for less money a day later. If I hold off the price goes way up or the cheap item sells.

opus · May 15, 2011, 12:32:44 PM

Quote from: belfert on May 15, 2011, 09:19:23 AM

My luck is if I bought tires today the price of oil would fall to $70 by next week.

Quick....run and buy your tires now!!