Buddy my point is that buying new tires from a reputable brand at a reputable tire shop is the safest option but prohibitively expensive.
Buying a used tire from the local pick and pull is more dangerous, but buying new tires at Walmart and having their techs pull off the rims, mount the new tire and balance it is what i consider the most dangerous.
For my wife's minivan which shuttles the kids around, i buy brand new tires every 2 or 3 years for about 1200$ out the door, last time it did that was 2023. For my malibu I call the two local tire places ive done business with and just ask them if they have a set of two and have them mount and balance them. They aren't mexicans but they are guys with teeth like tiger kings boyfriend.
I can usually get a tire with 80% tread for 50$ a pop and a 10$ install where the techs have gone as far to grind down a rim they told me had rim rash. That was on my old equinox, but that was a tire that was chronically deflating that i never had an issue with after that point.
I trust local tire shops more than i trust Walmart mechanics. Buy cheap get cheap, but in the great lakes region there are a lot of smaller mechanics who do better work for equal prices. I've bought dozens of used tires for my cars over the last 20 years and never had an issue.
My wife brought her van into Walmart once because she was afraid of my air compressor and i was out of town. The Walmart mechanics fucked up all of her tire sensors. When i returned home i took it to my pick and pull guy they found the issue and fixed and laughed at me for having gone to Walmart.
Its all anecdotal, but I trust my experience over astroturfed consumerist articles. You of course should trust me as much as those articles because I'm just some guy.
I would tier it like this
S- Spending 1-1.5k on good name brand tires at dedicated tire shop
B- Spending under 100$ per tire for used tires at a local mechanic you trust
F- Letting Walmart touch your car.
Don't you have to get the tires sent somewhere when you buy from a wholesaler?
No, you can have them sent to your house, some people still have tire irons and can do their own peel and mounting, not many have a balancer. Typically you're gonna have to take them in and spend 50-200$ on just the install for a set of 4.
To put a bow on it i dont risk my kids transportation on used tires, but I certainly risk my own.