Try as I Might to Sell Tires

Yesterday was an interesting time for me as I worked the front sales counter all day at Carolina Tire & Auto. I have a new tire sales program going on with a Buy 1 Tire, Get 1 Free and Double Rebates on manufacturers rebates. Believe me, it's  a lot to try to jam all that in on a phone conversation with someone shopping for tires. Major tire retailers, and you know who you are, are the absolute worst at making the general public believe that you have to have the cheapest set of tires to make it "a deal."

Let me side bar here for a moment, tires are the most important safety auto part on your car, truck or SUV. Yes I said auto part. Your car is made up of hundreds of integrate parts and tires are the most important when it comes to safety.

Back to the giant tire retailers, none of whom have a headquarters in Charlotte, NC, live here or are raising a family here are trying to sell you the cheapest tires with cute gimmicks. Worst of all, they started to drag me down that same evil path and yes I said evil path. Let me explain, it'll all make sense soon.

Carolina Tire & Auto did not become Charlotte's # 1 South Charlotte Dealership Alternative, an Angie's List Super Service Award Winner or the highest rated auto repair center on Google and the Internet in all of Charlotte because we went cheap on your cars. We pay more for highly trained mechanics, we pay more for quality auto parts, we pay more for the best equipment, we pay more for one of the best showrooms in all of Charlotte, NC.

So now I found myself getting into this buy 1 get 1 free promotion to match Tire Kingdom. What was I thinking?? I don't know. Here's how this program works at Tire Kingdom:

Buying 2 tires:

Tire costs you = $100 - buy 1 tire at $100 and get a $100 tire for free.

You must buy their "premium installation package" which is $59.95. For that you get lifetime rotation and balance, free roadside assistance and their road hazard for their tires.

Next you must buy their 1 year alignment program at $129.95. You get alignments all year long for 1 price.

So here's your big deal buy 1 tire get 1 tire free - $59.95 x 2 = $119.90 + $129.95 = $249.85 + $100     (1 tire) = $349.85.

Want to know what these 2 tires would have cost you at the regular installation price? $230.00 How? Two tires at $100.00 a piece and $15.00 per tire to install = $230.00.

So if you really wanted just 2 tires and bought this deal, you'd have paid $119.85 MORE for the same tires. Now the tires you may choose from are only selected brands of Yokohama, Pirelli, Cooper and Nitto. All fine tire manufacturers, not the top manufacturers but just ok in my opinion. Then the brands to choose from these manufacturers are their "value line" or in other words, the cheap ones.

Let me circle back around and close this piece out. My customers at Carolina Tire & Auto have trust in me and my business that I will make their cars run safely, smoothly and that I'm not putting some cheapo part on so I can make more money. I never want you to think that I ever "got one over on you". I'm sorry, in my opinion, Tire Kingdom's buy 1 get 1 free, Discount Tire's "$20" tires or Firestone's buy 3 get 1 free deal are all sham's to make you think they they have the best deals in town. Again, in my opinion they are trying to fool you into a sale and I have never, nor will I look at any customer as just a sale. I live with you people. you are my neighbors and my friends, not a sale.

Therefore Carolina Tire & Auto is pulling our Buy 1 Get 1 Free promotion and going back to promoting the best, safest and in our opinion, the coolest tires on the planet like Continental and Michelin tires.

Safe driving,

Jim