The Truth about Buying Tires Online
Buying new tires can be a lengthy and highly involved process. To save time, many Canadians have begun to research and purchase tires online from the comfort of their own home. But, not all tire retailers make purchasing tires online as easy as Canadian Tire does. It can come with hidden challenges, particularly if the retailer is based outside of Canada.
Often, the prices shown do not include additional fees required to get the tires from the website's warehouse to the purchaser's home. These may include costly shipping charges, brokerage fees, duty, and price adjustments due to currency exchange, if the tires are purchased from a website based in the United States. These hidden costs make it difficult to assess the final price of a new tire purchase.
In addition to these hidden fees, there may be other challenges. Shipping tires direct to home puts the onus on the purchaser to store and/or transport the tires to a service centre for installation. Additionally, due to increasingly strict border patrol, delivery times from the United States can be prolonged and unpredictable. During the winter season, these delays can be problematic as road conditions worsen.
Manufacturer's warranties on tires purchased outside of Canada may not be valid in Canada. Even if optional warranties are purchased, the purchaser carries the cost of shipping the tires back across the border if a warranty claim needs to be made, until the return is proven valid. This return shipping cost may also apply to tires purchased from Canadian retailers who operate on a ship-to-home basis only. Lastly, if a return is granted for a non-warranty issue, the customer may not be reimbursed for the shipping fees.
However, with tires purchased online from Canadian Tire, you benefit from the ease and convenience of online purchasing, without the potential challenges. The price you see on our website is the price you will pay, as there are no hidden costs. When you make a purchase, your tires will be shipped to the Canadian Tire store of your choice, so you will avoid additional shipping charges. Because they are being shipped to one of our stores, it makes it easy to have them installed – just call ahead to inquire.
All tires that are purchased, installed, and balanced at a Canadian Tire Service Centre are backed by our nationally recognized and honoured Protection Plan/Warranty program (click here for full details).
Benefits of this program include:
- Free tire mounting upon pickup with appointment*
- Free rubber valve stems*
- Free flat repairs*
- Free rotation and visual brake inspection every 10,000 km*
* Only offered when tires have been installed at a Canadian Tire Service Centre. Additional fees for balancing may apply during the installation process.
To browse and/or purchase tires online, please click here
For any auto-service inquiries, please contact the Service Centre at your local Canadian Tire location or call our Customer Service helpdesk for additional information: 1-866-746-7287.