Discount Tire
Direct Consumer Review
A consumer's opinion of the Discount Tire
Direct (DiscountTireDirect.com) service including product pictures and prices.
By Paul B. Michaels Author & Photographer Auto Mechanic Since 1989 |
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 UPS Tracking Info |
 Ordered Sunday - Arrived Thursday |
 New Falken Ziex ZE-512 |
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Falken
Ziex ZE-512 tires on my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP were finally
looking worn out after almost four years and 21,000 miles of
spirited driving. Since the car is just over 10 years old with 101K miles on the odometer and I may not be keeping it much longer, I wanted to replace the tires with the least expensive "performance" orientated option possible. I've ordered from Tire Rack in the past and it was an excellent experience. But the cheapest 225/60R16 size tires with the required "H" (130 MPH) speed rating on TireRack.com were the backordered Fuzion HRi tires for $73 each plus $61.58 in shipping for a total cost of $353.58. I continued shopping around at other online tire sites such as TireSavings.com, OnlineTire.com, TreadDepot.com, DiscountTires.com, TireBuyer.com, Walmart.com and DiscountTireDirect.com. Most recently, I've been buying our new tires at Amazon.com since they seem to have the best prices. |
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 Manufactured March 2011 |
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 Made In Japan |
| As I'm sure you can
already tell from the title of this review, I finally chose to order another
set of Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires from DiscountTireDirect.com for $79 each
with free UPS Ground shipping for a total cost of just $316.
I'm familiar with the performance, handling characteristics and wear rate of the Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires so they seemed like the best choice versus ordering "generic" brand name tires at a higher cost from the other online retailers. I calculated that the per mile cost for my old ZE512's was $0.02/mile based on a 21,000 mile life and their replacement cost of $316 plus $54.46 for them to be mounted and balanced at a local Wal-Mart Tire & Lube location. |
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 Inside of Tire |
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 "Rotation" Arrow |
| The per tire, shipping and total cost for the absolute least expensive 225 60 R16 size H+ speed rated tires at the other online retailers were as follows: Tire Rack $73 / $61.58 / $353.58, Wal-Mart $108 / Free / $432, OnlineTire.com $85.31 / $77.40 / $418.64, TireBuyer.com $79.58 / Free / $318.32, DiscountTires.com $71 / $50 / $334. and TreadDepot.com $66 / $63.76 / $327.76. | ||
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 Old Falken Ziex ZE512 |
 21,000 Miles Later |
 Worn Down To Wear Bears |
| I placed the order
for four new Falken Ziex ZE-512 Tire at Discount Tire Direct on Sunday
5/15/11, they were shipped from Ohio on Monday 5/16/11 and received promptly
in Florida on
Thursday 5/19/11.
DTD sent an email late Monday afternoon with the two UPS Ground tracking numbers representing each pair of tires. |
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 New Tire Mounted |
 Wal-Mart Tire & Lube |
 101,682 Miles |
| Overall, I was very
impressed with the experience of ordering tires from Discount Tire Direct
and will definitely recommend the company to my family or friends.
They had the best total price for the minimum specification tires that my car required with the added bonus of the tires being from a respected brand name manufacturer with acceptable performance characteristics. To save even more money, I decided to take a chance on having them mounted and balanced at a nearby Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Center. Despite the many warnings and negative reviews found online about patronizing Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Centers, I had an unexpectedly excellent experience.
For more, please visit my
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Center Consumer
Review. |
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