Tires '18 Expedition Limited 4x4

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DenSanAZ

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I bought my Expedition 2 weeks ago from a Ford dealership, they had put new tires on the vehicle prior to my seeing/buying it (it has 45k miles). I didn't take the time to look at the brand they installed, other than seeing that they were new - which is good and bad.

The Ford dealer installed cheap Tier 3 tires - Sailun Altrezzo - a brand I've never even heard of before. They're roughly $120/each - pretty cheap tires. I traded in my '16 Explorer which was almost ready for new tires, so I already knew what those would cost to replace ($1100 for Michelin).

Now, I'm satisfied with how the Expedition handles and drives/rides, but I haven't gone on any extensive trips aside from driving the car home (the dealer was 65 miles from my house!). But I'm not satisfied with the thought of driving on cheap, Chinese tires.

I did price new tires, at Costco I can get 70k mile Michelins for just over $900. The question is, SHOULD I? I'd like some opinions on this, please! Not that I want to spend ~$1k (though I would have had to if I'd kept the Explorer, or if the dealer hadn't already replaced these), but.... Thoughts?
 

Artie

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Do you wanna ride around with your family on the only safety feature that touches the road being a cheap Chinese tire? It sucks you didn’t notice this before purchase, you possibly could have negotiated better tires. Seeing as how You noticed them after, buy the new ones and consider it a $900 lesson, maybe.
If it were me I’d get the better tires.
 

byathread

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There are a lot of opinions on tires. Even the Chinese ones are DOT rated, etc. That being said, some shady/inferior stuff can come out of anywhere. Just more prevalent from China... If it were me, I'd change them and call it a day. Tires kind of important for a vehicle...
 

Gumby

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Just put new boots on my 18 Expy. Yoko Parada Spec X in 22's. I wanted Toyo Proxes ST III but I couldn't get them in fast enough so I went with my #2 option on the Yokos. I don't really tow and likely will never mud bog so I wanted something a bit more "Street" oriented. So far so good.
 

Rancidlunchmeat

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I'm voting for buy the new tires, same line of thinking as Artie. If it bothers you, at all, go buy new tires. Even the slightest idea that the quality control could be poor enough to result in immediate and unpredictable failure of a tire would prevent me from ever having peace of mind.

If that's what is bothering you, replace them. If you just think they won't hold up very well, then ride on them until they wear down.
 

spiderman865

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Would I put some bootleg tire on $70K plus vehicle, no. But since they are new run them until you can get what you want or it is time to replace.
 
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DenSanAZ

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Do you wanna ride around with your family on the only safety feature that touches the road being a cheap Chinese tire? It sucks you didn’t notice this before purchase, you possibly could have negotiated better tires. Seeing as how You noticed them after, buy the new ones and consider it a $900 lesson, maybe.
If it were me I’d get the better tires.
That's pretty much what I'm thinking, too. And yes, it does really bother me! I'm a rather "assertive" driver (some would say aggressive). Bit more than a $900 lesson tho, I'm happy with what I paid for the car, got rather taken on my trade-in however. Oh well, what's done is done, I love the Expedition!
 

aggiegrad05

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This might be my youthful naivete speaking, but...

I wonder if you wouldn't do well to go back to the dealer to buy, or at least price, your new set. Explain your concerns and see if they will give you some credit for the (basically) brand new tires that THEY thought were perfectly acceptable.

I'm not suggesting they are going to give you free tires, and I am not suggesting you make a stink or be rude about it, but something along the lines of:

"hey guys, y'all picked these tires and I just think they're completely substandard for a $70k vehicle. I want a new set and I am willing to buy them from you, but I would love a little help on the price considering you're getting the brand new Sailuns back that you can turn around and put on another vehicle."

Worst thing they can do is laugh at you and then you just go back to Costco.
 
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DenSanAZ

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This might be my youthful naivete speaking, but...

I wonder if you wouldn't do well to go back to the dealer to buy, or at least price, your new set. Explain your concerns and see if they will give you some credit for the (basically) brand new tires that THEY thought were perfectly acceptable.

I'm not suggesting they are going to give you free tires, and I am not suggesting you make a stink or be rude about it, but something along the lines of:

"hey guys, y'all picked these tires and I just think they're completely substandard for a $70k vehicle. I want a new set and I am willing to buy them from you, but I would love a little help on the price considering you're getting the brand new Sailuns back that you can turn around and put on another vehicle."

Worst thing they can do is laugh at you and then you just go back to Costco.
Well, I might have been able to do that when I bought the car - and they MIGHT do it now, but I just really doubt it. Plus, I live in the far SE Valley of Phoenix, that dealer is in the far NW Valley - a 65 mile one-way drive. Buying this vehicle wasn't my greatest feat of negotiation and I got a little screwed (not badly but with this being my 6th car in 15 years, I could have done better!) so I just really don't even want to give them anymore business than I have. I thought about keeping the Sailun tires in the garage for backup, too, though I've already got WAY too much crap in there already! One of life's lessons! I don't recall buying a new vehicle that's ever had it's tires replaced by the dealer before (I've never bought one with 45k miles, either - usually stay around 30k). I'll just eat the cost. Sigh.
 

Artie

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That's pretty much what I'm thinking, too. And yes, it does really bother me! I'm a rather "assertive" driver (some would say aggressive). Bit more than a $900 lesson tho, I'm happy with what I paid for the car, got rather taken on my trade-in however. Oh well, what's done is done, I love the Expedition!
Some tire places will give you a little cash on lightly used tires, that may help you recoup some of that new tire cost.
 
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