ygmn

I am at 28K miles and the OEM Contiental ContiProContact are getting worn. (Note I would not get these again as the first 1/3 tread wore out very quick and got noisery with age)
Rears probably have another 5K in them (if dry) but when it rains heavy down here on Gulf coast I can feel the rear wanting to swap ends.
Fronts probably could go another 10K.
Cannot rotate since staggered size.

Big Road trip coming up and well for peace of mind (Read keep Wife Happy) I have been shopping for new tires

Checked all the Major brands and what tires they have that fit the rears (not as many as you think - 23 different tires)
Being the engineer geek; I made a spreadsheet to store the info and help me choose.
Compared tires based on price, reviews, UTQG, Shipping costs, Local reprentation, warranty etc.

Last year durnig my 20K service my MB Service Advisor said tires are getting worn and dealership is pretty competative with tire prices.
Good to Know but gotta go. Dealer with something cheap - HAAaaaa

Well today I see email from dealer about tire promotion where you buy 4 (certain brand and models) get instant rebate of $160.
I call and was plenty surprized at tire base price before rebate.
So I ended up ordering 4 new tires from my MB dealer and Schedule appt for end of this month just before deal ends

Continental Xtreme Contact DWS06;
245/40R18 97Y XL Fronts
265/35R18 97Y XL Rears
$170 net per tire
Install,mount, balance, blah, blah charges was incredible too @ $20 per tire.

There price out the door was about $75 less then my local WAL MART INSTALLED for same tire.

I figure dealer (knock on wood they have been good so far) will not mess anything up.

So what did I learn - sometimes dealer is not a bad deal.

kajtek1

What is the warranty on those tires?
Is $170 coming with mounting and road hazard insurance?

ygmn

Dealer Mounting, balance, Road Hazard, disposal etc is $20 per tire additional to $170.
Continental has 50k mile tread/tire warranty, 1 year road hazard, 3yr road side assistance included, 60 day buyback, and some other fine print - check their website.

As long as I bought tires: Never used the road hazard when I get it, When it is an option and I do not get it is when I needed it...
Gambling at its finest.

kajtek1

Murphy's law.
So almost $800 for set of new rubber and you call it cheap?
That is why lately I tend to buy Chinese,. $250 for set and they are good tires.

threeMBs

Yes and maybe Gleely and BYD are also good cars, but I would never buy one.

ygmn

I will not buy tires "made in China" ... for anything I own.... not even my lawn mower.

Seen too many fail for all sorts of reasons....
Wet and Dry Performance stinks from my experience.

Just not gonna risk my life nor my family on junk tires....

Also some of the manufacturer names are just .... Goofy.. and make me laugh...

KEY08

I think you are getting a great deal from your dealer and making a decision based solely on the bottom line is not always the best approach. Works for some, but not all.

exTDI

Good call on the Continental Xtreme Contact DWS06. They are great tires, and will be switching back to them after my Michelin Pilots wear out.

FireRx Captain

$800 is Cheap for the Vehicle you're driving. I pay Double that for tires for my ML.

kajtek1

That is result of long-term US propaganda.
Chinese can produce excelent products and I own set of automotive wrenches, that I bought in Europe 40 years ago. Chinese chrome-vanadium wrenches have quality comparable to Snap-on.
The issue in US is that distributors buy only the cheapest stuff from China, what is not painting positive picture.
Coming to tires -China is the largest producent in the World, beating all others by multi-fold. You will not find in US good trailer tires that are not manufactured in China.
Over the years I bought 2 set of Chinese tires for my MB and when I wear out 1st set after 32k miles, the 2nd set come with 50k warranty. Sold the car so don't know if real life matched the sale pitch, but it look good.
For my truck with 19.5" wheels I bought $160 Chinese v/s $550 for Hancock. Got honest 50k miles on them on truck who was hauling 10,000 lb cargo most of the time.

ygmn

Whatever..

point I am making is dealership is less expensive then Wal Mart!

Not who can get the cheapest tires

kajtek1

Usually is not. You had good luck to compare dealer's promotion v/s Walmart regural pricing.
Would that be other way around, you'd sing quite differently.

ygmn

yeah you right... but again I called and dealer was cheaper....

ghlkal

Great tires at a great price.

You did well

mercy-me

Be sure you understand the warranty. If the tires are not able to be rotated such as in your case, the mileage warranty is cut in half.

From Continental warranty statement::
I have the DWS's on my SL and they have worn considerably and will never make anything near 50K miles. Don't get me wrong, I love the tires but you should expect a much-shortened life due to not rotatable.

Good luck,

Bob

ygmn

I understand staggered warranty as I am living with it now.. and I guess forever with this car...
The OEM CONT tires rated 40K until wear bars... I bet I could go that far.. but with the Hurricane in the Gulf and all that rain makes for extreme hydroplaning when your treads get low...

To be honest I have never in all my 35+ years of driving ever GOT to use a tire tread warranty...

I just wanted tires rated more then OEM as they went thru first part for tread really quickly.
I would say first 10K shaved off 5/32 of tread so 5/32 tread left; which is half of a new tire....
The next 18K (total 28k today) and down to 4/32 tread.

Not sure how they do it but my guess is the outer part of tread is nice and soft so when you put tires on brand new they get rave reveiws for being sticky and handling etc etc...
But they wear fast...

Then the last half of tread is hard and wers slow but not as sticky...

I am happy with choice of tire and for once price and that makes me happy....

Next up my truck will need tires.... argggggggggg

JALLEN4

Multiple manufacturers have leveraged their buying power and have entered into tire programs for their dealer body. GM, for an example, has enabled their dealers to meet any price offered on most all occasions. Some dealers choose to be active with the program and others do not.

hyperion667

I ALWAYS get my tires prorated because they never live up to the mileage.........gotta love MB's for that Tire eaters!

kajtek1

MB have negative cambers, who with slow driving we do in US, will always wear inner side faster than outer.
I had Michelin and Firestone tires living to their 60 and 50k warranties, but that was a stretch.

NickTH

Thanks for the post, OP.

Will def keep my local dealer in mind for our next set of tire change coming up soon.
I see a few coupons/promos from them once in a while.

We've always used Discount Tires, brother always use Costco...

LALALAND

Not bad price at all. I had a screw in one of the front tire last year, unrepairable per Costco. They recommend changing it in set, so I went to Michelin Premier A/S. With 2 new tires and 4 tires remount and balance (their recommendation) it came out around $470 including tax. BTW, they put the new tires in the front, still has Continental in the rear.

cetialpha5

Costco usually has their $70 off a set of Michelins and their 1 cent installs if you can wait for it. They swap that between their Bridgestone rebates. When that kicks in, I usually get a set for around $670 after the rebate and 1 cent install. But I normally get Michelin A/S 3+. They do the 5 year road hazard and free balance/rotation as part of the install. I find that you need the free balancing to figure out if your rims are bent.

ygmn

I was waiting on SAMSCLUB but they seem not to have much for deals anymore...other then install price..

Buying tires is like going to the Dentist - ya have to do it but it can be painful.

hyperion667

That's hilarious!! I like going to the dentist and coming out with a nice, cleaner mouth......as well as nice fresh meats on my ride when need be....going to the tire store is always fun! They know me and I know them and they always give me great service and prices....

s140s

I usually get my tires with discount tire. Last time I got a set of 245 40 18s, I went with General Gmax AS-05, price was around $110 a tire. ~$480 with tax - discount tire had a rebate of 15%($72)total order for using their card and $80 rebate from Continental(yes they own General Tire). Came out to $328 with tax. Local shop installed & balanced for $48. I did get road hazard warranty for another $80. So all in all. $456