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[ron thigpen <ron AT fuzzsonic.com>]

Marcia wrote:

> I'm getting close to 50K miles, and started calling around and quoting new 
> tires.

If you don't mind the slight inconvenience, you might consider buying 
your tires online.

The prices are TireRack are usually very much lower than what you'll pay 
at the local tire shop.  And, except for a couple of brands they don't 
carry, the selection is probably much better.  Their website has a lot 
of information about the products, and my experience with their phone 
sales staff was actually quite good.

You need to figure in shipping and installation costs in order to 
compare fairly.  You'll also want to make sure that you order a proper 
tire for you vehicle and wheels.  And not mind hauling the tires to an 
installer.  (Though they do offer to direct ship to certain installers)

If you meet these requirements you may get a great deal.  Figuring all 
of this in, I saved about $100 on my last set of four tires.  I think I 
paid about $12-$15 per wheel for mounting and balancing.

YMMV ;)

--rt