I just wanted to ask, before I order anything from Tire Rack...

Since they are sponsors of NAM, and certainly get more business due to the extra exposure here...

Do they offer any special discounts or free/reduced shipping costs to NAM members?

In other words, does the sponsorship mean anything more than paid advertising?

 

You won't get anything cheaper, but you do have the bonus of being able to call Alex at tirerack who knows a LOT about what works best for MINI's. . .

 

There are no membership discounts, unfortunately.

even if you buy expensive wheel sets (or 2) from them every year
like me.

 

That's crappy. You'd think they'd extend an extra hand to encourage us to buy from them... even just a 5% discount! Their name is splashed all over the place here... although I realize they must be paying for the privilege, which helps keep this site free... but still...

 

yeh, but Im not sure if any of the vendors are offering such discounts... so
not sure if we can just pick on TireRack.

they can sell you a tire for an already competitive $100 or sell it for
$105.26 and give you your 5% discount.

 

Try and find a cheaper price, anywhere, on whatever wheels you're considering. Then tell us how crappy you think Tire Rack is. After all, it's not like we're paying anything to support this site.

 

Depends on what you're buying. Tire Rack isn't the definitive answer to discounted tires/wheels. I've found better wheel prices at GMP Performance, for the few wheels that overlap both stockists. Savings wasn't enough to write home about, but it does show that Tire Rack isn't alone. What truly sucks is that Tire Rack could easily give groups like this a discount, and the increased business would net Tire Rack far more income than if they didn't. But they haven't figured out basic business priciples yet, so we're doomed to pay more than than we should. Yes this stuff isn't high mark up (like anything and everything made for females!), but you would think a company as big as Tire Rack could throw us a bone. At least free shipping! Consider it a Christmas gift.

 

I never said Tire Rack was crappy. You misread my statement. I said the fact they don't give a discount to NAM members was crappy. Big difference. And for what it's worth, I still bought from Tire Rack anyway. In fact, I just got off the phone with Alex too, going over my order.

As for paying to support the site, you're right... but in fact I would GLADLY pay an annual subscription fee to stay here, especially if it included a few perks, including a higher PM limit. So I have no problem with that side of it.

 

OK, I see what you mean.
I hear you. Let's not give Mark any ideas, though.

 

I've bought all of my tires over the past few years from Tire Rack, but I am going to buy my next set locally at Costco because I have figured out that I can get a better deal locally after I account for the cost of shipping and mounting/balancing.

Here is the breakdown for my next set of tires:

Tire rack:
BFG KDW-2 $125 each
shipping: 41.20
mounting/balancing: $18 per tire

Total: $ 613.20

Costco

BFG KDW-2 $137.99 each (including shipping, mounting, balancing)

Total: $551.96

Savings of $61.24 and I won't have to deal with the UPS guy or load tires into my car and take them down to the tire shop. . .

This is where a 5% discount and free shipping would make the difference between shopping locally and supporting a NAM vendor. . .


However, if I was buying a wheel and tire set, the free mounting/balancing from Tire Rack would make them cheaper. . . .

Don't get me wrong, I really like Tire Rack. I have had nothing but good experiences with them and expect I will continue to be a customer, but I also like $60 and in this particular case Tire Rack is not the best deal for me. . .

 

Actually, as long as there were two options... "free" as it is now and "pay with perks", there wouldn't be any problem with a subscription option, would there?

As long as it was reasonable (say $20/year or less), I'd do it, JUST for the PM space. I hate the 100 limit.

 

ive been getting a lot of inquiries lately from GMP since the last time I
talked to them about volks and some maxlites im considering next year.

 

yep, i try not to use them with my best. not that i don't like them or their service, i just like to get good deals. as far as the topic is concerned, i guess they have to come up with something, at least for christmas or any other special days, so we can love them more. it is always cheaper for me to get things locally then dealing with tirerack, but on the other side everytime i talked to them, they were very helpful and knowledgeable.