Reparing Leak in Tire Side Wall

I was somewhat low on the tire prices. I put a good grade of Michelin tires on. They are about $ 125 each. This is just a standard Toyota. Still that $ 60 to $ 80 just for the sensor is way too high. I bet they only cost about $ 10 or less to make. Especially in the large quantites they are mass produced in. The tires did come with free rotation and flat repair. If you have to pay someone to rotate the tires two times a year, you might say the tires are almost free after 5 or 6 years.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery
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Costco charged $45 for an after-market sensor for a 2007 Toyota Camry. There would be no extra installation cost if replaced at the time tires are replaced.

The manufacturing cost is immaterial, but it's probably about $3, not $10.

Reply to
sms

The cost to ship and warehouse them is more than that.

And I do all my own rotation and seasonal tire changes (as well as virtually all of my own repairs)

Reply to
clare

My Yaris, which is the bottom of the Toyota lineup, came with TPMS, ABS, traction control and stability control as standard equipment. The traction/stability control isn't bad in the winter but it makes playing in the dirt difficult. I'm used to getting a little sideways but the computer will have none of it.

Supposedly there is some arcane set of actions you can take to turn it off but that only last until you turn the engine off.

Reply to
rbowman

A rim is a rim, a tire is a tire, and a set of tire irons is a set of tire irons. The last time I had a problem breaking a tire down was on a '51 Chevy. Back then you had a bumper jack with a flat foot plate and the standard method was to put the plate on the bead and jack away. I knew I had a problem when the car went up and the bead didn't let go.

Reply to
rbowman

I won't mention politics but SMS's view that he is fully capable of maintaining the pressure in his tires by checking it with a tire gauge but the general populace is not and should be provided with a free benefit to save themselves from themselves has a familiar ring to it.

Reply to
rbowman

As a matter of fact, yes. The car, pickup, and the bikes all have accurate, well used pressure gauges. Your argument is similar to those who want to pass a national helmet law. "It's not the idiot, it's the social cost after he becomes a vegetable." I've got three fullface helmets on the shelf next to me; sometimes I wear one, sometimes not, but I don't need a nanny to tell me to button my jacket. I even have a bicycle helmet that I wore exactly once; it was a requirement to ride the Trail of the Hiawatha.

Back to the original argument, there are 16 tires out in the driveway, not counting the 4 bicycle tires. None are filled with nitrogen and all are doing just fine.

Reply to
rbowman

No kids. The last time I drove a rental car I drove for any appreciable distance was over 10 years ago. I did a walkaround before I left the National lot. No, I didn't use a tire gauge but my right boot is finely calibrated.

That's not how the helmet crowd tells it. Long term incapacitating injuries are a social cost imposed on us all. I imagine they would like to outlaw bikes altogether in the interests of womb to tomb comfort and safety.

Seatbelts were the same wheeze. I woll admit I used seatbelts before they were mandatory. Driving from the passenger side after you've slid across a vinyl bench seat is tricky.

Reply to
rbowman

Correction...... what I thought was a cut on the sidewall turned out to be cosmetic. There was a screw in the tread causing the leak. How did I find out? I got such a run-around at the tire stores that I decided to stop looking for a "bargain" and went to my neighborhood mechanic. If it was going to cost $100 for a tire, I would rather give him the business.

Within 2 minutes he had found a leak - screw in the tread. Sidewall was just a cosmetic scratch from scraping the curb. Total charge $15 plus I gave him some extra $$.

The lessons here for me are to only do business with people you trust, and there is no free lunch.

Now, about the tire store run around....

Every one of them I called on the phone had a different story and price when I showed up.

For example.... one $55 tire over the phone at Big O Tires ended up being $107 after tax, balance, installation and recycle fee. The "4 for

2" special now being advertised by Big O Tires turned out to be four $55 tires plus extras, totaling over $400: two tires at $70 each plus $40 times 4 for balance, installation, tax and recycle fee, plus the "required" super deluxe lifetime front end alignment for $110.

2nd thought -- can I put a tube in it? Seems like I remember tire places say tubeless can't be fixed with a tube, but I can't see why not.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help.

SJ

Reply to
Sasquatch Jones

What if the tires are 40 bucks cheaper at the store? You're getting ridiculous. Nitrogen isn't needed at all. It's not even a consideration for me. Seems like you're just pimping for Costco.

Reply to
Vic Smith

I rented a 2004 Malibu for a long trip and did a walkaround. Had 5000 miles on it. Tires looked okay. I was about 60 miles from home before I got it to 70 mph. It was all over the road, and I really thought the alignment was screwed up, and I was going to have to take it back. No way I could drive it for 1200 miles. As a last resort I bought a tire gage. The right front had 14 psi. Low profile tires. TPMS would have alerted to that.

I started wearing them when they became available because of that. Once I wore them, I never went back.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Been dealing with the same tire guy for 30 years now. Fair price, no BS. Stick with your guy if you have a good one.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

It's not a "what if" for anybody who gets a discount price on tires.

Reply to
Vic Smith

rbowman posted for all of us...

There is NO "free benefit"! The customer pays for EVERYTHING. A business must make a profit to survive. I don't know Costco's business model on tires but it may a selling point that costs then very little in the volume they do. Ask Claire, he will tell you they had a price structure they followed and the only thing that wasn't figured in was rework. But that was included in the labor charges and/or tech agreements.

Reply to
Tekkie®

Costco, or any store, determines prices based on what generates the maximum revenue, not on what it actually costs them to provide a product or service.

The mistake that many people make is to assume that the cost of the included nitrogen is a line item in their price calculation of what to charge for tires. Retail doesn't work that way, for better or worse. They also include valve stems on non-TPMS tires instead of charging extra for it as many tire stores do--$2 for a 10¢ item. Costco is not going to lower the price of a tire by 10¢ if a customer declines the nitrogen.

Costco's tiny cost for nitrogen is almost certainly offset by savings in labor and warranty costs so if anything they should charge extra to customers that don't want nitrogen.

Reply to
sms

I had a flat on my Durango while towing a horse trailer. Don't know when it happened, spotted it when I came out of a restaurant. Drove across the street to Big-O. They wouldn't even consider looking at it while the horse trailer was attached. grumble. They took it off, said it was unrepairable, a zillion dollars for a replacement. Fortunately, they were out of stock.

I had them put the full size, but different looking, spare on, and headed home.

My regular tire guy said nothing major, fixed the flat, and I wore the tire out.

Reply to
dold

snipped-for-privacy@76.usenet.us.com posted for all of us...

Dats Nize

Reply to
Tekkie®

Wow, what long thread, eh? LOL!!

Hope all had a good Thanksgiving.

Not taking away from anyone else, but, Clare, your postings are always great to read. I appreciate your sharing the wealth! Especially helpful to me working on my Aerostar, radiator, etc, etc..... I had to change handles a few weeks ago...

2nd thought -- can I put a tube in it? Seems like I remember tire places say tubeless can't be fixed with a tube, but I can't see why not.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help.

SJ

Reply to
Sasquatch Jones

Why do they put nitrogen in tires? What's wrong with plain air? And what happens if a nitrogen tire is low on pressure and someone adds regular air to it?

Reply to
generic-poster

Nitrogen atoms are larger than the oxygen molecules and are therfore less prone to losing pressure through the tyre. Since air is around 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen i think it's more a marketing gimmick.

I've never had a problem with using air in 40 years.

Reply to
Terminal Crazy

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