Tires: Tire Cupping, tire cupping, dodge neon

Question
Barry,

I recently took my 2003 Dodge Neon (80,000 miles) to Sears this last week to check my tires for vibration.  It turned out I needed 2 new front tires- fine.  I also asked them to balance my rear tires (which have MAYBE 25,000 miles on them).  The next day, the front of my car stopped vibrating but my left rear tire was making a loud roaring sound.  I took it back to get them re-balanced, and they said my tire was cupped.  They refunded my money because they said they shouldn't have balanced them anyway.  However, I had not noticed this noise until they balanced the tire!

How long does it take to be able to hear a cupped tire?

Either way, I need to fix my car.  Should 2 new rear tires and an alignment do the trick?  Any other suggestions?

Answer
Christy,

This is a tough question to answer because I suspect they took the front tires and put them on the rear - hoping to save you money - and they replaced tires that were worn more with tires that were more "cupped" and vibration  prone.  That obviously didn't work.

I think you need 2 more tires.