Should I even bother shopping for tyres in Aus?

[TSIfan]

bridgestone have a 4 for 3 offer on all potenza tyres.....

[DoggieHowser]

I've found Potenzas to have a really stiff sidewall. Uncomfortable. And I find they aren't progressive in feel at the limits of traction. They hold and hold. And with no warning, they just lose traction. Been caught out a few times.

That's not to say they don't grip well. They do. But where I can feel some other tires losing traction progressively and know how close I am to the limits, I don't have that same confidence when on Potenzas.

This was on the S03s on my Celica, RE050s on a friend's Evo and the "premium" tires on the R35 GTRs at launch.

I ended up preferring Advan AD07s, A048s and the Dunlop respectively.

[walbjj]

if ur time poor, then going down to the local bob jane would be the only answer. if ur just poor, then shopping online is always the answer.
i actually had to chase around for some tyres for a mate, his bmw 335 has been thru about 3 sets of runflats and he has gotten pissed with having to change them out, i kept telling him to just get normal tyres, so he got another flat and i priced him up the goodyear assym 2 from tirerack, $1100, so about aud$1200 all up with fees, etc (in 18"). but there was a delay in getting an answer as to whether the assym 2 was allowed to be sold outside nth america, and they couldnt get me an answer for a few days, then the bstone proo came up, i priced up the bstone re001 and it was about $1700 with a balance and align.
my mate is pretty well off, so the $500 saving wasnt an issue so he just got the tyres locally. i would have bought from tirerack, $500 is $500.

[ScottyP]

Just called three Bridgestone dealers in Sydney at 1:15 on Sat arvo. Not one picked up the phone! Nor did they even have voice mail. Each call just rang out. Do these people actually want business?

Poor service like this is yet another reason why people are flocking online. Price aside, looks like Tirerack wlll be the go regardless.

Cheers,
Scotty

[Transporter]

Don't feel guilty about buying on line. I buy many things online just as many people do. But, it could be interestting situation, when the tyre places will start closing down, we could travel quite far to get these ebay tyres fitted and could even pay premium for that.

[Diesel_vert]

Just called three Bridgestone dealers in Sydney at 1:15 on Sat arvo. Not one picked up the phone! Nor did they even have voice mail. Each call just rang out. Do these people actually want business?

Poor service like this is yet another reason why people are flocking online. Price aside, looks like Tirerack wlll be the go regardless.

Cheers,
Scotty

Many tyre shops close in the afternoon on Saturdays.

[walbjj]

^^that is true.

[ScottyP]

Many tyre shops close in the afternoon on Saturdays.

That's fair enough, but why not have a recorded after hours message telling me that? Or enable me to leave a v/m so they can get back to me? Their lunch is being eaten by online and they're not doing a thing about it. Bet they'll still complain though.

I actually happened to be driving past one of the shops (Stanmore) later that day and stopped to take a look. They're not open at all on Saturdays! When do they think people are shopping for tyres?

I also popped across the road to Beaurepairs. Waste of time. He could only quote me on 1 tyre because 'they don't have access to prices'. WTF? Ever heard of a price list? The tyre he quoted me on was a Dunlop. Not sure what type as I stopped listening as soon as he said $800 per tyre.

[walbjj]

Online my friend

[gareth_oau]

haha scotty, and these are the very businesses that are complaining that online is putting them out of business.

No people, you are putting yourselves out of business!!