Looking for two new tyres for the C. Where can I buy them cheap.....one of the fast fit chains wanted £170 per tyre (S-03's......ouch! Can I get them cheaper?)

Try:

http://www.mytyres.net/start.html

Never used them personally, but the cheapest 'retailer' I've seen...

I can recommend them, I ordered late Friday night and had the tyres on Tues morning, and cheap too.

Neil

I was also quoted stupid prices for the S-03s (205/55/16) by the big chains (as much as £135). I rang around all the little tyre shops in the area, as listed in yell.co.uk, and got one quote for £93 and one for £96. I went with the shop that would do them for £93 each and had the tyres fitted by 16-year-old monkeys, who will probably grow up into cowboys if they live long enough http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

Next time, I think I'll go for the next cheapest, who I think will probably do a better job.

Regarding the tyres themselves, they showed amazing grip at the Abbott track day in awful conditions. The only time they gave any cause for concern was when I touched the brakes on standing water, causing the car to aquaplane at 90mph http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

I can recommend mytyres.net from personal experience. Bought some cheap tyres for the 99 - it only does low miles, is not a performance motor and just needed decent tread. Didn't want remoulds, so got a decent set of tyres at decent price for not much money - even factoring in the fitting charge.

Will need new tyres soon. Since I last looked, mytyres have added a service to arrange fitting at a tyredealer near you. Now, I wonder if the dealer can match the prices and save me the trouble of mail order and taking the tyres to him?

I'm replacing a couple of cheapo Korean tyres (Hankook) on my 9-5 and searched around a bit, including Mytyres and Blackcircles.com. Blackcircles could just about match Mytyres for fitted price at independant garage versus mobile fitter (Mytyres service). ATS have a November offer of "Buy one get one half price" on Michelin and Continental. For 215/55 R16, Pilot Primacy's are £240 for two and Conti. EcoContact CP's are £210 for two. Price includes valves, balance, fitting and VAT. Not bad I thought! Think I'll try the Conti's as I had them on my previous car, Merc. C230K, and they handled and lasted well. This choice will mean I'll have Michelin MXV3A's on one axle and Conti's on the other.

Will this cause handling problems?

duncanda: there is no problem with different tyres on front and back.....but, whooaargh http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif , NOT on either side unless you enjoy an, .......er, "interesting" life .

recent experience with my wife's car shows the Contis eco contacts not wearing well....although she is a bit of a hooligan.

New Michelins on my 9000 turbo (replacing the wrong size 185/65/15 Contis which were on when I bought it!!) have been a complete revelation . Thamesdown tyres in Swindon were by far and away the cheapest for 205/55/15s 01793 491700. And they know how to fit/balance tyres . No bull and no haggling, nice guys.

billthetractordriver

Thanks Bill.

My front Hankooks are down to 2-3mm and I feel that they "tramline" more than they used too. Also with big fat tyres and little tread, I can't see them cutting through snow when it comes. Hence the change.

Goodyear Eagle F1's from Micheldever tyres 205/50/16s are £81.70 a corner balanced and fitted. I'm on my way....

If you want Michelin Pilots then Costco seem to do them at VERY competitive prices - Michelin Pilot Sport (directional tyre) 205/55 ZR 16 for gbp 89.28 incl VAT. The price includes tyre disposal charge, new valve, fitting etc. They are a stock item. If you don't have a Costco card and are in the Manchester area, contact me direct.
Paul (Altrincham)

Thanks for the offer Paul. That's a good price from Costco. I'm going to buy a couple of Conti EcoContact's from National Tyre Service for £209 all in. They said they would match ATS's offer and they'll not charge me for checking the balance on the other two tyres, and you get Tesco points. Whoopee! That'll mean another trip to Tescos http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

duncanda,,if it is not too late
I would not reccomend cont's I had the same experience as bill's wife..mine lasted 7,000 miles http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif
I guess they are not compatible with saabs
The cheapest place for tyres in the lothians that I found is in bo'ness... viewforth tecs

7,000 http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

bad and expensive news matey!

