I have received some feedback from you guys that it is relatively easy for me to buy in the U.S. given that I have a home in Phoenix and also have friends in NJ that I can ship packages to. Your right, this does make it easier. My recent purchase of snow tires has allowed me to find alternatives and I’m please to report that I found a great delivery service in Buffalo about 5 minutes from the Rainbow Bridge.
So first the story; last month I wrote about the huge difference in tires and rims. When my friend “Big Bill” gave me a call and asked what was the best way to get them in Buffalo I told him Dunns or Buffalo Tire, not the cheapest but friendly and close. So when I called them, with the intent of picking up a set on my next visit I ran into a bit of a roadblock. The tires were not an issue but neither had rims and the ones they could get were going to be expensive. As I had decided to go with the Bridgestone Blizzak the “best deal” I could find was through http://www.tirerack.com, an online reseller. They were the only ones that had rims in stock as well. So back to the internet and found that Tire Rack had a winter package, tires and rims (not cheap black ones, nice silver painted ones looking like mags) Total price, tires installed and balanced on the rims $936.00
Next was to get them shipped to Buffalo (more to come) $107.56 via UPS three business days.
So everything all-in $1,043.00 – no tax, no disposal fees, nada!
To recap Green and Ross were at $734.96, they told me that they did not have any “aftermarket” rims and I would have to get them from Subaru or Put them on existing rims. So to keep this at apples-to-apples called Richmond Hill Subaru, No Bridgestones but offered Hankook, on alloy rims – $1,495.00. Plus Tax Total $1,689.35
Now where to ship them? A bit of internet research found Can-Am Mailboxes, a quickn email was answered immediately by Rhonda with a complete price list of their services and fees (attached). Wanting to make sure I understood their policy I called fully expecting a fee of about $20.00 per tire based on their weight pricing. The girl who I spoke with told me it would be better to get a 1-month mailbox rental at $19.95 and pay another $2.00 for the shipment. Total cost to receive the tires $22.00.
Total Savings $624.00
CAN-AM MAILBOXES 2315 Whirlpool St Niagara Falls, NY 14305 P 716-284-6245 mailboxes@speedgs.com Can Am BOX RENTAL
