Cooper Discoverer A/T LT265/70R17 121S Tires - WHAT AM I MISSING?

[HandyCruiser]

I need a new set of tires for my 2003 Dodge Ram Quadcab. I've been running BFGoodrich Rugged Trails for about 15 years. But now they are hard to find and cost a pretty penny. Today I found these Cooper tires on the Walmart website and they are DIRT CHEAP. I know Cooper is a discount brand but they ain't bad. And these are 10-ply like the Rugged Trails. I just can't understand the low price. What am I missing?

They are $122 a piece at my local Walmart. Here's a link:

Robot or human?

 

[dwalme]

Not sure but they could be a closeout model and they are clearing out old inventory.

Tires are dated and the older they get the tires might not get sold.

Luckily for tire dealers customers rarely if ever look at the date codes when they buy new tires.

Big operations don't mess around and clear out the old stock.

 

[GKIII]

I also vote likely closeout model. I can't find any info for this specific model on Cooper's website.

As for Cooper Tire the brand, I like them and have been satisfied running their tires on most vehicles I've owned (except for the Scat Pack I no longer own) for the last 15 years.

Edit: Just noticed the "Only at Walmart"...which means Wal-Mart NOT Cooper warranties them...which may also explain the budget price. That's how the Wal-Mart exclusive Goodyear models work at least.

 

[KRField]

Go to discount tire and have them price match.

I saved $600 utilizing Walmart’s price on my 295/65/20 falken wildpeaks.


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[Wsmith]

I have a friend that uses these exclusively, He has put these or a similar model on all of his pickups and SUV's. When mine are ready for replacement this is what I will go with. That price is really low, but they are relatively inexpensive anyway.

 

[HandyCruiser]

After searching high and low, I finally decided this morning to get these tires. Nothing else even comes close to the price for these specs. The sale was off so I paid $136 per tire. Total with sale tax was a flat $595.00. I figure I will pay between $15 and $25 per tire for mounting and balancing plus tax.

The clincher for me was a trip to the new Costco in Little Rock. Arkansas has never had one before so my sweetie and I were excited to shop there for the first time. I was hoping they would have some deals on tires. It's the only brick-and-mortar or online place I hadn't tried. But their prices were not even as good as some local tire shops. Then I knew, the Walmart Coopers are the best deal out there by far.

 

[GKIII]

After searching high and low, I finally decided this morning to get these tires. Nothing else even comes close to the price for these specs. The sale was off so I paid $136 per tire. Total with sale tax was a flat $595.00. I figure I will pay between $15 and $25 per tire for mounting and balancing plus tax.

The clincher for me was a trip to the new Costco in Little Rock. Arkansas has never had one before so my sweetie and I were excited to shop there for the first time. I was hoping they would have some deals on tires. It's the only brick-and-mortar or online place I hadn't tried. But their prices were not even as good as some local tire shops. Then I knew, the Walmart Coopers are the best deal out there by far.

Tires are definitely a weak link in Costco's offerings imo. They carry only a few models and yea they aren't priced all that well. The only really good thing is the 5 year road hazard warranty that is attached to every tire they sell.

 

[HandyCruiser]

I got the new Cooper tires installed on Friday, August 13, 2021. I was supposed to get them installed at 8:00 am at the local Walmart, but only 3 or the 4 tires I ordered had arrived and the appointment I had made to have them installed on Wallmart.com was nowhere on the schedule at the store. The manager at the store said he would work me in when they arrived if they did. So I went back home. Around 10:00, I got another email from Walmart saying my tires had arrived. I called the local Walmart, and the manager said he had received them and we scheduled the installation at noon.



The local Walmart store didn't just get 1 additional tire. They got 4 more tires. So there were now 7 tires with my name on them. The manager asked me if I wanted 1 more tire as a spare. The spare on my truck had a date of 2002 on it. I told him I bought the truck new in November 2002 and had only used the spare 1 time, but I'm sure it's rotten. He made me a deal for the spare by taking off the cost of the mount and balance for all 5 tires.



So instead of paying for mount, balance and road hazard on 4 tires ($25 x 4 + $10 tax = $110), I paid for 5 road hazards plus 1 extra tire ($10 x 5 + $136 + $18 tax = $204). For the 4 tires I bought online, the cost was ($136 x 4 + $54.40 tax = $589.40). If I had bought the tires a little earlier while on sale, I could have gotten them for $122 each. But you live and you learn.



Some folks on the forum had wondered if these inexpensive Cooper tires were old stock. But according to the manufacture code, they were made this year. If the "2021" is actually the 20th week of 2021, that means they were made in May of this year. I know these Walmart Cooper Discoverers have been available at about this same price for several years now.



I'm very happy with the look and ride of these new 10-ply Cooper tires. They are definitely taller than the worn-down BF Goodrich Rugged Trails I had on the truck. It drives nice and straight and fairly firm, just like the BF Goodrich 10-ply tires did. I've already bought a 1.5" leveling kit I'm planning to install next Friday before I take my old Ram for an alignment, hopefully next Saturday.