How much does a tire change cost?
Tire replacement is an unavoidable event when using a car for a long time. If you own a car, you’ve probably experienced it at least once.
When you actually get an estimate for tire replacement at a dealer, you will notice that you pay thousands to tens of thousands of yen. It is also important to remember that you will be charged not only for the purchase of the tire itself, but also for the labor fee paid to the specialized staff and the purchase cost of the parts that are essential for installing the tire.
This time, we will explain how much it costs to replace a car tire, how to buy it, how to keep costs low, and a comparison of shops where you can do cheap replacement work.
In this item, we have taken up the market price of tire replacement, the breakdown of replacement costs, and what factors determine the replacement cost of tires.
Price chart for tire replacement
The first thing to take up is the “market price for tire replacement”.
The five main types of stores that handle tire replacement are:
- auto dealer
- Tire specialty store
- car parts store
- gas station
- Shop specializing in tire exchange
If there are cases where you can change tires at the gas station you usually use, there seems to be a specialty store that offers a special price for replacement work.
Also, when considering the case of purchasing the tire body, there are two types: “purchasing at a physical store” and “purchasing by other methods such as EC sites”.
Considering the above case, I tried to summarize the labor cost for tire replacement in a list with a guideline amount.
Cases where tires were purchased at a physical store
If you buy a tire at a physical store and replace the tire, the following amount will be a guideline.
The amount shown above indicates the labor cost for replacing one tire or replacing a set of four tires. It depends not only on the type of shop, but also on the tire size (14 inches, 18 inches, etc.), but if you want to replace just one, it will cost between 1,500 yen and 4,000 yen, and if you want to replace a set of 4 tires, it will cost between 7,000 yen and 12,000 yen. am.
These estimated amounts are based on the flow of asking for tire replacement as it is for the tire body purchased at the store. If you compare the prices, there is not that much difference in wages, but the selling price of the tire itself varies depending on the type of shop.
In general, the sales price of the tire itself is high at “dealers”, “tire specialty stores directly affiliated with manufacturers”, and “gas stations”. On the other hand, at “discount tire specialty stores” and “car goods stores”, the selling price of the tire itself may be kept low or sold at a sale price. If you understand the above points, it will be easier to choose a shop to ask for tire replacement.
Cases of bringing in tires purchased by other means (EC sites, etc.)
In the case of purchasing a tire from an e-commerce site on the Internet or from another store and bringing it to the store for replacement, the prices shown in the following table are a guideline.
You can choose from a total of 5 shops that can be brought in, including 4 types that can replace tires purchased at actual stores, plus a “tire replacement specialty shop” that specializes in replacement work. .
Gas stations and tire exchange specialty shops have five types of cheap tire exchange fees.
In addition to being able to apply for reservations online, tire exchange specialty shops have the advantage of being easy to request exchanges even for tires purchased at other stores. If you are planning to purchase tires at a discount shop that does not support EC sites or replacement work, this is the shop you should use.
Some petrol stations have adopted a system in which they cooperate with Internet e-commerce sites to handle everything from tire purchases to replacement installations. If you are considering purchasing a tire on an EC site, check if you can replace the tire at the nearest gas station, and you will be able to replace it with the above guideline price.
On the other hand, car dealers and tire specialty stores tend to charge higher fees for tire replacement.
Car dealers are likely to be able to replace tires purchased at the store, but there are situations where they will not accept replacements brought in, so it will be difficult to use.
Also, there are cases where even if you bring in a tire specialty store that is “directly affiliated with the manufacturer”, you may not be able to exchange tires made by other manufacturers. Also, even if there is no problem with the manufacturer, there are shops that do not accept the work itself brought in, so you have to be careful.
Click here for more information on changing tires
Fee for tire replacement
There are 5 elements involved in the cost of tire replacement.
- Purchase cost of tire body
- recombination/desorption
- balance adjustment
- rubber valve replacement
- Waste tire fee
Excluding the purchase cost of the tire itself, there are four types of labor-related costs, all of which are essential elements for tire replacement.
In this section, we will take up and explain four types of replacement cost elements that are involved in labor costs.
recombination/desorption
It is “recombination / desorption” that is charged in the name of “labor” for tire replacement.
However, recombination and desorption require different work content, so you must be careful. Below is a brief explanation of the difference.
- Modification: Remove the tire before replacement from the wheel and fit the replacement tire
- Detachment: Detaching and attaching the tires attached to the car
In situations where the same wheel is used with tires before and after replacement, it seems that there are many cases where the wages are set on the premise that “both recombination and detachment are performed”.
On the other hand, if you buy a new product with tires and wheels already installed, it is possible that the labor cost is set lower because the work of reassembling is omitted.
Depending on the content of the work, the set price of wages may be lower or higher, so it is a good idea to check without fail.
balance adjustment
In some cases, “balance adjustment” is included in the labor cost for tire replacement, just like recombination and desorption.
