New Tires Ouch

[Akulla3D]

I live in the Washington, DC Metro area, just found out I need new tires. I have a 135i Convertible w/ Sport, low profile tires. Any way BMW wants $425 each plus alignment will make it $1900. Way to rich for my blood, anyone in DC know of a good place to get new Tires and a proper BMW alignment or should I go with BMW despite the price.

Thanks
Roger

[mcoupemindy]

Roger,

Why do you need an alignment? A two (maybe three?) year old car should rarely need one.

Call Radial Tire in Silver Spring, MD. You might be placed on hold for a few minutes, but they are the best place to get tires in the area. They will walk you through all the options.

Jonathan

[M5Hunter]

Or you could give tirerack a shot and support a vendor on our site

[mryakan]

Roger,

Why do you need an alignment? A two (maybe three?) year old car should rarely need one.

Call Radial Tire in Silver Spring, MD. You might be placed on hold for a few minutes, but they are the best place to get tires in the area. They will walk you through all the options.

Jonathan

Negative Jonathan. BMW recommends an annual alignment, which is good advice with the price of tires and the bad conditions of roads in most US locales. However, if you had an alignment done recently, or if you do not see any abnormal wear on the tires you are replacing, then there is no need for alignment when changing tires.
I usually have to do one or two alignments a year (more on a bad year) and I am the kind of person who steers around every pothole in town, but some you cannot avoid.

[mcoupemindy]

Negative Jonathan. BMW recommends an annual alignment, which is good advice with the price of tires and the bad conditions of roads in most US locales. However, if you had an alignment done recently, or if you do not see any abnormal wear on the tires you are replacing, then there is no need for alignment when changing tires.
I usually have to do one or two alignments a year (more on a bad year) and I am the kind of person who steers around every pothole in town, but some you cannot avoid.

Well, there's your problem. Let's see alignments = $$$ in their pockets. Sure, they are going to recommend them.

Remember these are the same folks that say oil only needs changed when it turns to maple syrup. (What's the recommended interval again? 10k mi?) Do an oil analysis at 5k miles and then the recommended interval. You'll see the power of money (with the "free maintenance" any service eats away at their bottom line).

OP can do what he wants, but I bet any honest tire shop is going to tell you not to waste your money.

[mryakan]

Well, there's your problem. Let's see alignments = $$$ in their pockets. Sure, they are going to recommend them.

Ummm, BMW corporate does not take a cut from the independently operated dealerships, so this reasoning is completely flawed. And having owned BMWs exclusively for the past 14 years, I would suggest you do regular alignment if you care about the longevity of your tires. Otherwise, they will be worn unevenly prematurely if your alignment is off. Alignment costs me 120$, while each tire is > 300$. Save at least 25% on the life of each tire with proper alignment and I'll let you do the math. Worst case you are even but you are driving a car that tracks straight.
And as I said already, if there is no visible evidence of abnormal wear and the car already tracks straight, then skip the alignment.

Oh, and OP, whatever you do, do not buy tires from the dealer before shopping around. Tires are high markup items for them and rarely if ever do you get a good deal with tires at the dealer.

[Mister6er]

I've owned quite a few cars and rarely have I ever needed an alignment unless something was worn.

[topherb5150]

I just had to get 2 new rears and it came out to $700

[Jim@tirerack]

Normally the tires will tell you if the car needs an alignment or you can feel something is wrong. They will end up with uneven wear. I do not get an alignment everytime I get tires.

[mryakan]

I do not get an alignment everytime I get tires.
Agreed. But many people do not realize they have abnormal wear until they replace their worn out tires. I suspect something like that in the OP's case. It is not hard to double check the condition of the tires and the dealer's recommendation. Second guessing them is not a bad thing. But honestly, I cannot remember the last time I went 2 years or more without an alignment. Maybe our roads are terrible, or maybe I just drive hard! The car/tires always tell me when an alignment is due, but I do pay attention to the slightest alignment abnormality. I don't think many people do unless the car starts pulling real hard.

[DRVN2WN]

If you're paying 120 per alignment twice a year, I think it's time to just buy the lifetime guaranteed alignment plan. Also, if your car is losing it's alignment that often something is wrong with it. Bumps in the road shouldn't affect the alignment enough to cause issues. Slamming into a curb yes, get an alignment.


To the OP, For 1900 you could get a very nice wheel AND tire package. Go elsewhere to get tires. I would not expect to pay more than $200 a tire unless you go for runflats (not needed IMO).

[Gatekeeper]

I wish that were the case... I need an alignment about once a year with the roads in WNY, I'd assume Ontario roads have similar conditions with frost heaves and new potholes showing up daily.

Edit: Also, I think the alignment cost in my area was only $90, but I'll check the records

[mryakan]

If you're paying 120 per alignment twice a year, I think it's time to just buy the lifetime guaranteed alignment plan. Also, if your car is losing it's alignment that often something is wrong with it. Bumps in the road shouldn't affect the alignment enough to cause issues. Slamming into a curb yes, get an alignment.
Those were odd cases, but still happen. A couple of years ago I had the alignment thrown way off by a huge irregularity in the road just a week after I had done my alignment, just bad luck (think the equivalent of hitting a low curb in the middle of a turn going 90kph on stupid Quebec back roads, the car literally jumped off the ground and landed with the steering wheel 30 degrees or more off! I though I lost a wheel or two, luckily not damage). Usually it is a year or more before I need realignment. Funny enough, my current car came from the factory with a bad alignment, go figure. Of course covered since realignments are free within the 1st 1000 miles.


