Tire Fees: What to Know

Customers talking with discount tire sales representatives in a showroom

When you're on the hunt for a new set of rubber, a few fees are inevitable. We know it can be frustrating to see additional fees in your online cart or when you're finalizing everything at the register. Here's a breakdown of the fees associated with a tire purchase.

A part of our namesake is our commitment to low prices—which includes transparency and keeping our customers happy at every turn. That's one of the reasons we work so hard to have the lowest prices on our industry-leading inventory of tires and wheels.

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We know no one likes fees; we're not huge fans of fees either.

However, additional fees are state-mandated and go toward programs that mitigate tire waste. While we actively manage our inventory to pass as few costs onto our customers as possible, the tire recycling fees we charge are imposed by the states where we sell our tires.

On top of that, every state has different tire fees and fee structuring. Straight from our explanation of charges when you put tires in your cart online, the following is what you'll see if you're ordering from one of 40 states that impose tire disposal, recycling or environmental fees.

Environmental Fees

"Environmental Fees are state-mandated charges applied to new tire purchases. These fees fund research and development on recycling worn out tires."

The fact is that tires are, unfortunately, some of the least biodegradable consumer goods at the end of their lifecycle. These fees fund efforts to reuse and recycle old or worn tires. Read more about tire recycling and the environmental effects.

From shredding up old tires for use in asphalt or playground surfaces to synthetic turf for our sports fields, the end goal of researching more uses for used tires is to lessen what was once over one billion tires in the United States alone that had been improperly or illegally discarded.

Thanks to these tire recycling programs, the total number of littered tires has seen a drastic decline across the country over the years. Our communities benefit by keeping our environment healthy and free from litter, saving space in landfills and keeping our drinking water free from the pollutants that tires can pass on as they decompose.

Tire Disposal Fees

"The Disposal Fee covers the cost for a licensed regulated disposal service to properly discard your tires."

This fee allows for a disposal service or company to handle your old tires as they make their way to a recycling facility. These facilities and services have passed licensing requirements and are properly trained to dispose of these materials.

Federal Excise Tax (FET)

"FET - Federal Excise Tax (FET) is applied in the automotive industry on larger truck tires, inner tubes, gasoline and lubricants."

This fee is only applied with the purchase of generally very large truck tires and is calculated by the weight of the tire itself.

If you have any questions or require any assistance, stop by any of our Discount Tire locations and we'll get you taken care of! Customers who buy and book online save time in-store!