Cost of Tire Rotation and Balancing

[MLD]

I just paid $79.99 to have 4 wheels balanced (Avalon). I did see a Dealer
special a while ago (since expired) for a price of $69.99. Haven't done
this in quite a while and recall it being much less costly.
Just curious--is this the current going rate everywhere else? My location is
in the
Boston area.
How about tire rotation--what does that cost run?
MLD

[Steve W.]

Free for me. I DIY, Only takes a good jack and 4 jack stands.
If you bought your tires at most of the bigger places many even offer
free rotations for the life of the tires.

--
Steve W.

[MLD]

"Steve W." <csr6...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:r4bEq.11200$_H...@newsfe16.iad...

These tires came with the car. Thanks for the your answer--trying to figure
out how to apply it to the questions at hand.
MLD

[Steve W.]

Simple, Buy a jack and a few stands and DIY. If you rotate them like you
should you will have paid for the tools after the second rotation. AND
as a bonus you can check over the brakes and other parts so you can tell
if anything else is failing.

As for going rate. All depends on location and how many "free" services
they offer... Locally most of the shops do a rotation, brake inspection
and oil change for 75 bucks.

--
Steve W.

[Tegger]

"MLD" <M...@verizon.net> wrote in news:jbrbn9$4o0$1...@dont-email.me:

$80 is pretty reasonable for a place that isn't going to use a cheaper
price as a lure to get you in the door so they can try and sell you on
other, more profitable stuff ("Oh, look, your windshield wipers are about
to fall off, and your shocks are shot! Plus, your balljoints are worn and
your calipers are seized! We just happen to have a limited-time special
deal on all those right now...").

At a $100/hr shop rate, $80 gives the garage about 12-minutes per tire for
balancing and rotation. That would include the time needed to pull the car
into the shop, rack it, take it back down again, and park it back in the
lot.


--
Tegger

[hls]

"MLD" <M...@verizon.net> wrote in message news:jbrbn9$4o0$1...@dont-email.me...

Maybe not too expensive considering you went to a dealership.

I think I paid about $10 per wheel to balance last time, and
alignment runs up to about $50.

[Rik Brown]

Wheel alignments/balance at the shop that we use are about $60. Tire
rotation is about $2 per tire if the car is already up in the air for
anything already such as the alignments or an oil change. So we usually
rotate at an oil change.

-- Rik


--
Rik Brown

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[Paul in Houston TX]

$16 to balance at Discount Tire in Houston, early Nov., 2011.

[MLD]

"Tegger" <inv...@example.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9FB649D5...@208.90.168.18...

Thanks for the answer. The place I go to is not a dealer but labels
themselves as a "Dealer Alternative". They charge dealer prices, do
comparable work and when one makes an appointment with them you get in on
the scheduled time.
MLD


.

[MLD]

"Steve W." <csr6...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:9%iEq.14472$2e7....@newsfe18.iad...

I'm beyond that now--used to line up 4 cars at a time and do the oil changes
and whatever else was necessary one after the other. I don't put as many
miles on my cars as I used to so if I amortize the cost over the time
in-between rotation/balancing, oil changes etc it's not worth the effort of
doing it myself any more. DIY is nice but isn't always the best or
practical thing---I can't imagine having my Avalon off the ground supported
by 4 stands. To me, that's a disaster waiting to happen In the past I
utilized my spare tire--a lot safer than your jack stands. FYI, I have a
set of ramps, a nice (garage type) hydraulic jack and a couple of stands.
MLD


.

[hls]

"Paul in Houston TX" <Pa...@Houston.com> wrote in message >>

> $16 to balance at Discount Tire in Houston, early Nov., 2011.

One nice thing about Discount Tire, if you bought tires there,
they will rotate the tires in the future for free. I dont think it
even has to be the same tires or car, but check for details.

[Rik Brown]

hls;3372906 Wrote:
>
> One nice thing about Discount Tire, if you bought tires there,
> they will rotate the tires in the future for free. I dont think it
> even has to be the same tires or car, but check for details.

I'm not 100% sure but I think Costco also does free rotation if you
purchase the tires there.
Anyone know?

--
Rik Brown

Share your experiences in the forums, blogs, videos, and online
community at 'TRAVEL.COM' (http://www.TRAVEL.com).

Message Origin: [url]http://www.travel.com[/url]

[Patok]

Rik Brown wrote:
> hls;3372906 Wrote:
>> One nice thing about Discount Tire, if you bought tires there,
>> they will rotate the tires in the future for free. I dont think it
>> even has to be the same tires or car, but check for details.
>
> I'm not 100% sure but I think Costco also does free rotation if you
> purchase the tires there.
> Anyone know?

Don't know about Costco. Sears used to have (and may still have, for
all I know) the option of buying lifetime rotation and balance when
getting tires there. I always get it (last time was a year ago), because
the difference in price with just one balance is very small ($3 or $4
per tire). The total for lifetime rotation and balance was $12.25 per tire.

[Paul in Houston TX]

The $16 includes Lifetime Spin Balancing, rotations, and valves
according to the paperwork.
My poor little Kia... I destroyed the LF tire hitting a curb at a
construction site a year ago, the RF tire vs. a curb 6 months later,
LR got shredded at a construction site in Nov and I replaced the
RR at the same time.
I also bought the free replacement warranty for $14 each
since my tires don't seem to last long.
Cheap one ply tires total $120 each with everything...

[MG]

"Rik Brown" <Rik.Brow...@no-mx.forums.travel.com> wrote in message
news:Rik.Brow...@no-mx.forums.travel.com...

Costco tires include lifetime rotation and balancing. They get real antsy
if your treadwear gets uneven between front and back. At some point they
will refuse to rotate if this occurs, but I don't know what their criteria
are.

mg

[Tegger]

"MLD" <M...@verizon.net> wrote in news:jbtsjr$6iq$1...@dont-email.me:

> when one makes an appointment with them you get in
> on the scheduled time.

On the scheduled time? Truly? That makes them BETTER than the dealer!


--
Tegger

[Ashton Crusher]

If you are having all 4 tires balanced then there is no cost to the
shop to rotate the tires. Last time I had mine balanced it was around
$11 a tire.

[genius]

On Dec 10, 9:08 am, Rik Brown <Rik.Brown.54j...@no-

mx.forums.travel.com> wrote:
> hls;3372906 Wrote:
>
>
>
> > One nice thing about Discount Tire, if you bought tires there,
> > they will rotate the tires in the future for free.  I dont think it
> > even has to be the same tires or car, but check for details.
>
> I'm not 100% sure but I think Costco also does free rotation if you
> purchase the tires there.
> Anyone know?
>
> --
> Rik Brown
>

Sams club does. They will also repair tires free (assuming they are
patchable).

[Rik Brown]

I've got a Costco tire with a slow leak. Hope that they will patch for
free. Gonna give them a call! -- Rik