I wish that were the case... I need an alignment about once a year with the roads in WNY, I'd assume Ontario roads have similar conditions with frost heaves and new potholes showing up daily.

Edit: Also, I think the alignment cost in my area was only $90, but I'll check the records

Yeah I hear you. The main reason I needed to do my alignment last month was due to a trip I took to NJ earlier. I80 was full of craters and it was not easy to avoid all of them going 75mph at night. The few I hit felt like they could have ripped my suspension off, luckily they just knocked the alignment a bit off.

[DanTheMan325i]

Tires-almost always tirerack.com
Alignment-Not needed every year. Every other or even 3 year intervals are sufficient.

[samger2]

It's recommended to have your alignment checked once a year...any shop will tell you that. It doesn't mean that you NEED an alignment once a year...it just means it's a good thing to have checked because you can't always tell just by driving the car weather it's out of alignment or not. It has nothing to do with BMW being money hungry...it has to do with them recommending routine services or routine maintenance that any reputable shop SHOULD recommend.

[aquila163]

Actually at the dealer level, tires are not huge markup. BMW requires they buy tires primarily from dealer tire service. I have seen tires mounted balanced and taxed at tire stores for less that the dealer has to pay dealer tire. The dealer markup is only 4-6%. Someone is making a whole lot of money on tires but it isn't the BMW dealer. The dealer usually has to pay a top tech to put them on too, not a minimum wage high school kid. The dealers don't stand a chance at matching tire store prices and the tire stores make more money on the tires too. It's not like you get a better tire at the dealer, so don't complain, just go to tire rack or a good tire store. Just stay with your car so they are careful with it and save the money. If it matters, I get my car aligned every time I change tires(17-20k miles). I drive kind of hard, but my alignments are not to make the tires last longer. Michilen PS2's aren't going to last anyway. I get the alignment so the car handles and drives great. I'm never disappointed.

[GunnerNell]

Alignments are absolutely the best/easiest way to ensure you're going to love driving your car. You guys who don't get regular alignments don't know what you're missing. Every time -- EVERY one -- I get an alignment, it feels like I'm driving a new car again when I leave the shop.

If you don't have your alignment checked until you see unusual tire wear, you're already too late -- your tires are screwed, and even with a good alignment, they'll never run right again. Most places will sell you a "lifetime" alignment, which means you pay about twice as much as one alignment costs, but you can go back every year for a check-up for no charge.

And btw, the alignment guys whom I've asked about this tell me it's not really the potholes that cause your alignment to go out. It's the general stresses that driving puts onto the suspension/steering components.

I'll admit to being more of an alignment fan than many people. I get my wheels aligned because I want the car to feel and drive the way it's designed to, not because I think the wheels are so far out that I need to have it done. And oh yeah, there's the added bonus of getting as much out of your tires as they are designed to give you, too.

[samger2]

Alignments are absolutely the best/easiest way to ensure you're going to love driving your car. You guys who don't get regular alignments don't know what you're missing. Every time -- EVERY one -- I get an alignment, it feels like I'm driving a new car again when I leave the shop.

If you don't have your alignment checked until you see unusual tire wear, you're already too late -- your tires are screwed, and even with a good alignment, they'll never run right again. Most places will sell you a "lifetime" alignment, which means you pay about twice as much as one alignment costs, but you can go back every year for a check-up for no charge.

And btw, the alignment guys whom I've asked about this tell me it's not really the potholes that cause your alignment to go out. It's the general stresses that driving puts onto the suspension/steering components.

I'll admit to being more of an alignment fan than many people. I get my wheels aligned because I want the car to feel and drive the way it's designed to, not because I think the wheels are so far out that I need to have it done. And oh yeah, there's the added bonus of getting as much out of your tires as they are designed to give you, too.

I couldn't agree with this statement more. I guess there's a lot of talk about alignment and tire wear...but what's been left out is alignment and performance and handling. Good call with the phrase, "I get my wheels aligned because I want the car to feel and drive the way it's designed to..."

[mryakan]

Alignments are absolutely the best/easiest way to ensure you're going to love driving your car. You guys who don't get regular alignments don't know what you're missing. Every time -- EVERY one -- I get an alignment, it feels like I'm driving a new car again when I leave the shop. .
I couldn't agree with this statement more. I guess there's a lot of talk about alignment and tire wear...but what's been left out is alignment and performance and handling. Good call with the phrase, "I get my wheels aligned because I want the car to feel and drive the way it's designed to..."
+2. Even the slightest change in alignment bothers me and so does the steering wheel being even a fraction of a degree of center, but I tend to live with it for a while unless it is really out of whack, otherwise I'd be getting an alignment every month with the shape our roads are in .


Most places will sell you a "lifetime" alignment, which means you pay about twice as much as one alignment costs, but you can go back every year for a check-up for no charge.
Wish we had one of those.



And btw, the alignment guys whom I've asked about this tell me it's not really the potholes that cause your alignment to go out. It's the general stresses that driving puts onto the suspension/steering components.
Well potholes do put increased stresses, so more of them obviously means more stress and thus more likelihood of the alignment going off. I am not saying that going into a pothole guarantees an alignment will go off, but what I noticed with the e90 on more than one occasion is that if you hit any considerable road irregularity at some speed while your steering wheel is not straight (e.g. taking a corner), you are almost guaranteed to knock your alignment off (I believe the toes will be off). As I said, happend to me more than once and it was very evident in the steering wheel angle and the way the car does not track straight on a flat regular surface. YMMV.