Putting new tires on my '08 yaris soon... what do I need to know?

[DebbyM46227]

Thanks, guys! Nook - you wrote a book! On the Firestone Complete Autocare web site you can print out a quote that's good for 30 days. Now I guess I'm screwed. I just got back from Firestone, and I guess they are right now that I see my quote, didn't pay attention to it yesterday.

There was a supposed glitch in the estimate feature of their web site yesterday. It's supposed to be Buy 3 Get 1 Free on certain tires only, yet it came up that way on my quote for the FR710's. Late on I think they fixed the glitch. No amount of my bitching got me anywhere at Firestone, so I came home without any new tires. It's now $354.88 + 7% Sales Tax for the FR710's. For a little more I can get the Affinity $363.89 as those are on sale. And neither quote includes the road hazard. I think I've only purchased road hazard once in my life, and never used it so I thought it was a waste of money. There aren't any gravel roads that I drive on, but there are 1000's of potholes after the severe winter we just had.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

Thanks, guys! Nook - you wrote a book! On the Firestone Complete Autocare web site you can print out a quote that's good for 30 days. Now I guess I'm screwed. I just got back from Firestone, and I guess they are right now that I see my quote, didn't pay attention to it yesterday.

There was a supposed glitch in the estimate feature of their web site yesterday. It's supposed to be Buy 3 Get 1 Free on certain tires only, yet it came up that way on my quote for the FR710's. Late on I think they fixed the glitch. No amount of my bitching got me anywhere at Firestone, so I came home without any new tires. It's now $354.88 + 7% Sales Tax for the FR710's. For a little more I can get the Affinity $363.89 as those are on sale. And neither quote includes the road hazard. I think I've only purchased road hazard once in my life, and never used it so I thought it was a waste of money. There aren't any gravel roads that I drive on, but there are 1000's of potholes after the severe winter we just had.

I didn't like the Affinity. That was the tire they 'upgraded' me to without telling me (the ones I drove for 1247 miles). I didn't like the way they felt while driving, found I couldn't get the same MPG, and didn't like that they 'resisted' adding air (I could hear my portable air compressor straining). However, that is what suits me and also my location. The Affinity tires weigh more, and I imagine are thicker. They might be better suited to your conditions. If you're not going to get the road hazard warranty, I would say that also might tip the scales toward the Affinity. Does the unexpected increase in price bring any other choices back into play? IIRC, after I got my 2nd set of four FR710s, UberSilver posted that he got Michelin Defenders at Costco (in the SF Bay Area) for about the same total I paid.