Buying Tyres Online is Cheaper!
Most of us think the goods we buy online are cheaper than if we d have gone to the high street and bought the same item. But is it really true?
Groceries for example, aren t, because by the time you ve factored in the delivery costs you ve actually spent more money than if you d gone to Tesco s yourself! CD s and DVD s are other examples of products that you might pay more for online if you are not careful.
So what about tyres?
In the past an independent comparison such as that recently undertaken by online consumer advice site tyrereview.co.uk would have been impossible. It would not have been a like for like comparison. It used to be that you could only mail order tyres online. They would be delivered to your house and then you would have to find somebody to fit them for you.
That s not the case anymore, the last few years have seen an explosion in companies like Black Circles, mytyres, rubberball and Etyres who have networks of fitting partners nationwide prepared to fit tyres ordered online for you. This fitting takes place either at a local store or in some cases mobile service vans will call at your home.
Therefore, what you ultimately get is a new tyre on your car, just like if you d gone to a tyre store like Kwik Fit, ATS Euromaster or Central Tyre in the first place. As such, the comparison is now valid.
The best way to compare online vs offline is to compare the prices of the biggest players in the market. Namely online retailer Black Circles and offline tyre retailing giant Kwik Fit. In order to do this a basket of goods was priced at both retailers and the winner would be the retailer whose basket was cheaper. 30 Pirelli Tyres in a range of tyre sizes were compared.
The results were conclusive. The basket cost 2612.50 at Kwik Fit but only 1799.33 at Black Circles.
Market leading size 205/55R16V which fits VW Golfs, Ford Mondeos and the like was over 25 pounds cheaper at online. In fact, on the sizes compared, offline stores were not cheaper on a single product.
Of course there are downsides to buying tyres online, principally that if you wake up in the morning to find your car sat on the drive with a flat tyre, you are not going to be able to just go online and have the problem solved within a couple of hours. You usually have to wait at least 24hrs before you can get the tyre you purchased online fitted. In that case the convenience of a Kwik Fit is unparalled, they carry a lot of stock and as such can usually fix your problem straight away.
That underlines the benefits of keeping an eye on the wear of your tyres, if you notice the tread is getting worn then you can pre-plan a tyre purchase and you should be able to save money. For distress purchase it may be better to pay a little bit more, but not have to wait for your tyres to arrive.
http://www.tyrereview.com is a consumer advice website from within the tyre industry.
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admin on November 11th 2007 in automotive