Tires, even if they are the same size, have slight differences in shape and weight, and if they are not adjusted, they may interfere with driving. Balance adjustment is essential to solve the phenomenon of unstable vibration and behavior while driving.
Balance adjustment may be billed separately from recombination/removal, so it is a good idea to check in advance with the shop where you request the replacement work. The estimated amount to be billed separately is as follows.
- Approximate cost (one bottle): 500 yen to 1,000 yen
Waste tire fee
As with rubber valve replacement, a separate charge for tire replacement is the “waste tire fee”.
After installing the new tires, the old tires must be brought back or discarded. When it comes to disposal, it cannot be disposed of with normal garbage, and it takes time to ask the shop where the tire replacement work was done or a separate collection company to dispose of the tire.
If you request disposal at the shop where you requested tire replacement, the following amount will be a guideline.
- Approximate cost (one bottle): 500 yen to 1,000 yen
Also, if the tires are still usable, it is effective to take advantage of the fact that there is a means to buy them from a second-hand parts store.
Tires are determined by the labor cost and the price of the main body
As mentioned in the above explanation, both “labor cost” and “sales price of the main body” are involved in tires, and it is decided whether you can buy them cheaply and even replace them.
There are shops that offer not only the selling price of the tire itself, but also the labor cost, including rubber valve replacement and waste tire costs, so it is easy to decide because it is a shop that always asks. Instead, it is better to compare and decide on several store types.
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What’s the best way to keep the cost of tire replacement down?
This time, I tried to focus on the following two points as a way to keep tire replacement cheap.
- buy tires online
- Ask a tire replacement shop to replace the tire.
buy tires online
The first is to buy the tire itself online.
If you compare the selling price of the same product at a physical store and on the Internet EC site, even just for the tire itself, there is a possibility that there will be a price difference of several hundred yen to several thousand yen per unit. In addition, it is not uncommon for older model tires to be sold at discounted prices as new model tires are released.
Another feature of the EC site is that it sells products produced in Asian countries called “Asian tires”. At actual stores, we mainly sell tires sold by major manufacturers in Japan and overseas, such as “Bridgestone”, “Yokohama”, and “Dunlop”. However, EC sites sell Asian tires and practical tires that are not inferior in terms of performance, so your options will expand.
On EC sites, in addition to being able to buy tires cheaply using the points you have accumulated from other shopping, there are many cases where the ratio of points awarded according to the purchase amount is high. Unlike in a physical store, the disadvantage is that you can’t get the tires right away, but if you’re not in a hurry to replace them due to punctures or bursts, it’s a good idea to make effective use of the Internet to purchase tires.
Ask a tire replacement shop to replace the tire.
Another way is to ask a shop specializing in tire replacement to replace the tire.
If you buy tires cheaply on the Internet or at other stores and bring them to a car dealer or gas station and ask them to replace them, you may incur additional replacement costs.
However, in recent years, it is noteworthy that “tire exchange specialty shops” that focus on tire exchange services have opened all over the country. . In addition to being able to easily bring in tires purchased on the Internet or from other stores and ask for work, another advantage is that labor costs are set at a lower price than at car dealers and car supply stores.
In addition, there is a tie-up between an Internet e-commerce site and a tire exchange specialty shop, and it seems that some shops have built a system so that the flow from ordering to shipping to the specialty shop and installation work is smooth.
If you buy tires online or at another store instead of a physical store, asking a tire replacement shop is a good way to keep costs down.
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Where is the cheapest place to change tires?
In this section, we will research and explain the prices offered at major car supply stores, major gas stations, and tire specialty stores directly affiliated with the manufacturer, as to which shops are cheaper to replace tires.
The table was created with the following conditions set.
- Research on normal tires and studless tires, excluding run-flat tires
In conclusion, there seems to be a difference in the low price depending on the company and store, regardless of whether it is a car supply store or a tire specialty store.
If you check the above conditions, it seems that the replacement fee for a set of four tires is cheaper at Company A, a car parts store, and Company B, a tire specialty store. If the tire size is small, it is about 1,000 yen, and if it is large, it is about 2,000 yen.
On the other hand, there are cases where the price varies depending on the series at car supply stores, tire specialty stores, and gas stations, so it is a good idea to contact the store in advance to confirm.
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On the other hand, we researched the prices offered at major car supply stores, major gas stations, tire specialty stores directly affiliated with manufacturers, and tire replacement specialty shops to find out which shop has the lowest cost for tire replacement. I tried.
The list is created under the following conditions.
- Research on normal tires and studless tires, excluding run-flat tires
It seems that there is a part in the tire exchange specialty shop that the cost can be kept low by changing the tire brought in. You can easily apply for exchanges even for products purchased on the Internet or at discount tire specialty stores, and you will be able to do it at a low price even for one unit or four sets.
However, there are cases where tire exchange specialty shops are opening stores in limited areas, or privately owned maintenance shops are joining franchise chains and opening stores. It is a good idea to use the Internet to find out if there is a shop that specializes in tire replacement near you.
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