Are Walmart Tires Actually a GOOD Deal…Let’s Break It All Down
Since you found this article you’re probably thinking of buying your next set of tires from Walmart. My grandpa used to tell me to NEVER scrimp on the things between you and the ground….namely shoes, mattresses, and TIRES. Seemed like decent advise at the time, but over the years I’ve learned first-hand just how great that advice was. So whenever my car needs the inevitable expense of 4 new tires, I tend to never go with the cheapest option and ALWAYS do my homework when it comes to tire warranties before I decide on the right set of wheels for my ride. With that said, I was pleasantly surprised with the Walmart tire center and all of their offerings, let me break it all down for you .
What Tire Brands Does Walmart Sell?
Some consumers have a preconceived notion that Walmart tires are cheap.
But when you stop and do the research you realize that the tire selection and brands at Walmart is actually fairly impressive and includes these popular tire producers:
– Cooper
– Goodyear
– Maxxis
– Firestone
– Michelin
– Toyo
– Hankook
– Bridgestone
– Pirelli
– Continental
– Yokohama
– General
Walmart sells these tire brands for not only passenger cars, but also for light trucks, trailers, motorcycles, golf carts, ATVs, tractors, and performance cars.
See Also: Are Costco Tires Cheaper? Here’s How Costco Prices Stack Up
How Do Their Prices Stack Up?
The prices at Walmart on most products are highly competitive and this is especially true when it comes to tires.
I compared the price for 4 new tires on a 2018 Honda Civic and the Walmart prices were 10-35% less than places like Costco, Les Schwab, and Big O Tires.
I did the same test on my 2004 Chevy Silverado and the Toyo tires that I really like were 20% less at Walmart compared to the local tire shop I’ve used in the past.
Can I Buy My Tires Online at Walmart.com?
Yes.
You can buy your tires at Walmart.com or walk into a store with a tire center and buy them there.
If you buy them online, you’ll need to call your local Walmart and setup an appointment to have them installed.
You can either have them delivered to the store OR to your house and just bring them with you.
I HIGHLY recommend starting your tire search on the Walmart site as you can enter the exact specifics of your car and see all of your buying options.
Walmart lets you filter your tire search by price, size, terrain type, and season to name a few.
How Do I Make an Appointment to Get New Tires?
When buying 4 tires online from the Walmart website you can make an installation appointment while checking out which is SUPER convenient.
You can also call your local store or walk-in and make an appointment in the Walmart Tire Center.
What Are The Walmart Installation Charges?
They currently have 2 different installation packages:
Basic Install Package ($15 per Tire)
Basic package includes the following:
- Tire Mounting
- Lifetime balance and rotation every 7,500 miles
- Valve stem service pack
- 50-mile lug nut re-torque
This package costs $25/tire if you don’t buy your tires from Walmart.
See Also: Employees Tell Me the Smart and Dumb Buys at Walmart
Value Install Package ($25 per Tire)
Includes everything in the Basic Package plus…
- Road Hazard Protection warranty.
Walmart’s Road Hazard Protection covers you if a tire fails due to an impact or non-reparable puncture.
They’ll also fix repairable punctures at NO charge to you.
Tires must be bought at Walmart to qualify.
Do Their Tires Come With a Warranty?
You’ll get whatever warranty comes with your tire which varies by manufacturer so be sure to ask EXACTLY what it is before you decide on the tire.
The in-house Walmart warranty, known as Road Hazard Protection, costs $10 per tire and covers unforeseen road hazards, flat repairs, and free tire replacement on non-fixable tires within the first 25% of tread life.
My frugal buddy Clark Howard says to forget the Walmart tire warranty as the manufacturer’s warranty is usually sufficient.
Do Walmart Tires Ever Go On Sale?
Yes.
When shopping for tires on the Walmart site look for the words “Reduced Price” and “Rollback” as that will point you towards the most savings.
From looking at the screenshot above, the “Reduced Price” will save you close to 20% and the “Rollback” price will save you over 20% off the original price.
Can I Return the Tires If I Don’t Like Them?
If you never put the tires on your vehicle and drove on them, you CAN return them within 90 days…otherwise NO.
Also, it’s worth noting that snow tires CANNOT be returned, regardless of whether they’ve been used or not.
See Also: The Walmart Return Policy: Time to Cut Through The CRAP and Explain It
A Few Hacks for the Walmart Tire Center…
1. Plan On Leaving Your Car for a Day – Depending on the location, you should be prepared to leave your car at Walmart for most of the day. Make sure you have a ride.
2. Walmart Doesn’t Do Tire Alignments – Keep in mind that if you want to get your car aligned you’ll have to take it somewhere else.
3. Check TireRack.com – I’ve found that TireRack often undercuts even the Walmart price on new tires. In most cases they’ll even mail the tires to your installer, including Walmart.
