Was this a good buy? (Bridgestone Potenza RE960)

[stienman]

So my tires have been going south for quite some time now (cracks appearing in sidewall, have to fill two of them once a week, lots of vibration, etc) and I've been hoping not to have a blowout before I had the money to replace them.

So I filled them up this morning, and as I pulled in to work (31 miles later) the car feels really squirrelly. Sure enough, one tire is completely flat.

Check out Discount Tire, their cheapest tire happens to be in their 'best' category, and is in stock a few miles down the road - so I print it out and tool over there on the donut. They express surprise at the price, and indicate I'm getting an exceptional deal:

Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position 205/60R-15 91H B

$64 each, with a $60 rebate on a set of four tires. I leave the shop having spent about $270.

So... Were they being nice, or was this really a good deal? I'm happy with it, though wouldn't have minded paying less for very cheap tires. I'll be driving home in them and will see how they perform, but haven't gotten a good sense of them in the few miles I drove back to the office.

Thanks for your insight!

-Adam

 

[Tomato]

IMHO not a bad deal at all.

I've only owned S02's and S03's as I refuse to run A/S and stick with dedicated winter and summer setups, but I've never been disappointed with Bridgestone.

People always wanting to cheap out tires scare me, does no one realize that those four pieces of rubber are all that keep you and your vehicle on the road???

I'd say you've done well, let us know how you like the tires.

 

[stienman]

IMHO not a bad deal at all.

I've only owned S02's and S03's as I refuse to run A/S and stick with dedicated winter and summer setups, but I've never been disappointed with Bridgestone.

Well, as a computer guy I think everyone should have a server in their home. But some people aren't as performance oriented in that area as I am. I live in Michigan, and all season is sufficient for me - I'm no power user... Plus I don't want to pay $60 twice year to get them changed out, and give up the storage space the unused set would take up.

People always wanting to cheap out tires scare me, does no one realize that those four pieces of rubber are all that keep you and your vehicle on the road???

I understand what you mean, but due to the litigious nature of the US, I'm fairly certain that cheap tires are not significantly more dangerous than good tires, they just wear out faster, don't ride as well, etc.

As long as you monitor your tires for changes, keep them maintained, and don't use them beyond their capability and life, then I don't see why cheap tires shouldn't be considered.

For my part, unfortunately, this is our "run into the ground" car, and so we're simply not planning on putting any significant money into it. I really like the contour, but I have to be practical, and once it costs more than $0.10/mile in repairs and maintenance to keep in reliable running condition then I'll have to move on. I've replaced the transmission, done much of the suspension, and all the little maintenance bits (except the oxygen sensors and EGR bits - I've replaced all the related parts and still get the codes, so I'm polluting the air and ignoring them), and it's going pretty strong at 180k miles, so I suspect the next thing is overhauling the engine, and that would probably be the deal breaker. And so far, outside of gas and including the original purchase price, oil changes, repairs and maintenance I'm just under $0.10 per mile.

I'd say you've done well, let us know how you like the tires.

I'm glad to hear that. Also:

Ahhhhhhhhh! It's so good to have my contour back! I can't believe how much of a change this made in handling, stiff and responsive. While I'm no tire geek, these are very nice. I very much enjoyed zipping home today.

-Adam

 

[shelbyfv]

bet you're still happy with them

bet you're still happy with them

Sorry to be posting late. I want to throw out another good word for these tires. I've had the 205/55-16s on my '98 CSVT for about 2 years. I've had the car since new so I had the OEM Goodyear whatever, which were pretty nice. Then BFG KDW which became noisy as the miles accumulated, thought they'd never wear out. I like the Bridgestones better than the BFGs and at least as well as the Goodyears though it's hard to remember that far back. Sounds as if you got a good deal.

 

[AliasJerk]

IMHO not a bad deal at all.

I've only owned S02's and S03's as I refuse to run A/S and stick with dedicated winter and summer setups, but I've never been disappointed with Bridgestone.

People always wanting to cheap out tires scare me, does no one realize that those four pieces of rubber are all that keep you and your vehicle on the road???

I'd say you've done well, let us know how you like the tires.

I agree to an extent; an all season tire for year round use is absolutely fine, however, the cheapest tire you can find probably isnt the best option, I had a set of those kind of tires on my steel wheel, and they are god aweful. In my zetec contour in rainy conditions, I couldnt gain traction until 4th gear if I were running the car at WOT. Comparatively, on my pre98 I had a nice set of all season tires, and I couldnt even spin the tires in 2nd gear.

Now, paying a small amount of money for tires isnt a bad thing, the bridgestone tires are REALLY good tires especially for what you paid for them.

I might check out discount tire in the next month, my ST200 wheels need new tires and I am exploring a couple of options, I have been trying to find some info on the Fusion HRi tires, but I still might go with a summer only tire, then find some different wheels for winter.

all season tires are absolutely fine, Snow tires are obviously ideal in... well, snow conditions, but my mom has a nice set of good year all seaons touring tires on her grand prix, and that thing does amazing in the snow.