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buying tires here vs US


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A mechanic here told me that it would be much cheaper to buy new tires when I am in Arizona, rather than get them here. (He says my tires are fine for the trip.) What is your experience--is there that much difference in price? I am sure the cost of putting the tires on here and balancing them is cheaper, as labor is expensive in the US. And I imagine (but don't know) that the choice is greater in the US, but I don't need a lot of choice, just good tires, as I want to sell the car in the US with new tires on it. (Better for many people to get new tires included in the cost they are financing.) And, I have plenty of time to shop for and install tires here, whereas spending the time when I am in the US is not my idea of how I want to spend my time there. So, I would be willing to pay a little more to get new tires here, but not a huge amount more.

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Costco has good tires if you have a membership there. We bought new tires at Costco in Arizona and the Costco in Guadalajara has rotated and balanced the tires here for free. The tires are also filled with nitrogen as it is more stable and doesn't leak out like regular air. Their prices seem good as well at the Guadalajara store...sometimes on sale as well. Might be worth checking out if they carry the tires you are looking for..good luck.

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Do all the Costco's in Guad have tire centers? Which one did you use?

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I think you will find better selection and prices in the USA, as well as the advantage that the new owner will be able to find a replacement tire, if needed. Any of the large tire stores are pretty much a drive in and drive out affair and will not take much of your time. You could even shop online to be sure they have exactly what you want, waiting for you when you arrive.

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I Bought tires just recently. I priced at Costco then came back to Chapala. Priced the same tires at the Goodyear dealer on the point by the lite near Soriana. The price was the same. The Goodyear dealer in Chapala includes mount/balance as well as a front end alignment with the tires he sells. It is my 2nd set from him.

So, the choice is yours,

PS: I did price tires in the U.S. and there sure isn't enough difference to be concerned. If the tires are questionable I sure would like to drive North with a new set of tires.

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Just want to add a note to this. I got notified by BF Goodrich that my two front tires that I purchased in Florida nearly two years prior were being recalled due to a safety defect. The tread was separating from the tire at highway speed. They informed me that all I had to do was go to any certified BF Goodrich dealer and they would replace the two tires FREE of charge. But, when I called them to say I was in Mexico, they said that the recall does not apply to Mexico and that they could not get a free replacement for me here. They told me to drive back to the States to get my free tires. THEY FORGOT WHAT THE TIRES WERE GETTING RECALLED FOR.

After several phone calls and emails, they finally agreed to reimburse me for the replacement as long as I did it a a Mexico BF Goodrich dealer and if the dealer called the corporate office prior to installation to verify the details. So I took the chance and did just that, and paying almost twice as much for the tires that I paid for in Florida.

Thankfully, after 4 weeks, I received my check for the full amount. How about that?

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Compare US prices on Tire Rack. I saved over $150 per tire vs here. They are 18" for a SUV. Here they are 4400 p each!

Now a $100 tire in the US would not be so dramatically different in terms of $ but % wise usually still noticeable.

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I Bought tires just recently. I priced at Costco then came back to Chapala. Priced the same tires at the Goodyear dealer on the point by the lite near Soriana. The price was the same. The Goodyear dealer in Chapala includes mount/balance as well as a front end alignment with the tires he sells. It is my 2nd set from him.

So, the choice is yours,

PS: I did price tires in the U.S. and there sure isn't enough difference to be concerned. If the tires are questionable I sure would like to drive North with a new set of tires.

Agree 100% on this. Antonio at Goodyear Chapala (Fuentes Pena) is well priced, good service, selection, & quality. Check it out yourself!

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discount tire, a nationwide US chain, has good prices, free flat repair and free rotation and balancing on the tires they sell. a big plus for me and im sure they would price match any stores same product prices.

Discount Tire also has a great warranty but the problem is it isn't any good in Mexico. If you buy the tires in the U.S., then the U.S stores will warranty them. I don't know if the Mexican stores give the same warranties but chances are better that tires can be replaced here if bought here.

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A mechanic here told me that it would be much cheaper to buy new tires when I am in Arizona, rather than get them here. (He says my tires are fine for the trip.) What is your experience--is there that much difference in price? I am sure the cost of putting the tires on here and balancing them is cheaper, as labor is expensive in the US. And I imagine (but don't know) that the choice is greater in the US, but I don't need a lot of choice, just good tires, as I want to sell the car in the US with new tires on it. (Better for many people to get new tires included in the cost they are financing.) And, I have plenty of time to shop for and install tires here, whereas spending the time when I am in the US is not my idea of how I want to spend my time there. So, I would be willing to pay a little more to get new tires here, but not a huge amount more.

