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Purchasing Hankook H727's from Sears

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by ctmurray, Dec 13, 2009.

  1. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    I wanted to relay my purchase of the highly rated Hankook Optimo H727 tires. I wanted these as they were highly rated by Consumer's Report in Nov 2009, in particular they were good in snow. It is winter here now with plenty of snow. And the process was longer than expected so I thought I would share.

    Sears is one of the few that are listed as selling the Hankook line in my area. I called the Sears Auto Center and discovered the tires would have to be ordered. Turns out they can't order tires for your car unless you use a Sears credit card. But you can go online and order the tires from the web site using another credit card.

    You go to the web, find the tires you want. The button to get a price or place the order actually says something like "click to speak with an agent". You click the button and a form pops up and you give them your phone number. They call you when they have an agent to discuss, which happened quickly.

    The process of ordering online from Sears was fine. They get all the standard information. Because the Hankook tire is not offered in the original size (185/65) you have to get a different size (195/60 is a good match for the # rotations per mile) but they had to look up some information to confirm this was allowed.

    The tires took 5 business days to arrive and the Sears called me today (Saturday) so I drove in today at 10:30 am. They give you a quote of 1 hour (in fact they have a banner stating a policy of 1 hour for a tire change). This Sears is next to a mall so we went shopping. At time = 2hours they called to discuss some detail about the stems (they install some special stems?). So they were just starting the tire install - as I had to okay the extra cost of the stems. It then took about 1 hour to install (I watched them install - on and off while popping back into the Sears tool section of the store). I was okay with the time, I figured the 1 hour quote was unrealistic given the other cars in the bay. I had brought my wife and she was tired of shopping and a little upset.

    So overall not bad, not great. I got the tires I wanted and up until the installation things ran rather smoothly. There are some other threads where people are reporting on the performance of the tires, and they seem to be happy. I will also post as I get more mileage on them. The drive back from the store was fine.

    The cost was $482 from the Sears online order (4 tires, balancing, stems, old tire disposal). They got another $37 for these special stems (the online order included some standard stems but this Sears installs a higher grade, more resistant to corrosion. Still need to investigate these). To be fair, when I called the local Sears their quote was higher than the online Sears, and probably included the more expensive stems and the online people don't know that this Sears always uses these more expensive stems.
     
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  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I tried to help my roomate buy them for his 2003 Corolla today but everyone was out of stock on them. Sears, Tire Rack, America's Tire Company etc.. :( He needed tires bad so we just settled on the Bridgestone EP-100s, $376 shipped form Tire Rack but he'll do the mounting and balancing himself.


    Let us know what you think of the H727s. They ranked pretty high in the CR tests and the price is nice. :)
     
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Thanks ctmurray for sharing your experience! Very useful info.

    Yes, the Hankook Optimo H727 is presently a little hard to find because of Consumer Reports' stellar review of it (it really seems to be THE tire to get if you need a 4 season tire that performs well on snow and ice) and because it's relatively new and cheap (half the price of Nokian WRG2!!!).

    * * * * *
    Speaking of prices, I see the following prices for the 195/65R15 or 195/60R15 sizes (but right now, these vendors may or may not have the size you need in stock):

    Discount Tire Zone - $63 per tire (presently completely out of stock)

    Tire Rack - $75 per tire

    Sears online - when I first saw it listed, it was about $82 per tire

    1010 Tires - $120 per tire (what a rip!)

    At these prices I figure I can get a set from Tire Rack for $300, plus $35 shipping, plus $60 installation at the local tire installer where I would get the tires drop-shipped to, for a total installed price of $395 (no tax or tax included).

    * * * * *

    Curious:

    Why did you get the 195/60R15 size when the Gen III / 2010 Prius OEM size is 195/65R15?

    The 185/65R15 OEM size you mentioned was OEM for the Gen II Prius (but yes, 195/60R15 would be the size closest to it).

    Also sounds like Sears charged you for stems you may not have needed?
     
  4. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    I have a 2007 Gen II Prius - that got the tires, and a new 2010 which is listed in my signature. Good catch, I spent quite a bit of time checking out the best alternative size and I even think a web post of yours lead me to the correct size.