billthetractordriver

Ok, still looking for tyres:

S-03's £175 for 2. Thats pretty impressive stuff!
company who sells these also rec. these:
tyres (http://www.marangoni.com/content.asp?L=3&idMen=148)

Looking at the website, they are 205X55X16 WR MARANGONI VANTO TYRES. He can do these for £130 for 2. What do you think of them? Anyone have experience of them? Not lookimng to go cheap-but website looks impressive!
cheers

Thanks Ylee. Following postings here, at SOC site and your posting, I came to the conclusion that nobody was recommending Conti's. So I'm going for Michelin Pilots, £239 for 2 all-in from National. Got a quote for same from Viewforth at £247 for 2. The £239 price is competive purely because of the current ATS promotion. National will match ATS. ATS normally want £320 for 2. That means in normal trading conditions the Viewforth price is great. I will remember them next time.

FYI, Saab in Edinburgh only wanted £135 each for Michelins. I tried Saab and an independant for Gislaved tyres, neither could get my size from the supplier. I noticed from Viking Tyres site that they don't import my size (215/55/16). Interesting given it's the standard tyre size for an 9-5 SE.

Cheers

I've been delighted with the performance aspects of my Gislaved tyres, which is better than the Pirelli P6. However it looks as if the front pair will need replacing at about 18k miles - but there again, I have been doing some rather spirited driving since I got them.

I've been delighted with the performance aspects of my Gislaved tyres, which is better than the Pirelli P6. *[/b]I agree with that having tried both.

Originally posted by Bunsen 248 (Gassy got lit up):
I've been delighted with the performance aspects of my Gislaved tyres[/b]And I'll agree with that too, having driven your car in the wet and not being able to spin the wheels. And it wasn't for want of power. http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

After trying mytyres.net I thought I would give my local (and very good) tyre emporium a call. Protyre are a chain, certainly in the SouthWest and wanted £93 all in for the latest Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD 3. mytyres.net were quoting £94 for the same tyre.

I can really recommend ProTyre and they are the only place that I've been to the actually torqued my wheel nuts up properly.

Sorry to burst the bubble but mytres.net are not over cheap,Also why fit a mickey mouse make tyre to your car " MARANGONI VANTO TYRES" http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif stick with a well known make as a matter of safety,you could save a few pounds on unknown tyres but it could cost you your life
My advise would be to to go to your local independant tyre dealer and speak to the manager and use the "How much for cash" or "Nah mate I have had far lower Quotes" approach as there is a large mark up on tyres.Got to be worth a try

Saabman - the Vantos tyres weren't any cheaper than Pirelli P6's....just wondered out of interest if anybody had experience of them - I would have though gisvaled (or whatever they are called) were mickey mouse tyres ('cos I have never heard of them!).....but people say they are pretty good. I completely agree about tyres and safety....just in case people are thinking I am looking for the cheapest scariest tyres available!

Sorry paulmanchester it wasn't meant to be a pop at you,It was just just a reminder to others that cheap tyres are false economy

My tyres do offer a few premium brands; Goodyear F1's, Michellin Pilots and Pirelli PZero's. Much cheaper than you'd find from quik fit as well.

CONTS,

I can only go but my own obervations here, my sons 900 16v ate Conts but i know he drove it hard (as they do) most places now will do a price match for you but only if asked!. this seems to have caught on from Comet & supermarkets but it's good news for us. most will also drop the price for more than one tyre so ask for this too.
my self, i had mich's on a Merc 307 van for years and they wore very well, then i changed to Fullar (may be spelt wrong) and these lasted just as well. admitedly the Merc was a van and not the BHP but i did the miles in it 7 days a week, with no problems. you could tell when they wore, it would tram line. FWD is always heavy on rubber but if driven with care most tyres will last some better than others, the ones to look out for are the unknown brands, most of the cars are doing a fair speed so i would go for good tyres & safety being first with ££ and wear second.
Remember, the next few months we will have the worse of the weather so rubber/road contact needs to be 100%.
Take care & enjoy driving http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif