Buying Tires, Sears Sucks!
Tirerack.com and STS Tire
Center are Awesome!
Tirerack.com and STS Tire
Center are Awesome!
There comes a time in a person's life when the
tires on their vehicle just don't pass muster
anymore. This time for me, came in February of
2009. The front tires of my 1992 Chevrolet
Camaro were so worn on the edges that I was
expecting steel belts to start unraveling as I
drove. Air was being held inside these tires only
by fear of the unknown. It was time for new tires.
So, I did what any self respecting car nut would
do when looking for tires, I went to
www.tirerack.com. I selected the kind of tires I
want: high performance all-season, and started
down the list. Goodyear? Their tires just suck- I
had a set of Goodyear Wranglers on my Jeep XJ-it
was like driving through KY Jelly. Really, they
were that bad. Firestone/Bridgestone? They
explode on contact-usually along with a Ford
Explorer--no thanks. Kumho tires are way too
cheap ($43), I don't trust them-they might be
great but I'm not taking that chance. I believe
you get what you pay for. Michelin tires? I had a
set of ordinary all-season Michelins on the Camaro
and they were ok, but I wanted something better.
Michelin did have a better tire, Michelin Pilot Sport
($192), but they were the twice the price of
anything else. If they were that good, then they
are worth it. I had a set of Michelin Cross Terrain
truck tires on my Jeep (replacing the KY
Goodyears) and they were awesome tires. So
Michelin-maybe. BF Goodrich (BFG)? They rated
as good as the Michelin tires on Tirerack's survey,
but they were a lot cheaper like $130 a piece.
These days that's real money! I was still leaning
towards the Michelins, I had Michelins on all my
cars and had good experience with them. But
something about the BFGs kept nagging at me.
After sleeping on the decision, something I do
with all big decisions, I got back on
Tirerack.com-I was still undecided, though leaning
Michelin's way. I decided to do more research, so
I stared at a screen-size picture of each tire for a
good 20 minutes, not surprisingly this yielded no
decision. Next I thought more numbers would
help. I had already looked at the Tirerack.com
survey, but this was an opinion poll, I needed
more reliable data. Tirerack.com, once again came
through! Have I mentioned that Tirerack.com is a
fantastic resource for tires, they are, and their
prices are great. As I was saying... Tirerack.com
had also run actual tests of each of the tires I was
considering. A short read through the results (lap
times, maximum cornering speeds etc.) made it
absolutely clear, the BFG tires were the best by a
mile! Specifically, the BFG G-force Super Sport
A/S tires.
So now I needed to find an installer to get the
tires mounted as there is no lift in my apartment.
I had always had my tires installed at Sears Auto
Centers, so I figured I would check them out. I
looked for the tires on their website, and they
were there-ready to install at your local Sears. It
all seemed easy enough right? Wrong!
When I arrived at my local Sears Auto Center
(Hicksville, NY) my tires were not on display. In
fact, half the tires on their site were missing. I
asked one of the sales if they had the tires, he
looked at me like I was asking for monster truck
tires. He checked his computer and came up with
two or three tires for my car. I asked if he could
order them since they are on the Sears website,
he said he had no clue how to order them. I
suggested the Internet! No response.
He then asked me why I wanted those particular
tires. I answered that they were very good tires.
No response, no clue...nothing! Sears couldn't get
the tires that they advertise (and had on sale) for
me. Sears SUCKS! The Sears salesperson did one
redeeming thing- he suggested I try STS Tire
Center across the street. Even Sears know they
suck! So I did try STS. Sears lost a loyal customer
that day, I won't be back, neither should anyone
in the NYC-Long Island area.
Despondently I drove to STS Tire Center, while
only long-term friendships kept the air in my worn
out tires. STS was the opposite of Sears. Upon
entry I immediately asked if they had my tire,
they responded without hesitation, that it was a
special order, and that it took a day to acquire.
That was a good sign, they could order the tires
in just a day-less than 24hours. The price was a
bit higher than Sears, but STS actually had tires,
not to mention it includes balancing and all the
other incidental charges like waste disposal. So I
ordered my tires to be installed the next day.
The next morning STS called to let me know that
the tires had arrived and asked when I would
come in, I said around 10 AM. I rolled up to STS
on rubber filled with small wisps of air, and they
immediately set to work on changing my car's
shoes. An hour later my tires were on, the car had
been aligned properly and was ready to go. I paid
my bill, thanked the technician with a tip and set
off to enjoy the fantastic ride of my new tires. A
couple of days later, I received another call from
STS, asking how my tires were and if everything
was to my satisfaction. Top notch service! STS
Tire Center at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville,
NY-you are awesome! Tirerack.com, you as well
are awesome, and my BFG G-force Super Sport
A/S tires are awesome as well! Sears, you still
suck!
All's well that ends well.