    The stems are either a good idea (they are suppose to be better resisting corrosion) or sound like a good idea in my climate but really the original stems would have been fine. I decided not to argue with them, they indicated that they put these on all tires they sell (so I am getting the same "treatment" as everyone else). I have never had an issue with stem valves (I always keep the little plastic caps on). But, this car will be getting fewer miles now that I have a new Prius, and these tires will be on the car for a long time, so I guess these valves might be worth while.
     
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  5. raholco

    raholco Ailurophile

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    Too bad the Optimo isn't available in the Gen II Touring size...
     
  6. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Except for run-flats, very few tires are available in the Gen II Touring Edition OEM 195/55R16 size.

    But you can consider getting the next closest size 205/55R16, for which a large variety of tires (including the Optimo H727) are available. Quite a few Touring owners have done so to get the tires they want.

    FYI, Tire Rack sells the Hankook Optimo H727 in the 205/55R16 size for $103 each (they have 2 sets of 4 available now):

    Currently Available Prices and Sizes
     
  7. raholco

    raholco Ailurophile

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    My question would be what the impacts are (both good and bad) in getting that additional 10 cm.
     
  8. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    People say here that the handling improves, possibly the gas mileage goes down (some see no change). You can calculate how your speedometer is affected Tire size calculator.
     
  9. cthindi

    cthindi Member

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    I am not finding Hankook optimo H727 anywhere. Sears has Optimo H418 which is a performance tire at similar price. But same consumer reports review puts it at the bottom of the pile.

    I am thus contemplating between Michelin Energy Saver AS or Michelin X Radial from costco. Probably I will go with X radial for relatively better snow traction.

    I usually work from home when it is going to snow. But usually end up driving in snow a 2or 3 times every year. Area around has ups and downs. I have been close to getting stuck up in my earlier car Honda Accord with Michelin Energy MVX4. I was able to spin my way out burning a little bit of rubber. This is my first winter with Prius and whole thing with traction control does concern me.

    Also my experience with tire Service from Costco is much better than at Sears. By the time you are done shopping tire rotation balancing is usually done. Only time I have had to wait or postpone the service was when their coupon was about to expire.

    Other thing I do not quite understand is how does Traction control protect HSD. I can understand traction control would help eliminate sideways movement when one tire is gripping and other is not. But when both tires are rotating at least for HSD it should not make any difference whether the car is moving or not.

    Sorry about a little diversion in topic.
     
  10. bufffy21798

    bufffy21798 Junior Member

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  11. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    TireRack.com has it in stock in the 195/60R15 size (9 sets of 4 left) for $75:

    Currently Available Prices and Sizes

    And Gripston.com has it in stock in the 195/60R15 size for $74.14 with free shipping:

    http://www.gripston.com/search?q=195%2F60%2F15

    Me neither -- even when several engineers here explained it to me. Something about the planetary gears of the HSD system.
     
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  12. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    As mentioned the Sears I went to did not have them either, I had to arrange to have them ordered to the Sears store.
     
  13. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    does sears charge extra to order the tires?
     
  14. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    Not specifically - so there was no "internet order charge". Presumably they have to ship tires to the store even if I had purchased ones off the rack.

    The itemized items were (below are each)
    4 tires - 96.96
    4 charges to dispose of old tires - $2.00
    4 tire balance - $11.25
    4 valves - $2.99

    But also I had to pay $37 extra for better valve stems.
     
  15. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    I was under the impression that valve stems weren't replaceable... Since they're built into the TPMS... unless you don't have TPMS?
     
  16. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    I do have TPMS. And I don't know more about them. They showed me a TPMS with this special stems (sort of demo unit, not mine). I may have been taken, I know so little about this and was not ready for the question.
     
  17. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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  18. ctmurray

    ctmurray Member

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    But I went out looking further and replacement of the stems is allowed and sometimes recommended. Tire Review - Selling Safety: TPMS Valve Stems and Service More Than Just...

    I think the selling point in Minnesota is all the opportunities for corrosion.
     
  19. biota

    biota New Member

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    A local supplier had these for $81 a piece installed, so Discount Tire matched their price (I used them because of better warranty coverage and service + familiarity w/ TPMS), which came to $324, plus tax.

    Would anyone care to relay their experience after driving on these for a little while? Especially in the mpg department? Having to change to a slightly wider tire, i would expect a slight hit in mpg, although "chinna" reported a near flat line transition.