You can buy cheap tires anywhere but you get what you pay for. Walmart in USA was picked up for selling OLD tires - but they were a great price. Google tire markings to learn about what you are comparing. Those cheap tires even though they are a known brand might not be what you want

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I just bought tires this afternoon in preparation for driving my car to the U.S. to sell it. I priced inexpensive tires online at Discount Tires and then shopped it here. Bought two tires at the Goodyear place in Chapala for a little less than I could get them in Texas. And now I get to drive north with good tires as well as having new tires as a better selling point for my car when I put it on Craigslist.

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ALWAYS ASK TO BUY TIRES THat ARE LESS THAN SIX MONTHS OLD

do not drive on tires that are over five years old, even if the tread is good.

COSTCO will always tell you the born date when asked

I did not want to drive to the border bought tires here in Mexico, were higher in price and born date was 13 months old

link to below on info to read born date

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11&

yes if you buy in the states you will get a earlier born date and lower price

and better selection

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I bought one tire here at the store (now closed) on the Libramiento because I had a tire too bad to make the trip to the Texas. Bought the other three online for half the price. Had them delivered to my home in Texas and them took them to a tire shop for installation (<$10 each). Saved over $100 on each tire

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A mechanic here told me that it would be much cheaper to buy new tires when I am in Arizona, rather than get them here. (He says my tires are fine for the trip.) What is your experience--is there that much difference in price? I am sure the cost of putting the tires on here and balancing them is cheaper, as labor is expensive in the US. And I imagine (but don't know) that the choice is greater in the US, but I don't need a lot of choice, just good tires, as I want to sell the car in the US with new tires on it. (Better for many people to get new tires included in the cost they are financing.) And, I have plenty of time to shop for and install tires here, whereas spending the time when I am in the US is not my idea of how I want to spend my time there. So, I would be willing to pay a little more to get new tires here, but not a huge amount more.

Your mechanic gave you good advice. And buy the best, Michelins, from Costco in Arizona. The roads and topes here are very hard on tires. You should expect to replace them twice as often as you would in the U.S. Don't try to save money on tires. What you don't want is a flat that strands you somewhere remote or unsafe. You can't call AAA and have someone come and change it for you.

We motorcycle riders are paranoid about tires. That's a good way to be about car tires in Mexico too, IMO. My last set lasted a little over 25K miles before the sidewalls started failing because of the pounding from potholes, topes and just plain bad pavement. These were supposed to be 50K mile tires.

And regardless of miles, don't keep tires more than 6 years and start checking them for sidewall cracks after about 4. If they start to get sidewall cracking, replace them immediately, they are rotting. This is particularly of concern if your car sits outside on the street, in sunlight.

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Actually one can buy Mexican brand made in Mexico. I chose not to and bought goodyears made in Brazil for my Micra. Now

our roomie bought a new March and there were the same Mexican brand tires in the same size. Frankly I can't tell the

difference and they were 1/3 cheaper than the Goodyears. If I could do it over I would buy the Mexican tires for the

Micra. I was worried the Mexican tires would ride hard. They don't.

Something else to confuse the issue.

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Actually one can buy Mexican brand made in Mexico. I chose not to and bought goodyears made in Brazil for my Micra. Now

our roomie bought a new March and there were the same Mexican brand tires in the same size. Frankly I can't tell the

difference and they were 1/3 cheaper than the Goodyears. If I could do it over I would buy the Mexican tires for the

Micra. I was worried the Mexican tires would ride hard. They don't.

Something else to confuse the issue.

What are the names of the Mexican made tires and who sells them?

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There is tire factory off the highway to Guadalajara. I am not sure but I think the turn is on the right. I was taking there by a Mexican friend. They are made here in Guadalajara and the name is similar to Bridgestone. I used them on a Jeep Cherokee about three years ago. When I sold the cars two years later they were still fine. If I find out where to turn I will post it. They were like 800 pesos then, probably higher now.

Here are the directions which I found on the Internet.

Jesús Torres

Tel. 01(33) 3793-5550

j.torres@coocsa.com


Carretera a El Salto K.M 3.5 La Reserva Guadalajara, Jalisco 45680 México

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Be a smart consumer, buy your tires in the USA.
The roads in Mexico are very demanding. You can purchase 80,000 mle tires that are made better then your typical tire in Mexico. For Suv you should have E load range tires for the same reason.
Better to spend a little extra then to get a flat

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Be a smart consumer, buy your tires in the USA.

The roads in Mexico are very memanding. You can purchase 80,000 mle tires that are made better then your typical tire in Mexico. For Suv you should have E load range tires fir the same reason.

Better to spend a little extra then to get a flat

I would love to buy tires in the U.S. but that would cost me about $800 USD to drive there and back. I don't think I will save that much on U.S. bought tires vs bought in Mexico. Even if the MX tires last a couple of years less, if I bought them for less and didn't spend $800 on travel buying MX tires is a better deal.

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