seeking your advice on tyre (parallel import tyres)

[888fan]

Hi guys,
I am trying to find some tryes (215/65 R16) for my Tiggy, and I was wondering if I can purchase tyres from places such as tirerack.com or Ozzytyres. I have heard about issues re parallel import tyres and warranties not covered by manufactures, or overseas tyres having different compound,etc.....I would really appreciate your comments/feedback on this matter. First, I don't want to get ripped off, and second I wanted make sure I get quality tyres as I drive Tiggy within city and highways quite a lot.

Thanks heaps for your feedback
Sirous
Feel free to email me on my yahoo address if you wish to: smomenzadeh@yahoo.com.au

[Tiggy155]

seeking your advice on tyre (parallel import tyres)

Got my pirelli's from OzzyTyres last month for the tig, only advice i can give ya so far Is great price, two day delivery to Melbourne good advice/service..

[nat225]

parralel import warranty and after sales service from those 'friendly' shops, it's something you have to weigh against the savings.

buying directly fr o/seas and different compound issues, i have heard those 'warnings' but you have to understand first about the type / brand / model of tyres you are buying.

eg: goodyear assymetric 2 / michelin pilot super sport sold here, uk, japan and usa; i doubt the compound is any different.

but if you are buying a set of tyres that is actually designed for 'snow' and use it here, then those 'warnings' are correct.

you'd be surprised how many people don't understand the massive differences and technicallities of the 'black round rubber'.

a lot are happy to buy the cheapest possible, i saw a Bentley on Nankang tyres the other day!!

[ido09s]

It is highly unlikely that a local tyre store will help you with warranty on tyres that you purchased overseas.

I would personally go to Ozzy and see what they can do for you.

Ordering from overseas clearly has its risks. Some people are happy to take it, others arent. I would sooner pay a little more knowing i supported a local business and have the ability to speak to someone face to face if something was to go wrong

[brad]

If you buy from overseas or from a parallel importer then the local distributor won't want to know you. Any warranty issues will be between you & the manufacturer or the seller.

You either want to save enough buying from OS that you are self-warranted or buy from an established parallel importer that isn't too far from home.

I buy from Tempe Tyres as they are 10km from home.

[tigger73]

I'm getting a set of Bridgestone Potenza S001's in their 4 for the price of 3 sale.

Though I'm running 19's so tyre is not directly comparable to 16's you're looking at, however you can still get a set of Bridgestones for a decent price at the moment (until the end of the month).

Plus they'll rotate them every 5,000km for free

[MGV]

I'm getting a set of Bridgestone Potenza S001's in their 4 for the price of 3 sale.

Sounds like a good idea there, tigger73! Actually been thinking of doing the same & storing them for ~6 months while i wear my current set out. (Potenza RE050A's)

[tigger73]

Sounds like a good idea there, tigger73! Actually been thinking of doing the same & storing them for ~6 months while i wear my current set out. (Potenza RE050A's)

Yeah except if you want 255/40/19's you'll probably be out of luck as I got the last set of S001's in the country. Funny story there but managed to score a pretty amazing deal thanks to another Tig owner and a tyre place trying to stitch up the stock.

[baboo]

Please put those Ultraleggeras on now you got the tyres LOL!

+1 for supporting local business. I always buy tyres from the local tyre shop, they will do little extras like balancing tyres for free.
Also sometimes purchasing tyres overseas you might get tyres that has sit on the shelf for a couple of years. local ones are almost always
fresh.

[tigger73]

Please put those Ultraleggeras on now you got the tyres LOL!

Tyres and rims are going on Monday so I will post some pics up shortly after

Yes don't worry it's been killing me having those rims sitting there too. Though after forking out for the rims I had to save up to put some decent tyres on them.

The only saving grace was that I still had some tread left on my RS4 reps.

+1 for supporting local business. I always buy tyres from the local tyre shop, they will do little extras like balancing tyres for free.
Also sometimes purchasing tyres overseas you might get tyres that has sit on the shelf for a couple of years. local ones are almost always fresh.

Yes as long as there's not too much difference between the local tyre shop and the online/overseas stores I don't mind paying the bit extra for the local back-up and support.

[tigger73]

Rims are going to be delayed getting put on... Discovered this morning that the rims are 19x8 instead of 19x8.5, so have to wait for some new rubber to arrive

[Phil G]

I'd find it hard to ask a local tyre place to fit and balance tyres I'd imported to save a few $$. So I buy locally.
If doing the 3 for the price of 4 thing with Bridgestone, we've been running the Bridgestone D683 in 215/65/16 for the past 35,000k and very happy with them. Dead quiet, good grip and look to only be 50% worn.

[brad]

I'd find it hard to ask a local tyre place to fit and balance tyres I'd imported to save a few $$. So I buy locally.
If doing the 3 for the price of 4 thing with Bridgestone, we've been running the Bridgestone D683 in 215/65/16 for the past 35,000k and very happy with them. Dead quiet, good grip and look to only be 50% worn.

I have no idea why you'd have this issue.

When I worked in the tyre industry the boss loved it. Cash money straight in his pocket.

The minimum charge is $15. It takes 15 minutes (tops) to strip / fit /electronic balance a tyre. You might put $2 worth of lead on to balance it. So $60 income & the fitter is on a sunk cost of about $45/hr including on-costs.

As my boss used to tell us "Never knock back any work. It's an opportunity to gain a regular customer. It takes work off the competitors. It's cash flow... with the emphasis on CASH!" and then he'd give an evil grin

[nat225]

I have no idea why you'd have this issue.

When I worked in the tyre industry the boss loved it. Cash money straight in his pocket.

The minimum charge is $15. It takes 15 minutes (tops) to strip / fit /electronic balance a tyre. You might put $2 worth of lead on to balance it. So $60 income & the fitter is on a sunk cost of about $45/hr including on-costs.

As my boss used to tell us "Never knock back any work. It's an opportunity to gain a regular customer. It takes work off the competitors. It's cash flow... with the emphasis on CASH!" and then he'd give an evil grin

That's called good business and clever customer service. If i were the customer and they did a good job with no marks on the wheels, i'd certainly come back for sure and be a repeat customer and tell all my friends about it.

Unless the workshop is super busy and has no spare capacity at all, why would you tell customers to go away?