[pikeman]

The wife's car needs tires. The car is a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 and she is absolutely in love with it. The car has been defect-free; evidently '13 is a "sweet spot" for Volvo. I dare not do anything to alter (even improve) the way this car behaves, so must put another set of Michelin tires on it. They are Primacy MXM4 and I have a local shop that quoted me $194 each. We're Costco members, and despite all the flak they have taken over selling nitrogen and the usual idiotic behavior common to most tire shops, were $50 cheaper. The tire is highly rated and I have to say the Volvo is fun to drive and some credit is due to these tires. They will have lasted 38k, and that's good enough for me.
The "local guy" tried to play the "not the same tire" card with me and insisted that the Costco tire was inferior with cheaper materials and poor workmanship. He said his tire was "39097", a "genuine" Michelin.
Guess what?
That is the same P/N the local Costco is selling. In the course of chasing that part number it also appeared on Walmart.

Pete

 

[JFernald]

The wife's car needs tires. The car is a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 and she is absolutely in love with it. The car has been defect-free; evidently '13 is a "sweet spot" for Volvo. I dare not do anything to alter (even improve) the way this car behaves, so must put another set of Michelin tires on it. They are Primacy MXM4 and I have a local shop that quoted me $194 each. We're Costco members, and despite all the flak they have taken over selling nitrogen and the usual idiotic behavior common to most tire shops, were $50 cheaper. The tire is highly rated and I have to say the Volvo is fun to drive and some credit is due to these tires. They will have lasted 38k, and that's good enough for me.
The "local guy" tried to play the "not the same tire" card with me and insisted that the Costco tire was inferior with cheaper materials and poor workmanship. He said his tire was "39097", a "genuine" Michelin.
Guess what?
That is the same P/N the local Costco is selling. In the course of chasing that part number it also appeared on Walmart.

Pete

You may find the same tire designation, but with different speed ratings. One source I always check before deciding on a particular tire is TireRack. They sell a lot of tires of different brands and have reviews on just about all of them. They also list every size and speed rating available. Based on Michelin being original equipment, your tires are 215/50R17. Michelin Premier A/S is actually a higher rated tire in that category and size and is listed at a lower price by TireRack. You might want to check it out.

 

[RBH58]

I've imported tyres to Australia from Tirerack a couple of times and saved myself $hundreds even with airfreight added. Only made sense for me with expensive performance tyres (I was importing 4 x 235/35R19 Continental CSC5P) when the Aussie Dollar was a bit stronger, but the Tirerack guys were a breeze to deal with and the goods arrived in Australia in 4 days.

 

[pikeman]

yes, but . . .

You may find the same tire designation, but with different speed ratings. One source I always check before deciding on a particular tire is TireRack. They sell a lot of tires of different brands and have reviews on just about all of them. They also list every size and speed rating available. Based on Michelin being original equipment, your tires are 215/50R17. Michelin Premier A/S is actually a higher rated tire in that category and size and is listed at a lower price by TireRack. You might want to check it out.

Yes, you're right. I used Tire Rack to provide a baseline for my research. I have used them for tires on my Miata for over a decade. I look forward to more tires from them.
The Costco tire has all the right numbers, I am sure.
However, if there is anything different, even better, about the Premier, my goose is cooked. I will never hear the end of it . . . .
Yeah - she has no real love of cars in the sense we have.
Yes, THAT is baloney too!

Pete

 

[frankmar]

Costco buys by volume, therefore they get better price, the local guy doesn't have cost volume, since he cannot compete with Costco, he's going to tell any Bull sh it.. Plus costco, gives you free rotation and so on.

 

[78fiat131]

There are some differences in tires from a tire dealership . We took a car in with tire from a Walmart; the tire dealer ship could look at it and tell it was a tire from someone like a Walmart/Costco. There is some codes on tire that tells that.

Free rotation is great; wait till you have a problem with a tire. Walmart here can't do anything here; they send it to the tire dealership. The tire dealer says Walmart is great business for them because every problem is sent to them.

 

[RBH58]

The thing to watch with tyres is actually the manfactured date. I had to put on an emergency replacement tyre once that I was being charged a fortune for, and it was 3 years old. I hit the roof and told them to remove it. We settled on a 50% discount.

https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-age

 

[RBH58]

There are some differences in tires from a tire dealership . We took a car in with tire from a Walmart; the tire dealer ship could look at it and tell it was a tire from someone like a Walmart/Costco.

I wouldn't buy anything from that parasitic Walton family on principle. The USA's 21st century slave traders. They are ethically and morally bankrupt.