Free for me. Any time I'm buying tires its from a place that offers free repairs, rotations, and balance for the life of the tire until its beyond that .2 inch tread thresh hold or whatever it is. So the only time I'm patching them myself is when they are old, otherwise its on the shop and if they **** it up its a free tire for me baby.

Sam's Club, Discount Tire, and I think there's a smaller localized shop in my town that offers that deal.

EDIT: Just looked at Sam's Club and apparently you dont have to buy your tires or even have them installed by them, it's simply a perk of being a member.

wtf ..I used to pay 27 cents for 15

Well you are paying for the tools in that kit as well.

If you already have them and you just need plugs they are like 20 cents a piece.

I didn't know it was going be 40 ****ing bucks until after the fact they fixed it. He goes' 40 bucks my jaw dropped. Had I known this before I would have looked up other places to go even if it's thirty minutes away. I'm still pissed because the last time before I went there they charged 20 bucks a couple years ago.

Different topic.

I just bought a new car that "requires" premium (91 octane) but will run on 87. Is the cost difference in mpg vs cost /gallon generally worth using 91 vs 87?

I know there are a lot of variables, but I will spend more money on "better" gas if it gets me 2 mpg better in mileage. Thought is that it is a net zero between the two, but it is better for the engine in the long run.

I haven't done the math and the car is too new to be able to find a distinction...yet

A possible alternative issue is the with the same cost/mile and better for the engine, it might be a tad faster. Not that is needed to go sub 5.2 0-60.

It's not about mileage. Running octane lower than recommended can cause damage to engine and/or emissions system.

I wouldn't recommend Sam's Club AT ALL. I know of two instances where the one closest to us didn't tighten the lug nuts after changing a tire and the wheel fell off after leaving the lot.

I wouldn't recommend the one closest to you then. But Ive got tires on now from them because they were the cheapest price at the time because of a sale and I've had no problems with the Sam's Club in my area. Their policy is to even have you come back after 50 miles to have the lug nuts rechecked and tightened again.

If you buy them there, Discount Tires rotates and fixes flats for free for the life of the tire(s).

I wonder if that applies to tires from tire rack.com and installed there....

The same thing happens at Walmart. Yeah, they have great policies but they have shit employees that don't give one **** about how good of a job they do. They don't depend on you for repeat business like a local shop does and they're getting paid Walmart wages on top of that.

I've gotten tires at Walmart/Sam's Club twice. I know several other people that have done it, as well. Nobody ever has a good experience.

So I'd say your experience is the exception, not mine. ;)

And FTR, the local Walmart is 5 miles away. The "local" Sam's Club is 45 miles away. Different cities, different people, same result.

I have two friends here that got oil changes at Walmart and in both cases, the tech didn't put the damn plug back in after changing the oil. What do you suppose happened to their cars? ;)

I've had a set put on a grand caravan and my current vehicle there and no problems...?

You're lucky.

Not saying I've never had (or heard of) a good experience at Walmart or Sam's Club - they do happen.

It's just that the bad experiences are much more frequent, at least in my anecdotal experience.

Yep...YMMV. I had the set done on the caravan about 20 years ago so that doesn't really mean much today. And the ones for the Trailblazer are an oddball size and they have a good selection if you order them online. And I generally look that shit over before I leave because Walmart. Gotta CYA no matter where you go.