Ask the Reader: What has been your experience with buying tires from Walmart? Would you recommend their tire center or is the savings not worth the hassle? Let me know in the comments, thanks.
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Bought tires on walmart.com off your advice on Nov 2 with a proposed delivery date of today. At 5am today I received an email from walmart stating the order was delayed. To my amazement the order I placed on Nov. 2nd for 4 pirelli tires had never even shipped or left a walmart facility yet, more than a week after placing my order! There was no way to track the currentorder status so I spoke to wal mart support.
Walmart support could offer no order tracking information and said “the order may be stuck in processing”. The only thing they would offer was a refund. They could not tell me where the items were supposed to ship from or where I could find updates. They advised me to wait 48 hours to see if the tires show up/or ship and if they dont, to cancel the order.
I have to say dissapointed to say the least; and Im slightly in disbelief as walmart.com stated these tires were in stock and would ship immediately. And then they wait until 5am on the day the tires are to be delivered to email me about the delay. With absolutely no detailed information or timeline.
BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU NEED YOUR TIRES TO ARRIVE BY A CERTAIN DATE DO NOT ORDER THEM FROM WALMART. If you walk into a Walmart store and they have the tire you need in stock have at it, but dont risk wasting your time for a product with a mysterious order tracking process that may never arrive.
Great information, thanks for sharing.
This article is super helpful, so u had a bad experience, it happens, stop complaining about nothing .
I purchased 4 tires from Walmart.com on the 16th of this month. They were supposed to be to the store within 3 days. They have been delayed and still delayed as of this time. I guess they had to order them from China but I was told in Walmart chat that they were shipping them from the closest store that has them in stock. I was told they even prioritized my order.
Hopefully sometime this week and then I have to get them mounted and installed. Tires are going directly to the local Walmart store. I hope my experience gets better than this. April don’t you even bother replying to me I don’t need your Downer attitude keep your snide comments to yourself because that’s just not cool what you said to ALB. He was only sharing his experience as am I and again no need for snide remarks like your remark.
Did you ever get your tires? I’ve cancelled a pair since a little over a week had passed with no updates. Ordered a different brand that said would arrive in stores in 3 days. Then on the second day i saw the page updated claiming i could pick them up on that day. I never got an email. And the page said they were still being prepared, but since i pass by walmart i decided to stop by and check.of course my tires weren’t there. And they told me i ordered from a third party, but how could i have ordered tires to be picked up in-store from a third party store? And it also says ships from and sold by Walmart. 🤔 Well im glad im not the only one, but they better not take long.im definitely not gonna wait weeks for them to arrive after they claim it’ll only be a few days.
Just had the same experience as the commenters above. I ordered a set of tires January 27th that were supposed to arrive at my house February 1st. They did not arrive February 1st but I gave it a few more days before trying to cancel. Taking to “customer service” does not help, whatsoever. Tried to cancel February 4th and they just kept giving the run around about why they weren’t shipped and why my order wouldn’t get canceled and why my money was still on hold. Finally February 8th I got it canceled and thinking it was that certain set/where that set was coming from, I bought a different set. Like the post says, the Walmart prices are about $30-50 cheaper each tire so it was worth it to try again I guess. The first set only has the option to be sent to my house, this current set I was given the option to ship to store. Since I was planning on getting them put on there(also the cheapest place to install), I got them sent to the store and I have an appointment for installation February 14th. We shall see what happens…. No updates on them so far and the app only shows “preparing” and that the next step is for me to show up for my appointment but base of that experience and these other comments, I’m not very hopeful.
It is very hard to reach walmart tire centers they NEVER answer their phone
“stuck in processing”. Tires and just about anything else ordered from Walmart. But it’s my fault for reading through the comments and taking the risk. And “customer service”? They’re as clueless as they leave us. The best offer to correct their problem? Arrange for a refund that may or may not come “with-in 7-10 business days”.
Well, 15 “business days” later, I had to call the bank, file a complaint. 21 business days later, I got my refund. So, when I needed tires, I couldn’t get them. Live and learn. Thought I was saving time and travel. Now I have a 60 mile drive to the nearest actual tire dealership.
Stopped at my nearest Walmart to buy a set of Goodyear tires at a great price. These were sold as a “Walmart exclusive” product.
However, they had none in stock and I was offered other, more expensive in-stock tires as an option for purchase which I declined. I was told they could not order my preferred tire for me and I would have to order them myself online. So I did that, with delivery to the store.
Long story short, my order was canceled twice by Walmart due to “suspicious activity” on my card and I never did get my tires delivered and installed.
I have not had problems with this card before or since and neither my bank nor Visa has flagged the card.
“Card issues” aside, it seems unnecessarily hard to get these Walmart exclusive tires.