Need new tires, wheel alignment, tune up--Honda Civic. where to go?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the tips.

If I buy the tires at costco, I should take them to a mechanic? I'm not sure if I need balancing/alignment. All I know is that a mechanic showed me that my tire treads are worn (and they haven't been changed or rotated in 5.5 years). Plus, the car shakes/vibrates when I go above 60mph, and it tends to fade to one side if I let go of the steering wheel.

I'll check out the mechanics listed above. Further suggestions are also welcome.

[Anonymous]

If I buy the tires at costco, I should take them to a mechanic?

Costco installs the tires as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the tips.

If I buy the tires at costco, I should take them to a mechanic? I'm not sure if I need balancing/alignment. All I know is that a mechanic showed me that my tire treads are worn (and they haven't been changed or rotated in 5.5 years). Plus, the car shakes/vibrates when I go above 60mph, and it tends to fade to one side if I let go of the steering wheel.

I'll check out the mechanics listed above. Further suggestions are also welcome.

Go get new tires installed at Costco. Then go to your local Honda dealer for an alignment.

I am not sure what you mean by a tune up. The only thing necessary for a Honda is normal maintenance. So if the schedule calls for new oil, filters, plugs, etc, that's when you need to get them done. There is no need for a "tune up" as cars back in the 70s and 80s did.

[Anonymous]

We use Aim Auto Repair at 6th & Rhode Island. The place is a complete dive, but the owner is able to fix pretty much anything. We go for regular oil changes and have him check everything else out and make any necessary repairs. He is particular good at older cars.

He and his wife run the place and I feel that they are honest and charge a fair price. We started using them after good reviews from our neighbor:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/aim-auto-repair-washington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't assume you need an alignment. If you have original tires and haven't rotated them, it's probably worn out/unbalanced tires. Executive Tires in Rockville guy are really good and honest.

If the OP replaces all 4 tires, then he has to get an alignment regardless.

Not if the car isn't out of alignment. Replacing 4 tires doesn't throw a car out of alignment. Or do you mean balancing? Which any tire place can do.

You're right, I meant balance. I think the alignment is an "upsell" that most shops try to throw in.

I haven't replaced all 4 tires at the same time in a long time (been through a few cars in recent years), so I forgot how it all works. Some shops have a buy 3, get 1 free deal as well.

[Anonymous]

Just buy the tires from Costco. They will mount and balance the tires.

[Anonymous]

Tirerack.com is cheaper than Costco. For my car, I priced identical tires and, including all fees, they would be about $70 cheaper using tire rack. Tire rack also has a lot more options for tires.

[Anonymous]

Tire rack is awesome and I use Bethesda import specialist mentioned up thread to install/balance.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure you are comparing apples to apples with Tire Rack? In my case, I used Tire Rack since Costco does not sell the tire I was looking for (Conti DWS), but Costco would have been an obvious choice if shopping for the same tire.

The danger of Tire Rack is that some times you are attracted to a low priced tire but it may not be a good choice, especially for someone who is confused about the difference between balancing and alignment. It's perfectly okay to be confused and not be an expert, but such a person should stay away from picking their own tires. The tires at Costco may not always be the absolute best tire for every scenario, but their "curated selection" contains mostly very good tires that are a great fit for vast majority of drivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the tips.

If I buy the tires at costco, I should take them to a mechanic? I'm not sure if I need balancing/alignment. All I know is that a mechanic showed me that my tire treads are worn (and they haven't been changed or rotated in 5.5 years). Plus, the car shakes/vibrates when I go above 60mph, and it tends to fade to one side if I let go of the steering wheel.

I'll check out the mechanics listed above. Further suggestions are also welcome.

OP - I don't read anything that makes me to think you need anything more than new set of tires. Your car will shake/vibrate/pull to one side if you have not changed/rotated your tires in 5 1/2 years. Just put new balanced tires on and if it still pulls to one side, then take it in for alignment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure you are comparing apples to apples with Tire Rack? In my case, I used Tire Rack since Costco does not sell the tire I was looking for (Conti DWS), but Costco would have been an obvious choice if shopping for the same tire.

The danger of Tire Rack is that some times you are attracted to a low priced tire but it may not be a good choice, especially for someone who is confused about the difference between balancing and alignment. It's perfectly okay to be confused and not be an expert, but such a person should stay away from picking their own tires. The tires at Costco may not always be the absolute best tire for every scenario, but their "curated selection" contains mostly very good tires that are a great fit for vast majority of drivers.

I compared the exact same tire for my car. Point taken though that OP who apparently never rotated her tires may not be a good candidate to use tire rack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure you are comparing apples to apples with Tire Rack? In my case, I used Tire Rack since Costco does not sell the tire I was looking for (Conti DWS), but Costco would have been an obvious choice if shopping for the same tire.

The danger of Tire Rack is that some times you are attracted to a low priced tire but it may not be a good choice, especially for someone who is confused about the difference between balancing and alignment. It's perfectly okay to be confused and not be an expert, but such a person should stay away from picking their own tires. The tires at Costco may not always be the absolute best tire for every scenario, but their "curated selection" contains mostly very good tires that are a great fit for vast majority of drivers.

I compared the exact same tire for my car. Point taken though that OP who apparently never rotated her tires may not be a good candidate to use tire rack.

What I love about tire rack is the ability to read reviews of a tire by people who have driven it with your exact car.

[Anonymous]

I've been doing my regular maintenance and stuff like that at my local Mr. Tire shop. They seem honest - they haven't tried to upsell me on anything - and they're cheaper than the other two places I've gone for the same jobs.

[Anonymous]

Baird Automotive in VA Square, right near the Metro. Well worth the line switch. They were incredibly honest every time I went, once fixing my problem for $85 after a certain dept store/auto garage quoted me $950.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure you are comparing apples to apples with Tire Rack? In my case, I used Tire Rack since Costco does not sell the tire I was looking for (Conti DWS), but Costco would have been an obvious choice if shopping for the same tire.

The danger of Tire Rack is that some times you are attracted to a low priced tire but it may not be a good choice, especially for someone who is confused about the difference between balancing and alignment. It's perfectly okay to be confused and not be an expert, but such a person should stay away from picking their own tires. The tires at Costco may not always be the absolute best tire for every scenario, but their "curated selection" contains mostly very good tires that are a great fit for vast majority of drivers.

I compared the exact same tire for my car. Point taken though that OP who apparently never rotated her tires may not be a good candidate to use tire rack.

What I love about tire rack is the ability to read reviews of a tire by people who have driven it with your exact car.

I'm the quoted previous-PP. I've bought more tires from Tire Rack than I care to admit, but I've also bought a couple of sets from Costco. I am a car nut, so a lot of research goes into stuff I buy for my car. But when the family van was due for new tires, Costco had the same tires (Michelin Defender XT) that was highly rated on Tire Rack, and was cheaper since the mouting/balancing was only $15. Costco also offers lifetime free rotation for tires purchased from them, so it would be a double-benefit for the OP. I don't mind the shipping and appointment juggling when my car gets new tires from Tire Rack, since I have the tires sent to a shop that I trust in Gaithersburg MD (I live in McLean), who mounts/balances tires without scratching the wheels. But family van, or a Civic in the OP's case, Costco mounting/balancing is perfect.