Friday, September 28, 2012

Winter Tires - What's up with Canadian Tire???

So as a follow up to my post from yesterday I promised details about how similar winter tires from Canadian Tire could cost $460 more than Costco   Well today I found out that Costco was also going to be offering $70 off their Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires so not only could I compare similar tires but I could directly price compare exact tires.  I tried calling Costco but after 7 attempts I figured I would get in the car and make the 5 minute drive.

It was worth the trip, I got a price of $970 for 4 Michelin Xi3's on winter rims installed and balanced, with the $70 discount taken into account.  This is compared to the $1,230 for the EXACT same package from Canadian Tire.  The guy said they don't have the rims in yet but they will be in next week and they sell fast (minor foreshadowing here).  Get this...... they will get 2,000 16" winter rims in stock.... and they sell fast.

So back to the issue at hand, how can Canadian Tire sell the exact same product as Costco but charge $260 more???  If you look at it the actual tires are close to the same price and they both charge about the same for installation...... BUT Costco charges $34 for winter rims while Canadian Tire charges $80!!!  With tax that is over $50 more per rim.  I asked a few questions and the rims seem to be very similar if not identical.  It's a total rip off if you buy winter rims at Canadian Tire.

So now I have to choose between $970 for the X-Ice or $770 for the Blizzaks.  I am definitely leaning towards the X-Ice now, considering the 60,000 km warranty and great reviews.


2 comments:

  1. During winter, regular all season tires can not perform well on snow covered area. For such conditions, only winter tires are appropriate. Thanks for sharing such an useful content with us.

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