5 Ways to Save Money on Tires

What’s the difference between Goodyear and Goodrich? Isn’t the answer obvious? No? You’re not alone – the difference isn’t clear to everyone. Unfortunately, knowing more about your tires is more important than you may expect! Besides safety concerns, knowing about tires can also help in saving you money. Well, here are 5 ways to save money on tires:

Only Buy Tires When You Need Them

You would be surprised how often people buy tires when they don’t really need them. Local mechanics are partly to blame for this, as they are always advising their customers to change their tires. Check for things like serious punctures, tears/cracks, tread depth and things like that. Only purchase new tires if you are convinced that your tires are worn out. In addition, you should confirm that all the tires need replacing before replacing them. There are cases where only one or two tires need to be replaced. As a side note, it is good practice to rotate your tires every 10,000 kilometers (around 6,300 miles) or so to encourage even wear.

Don’t Restrict Yourself to Local Shops

One of the mistakes people make is to restrict their tire purchases to their local shops. When you need a tire, you should shop around as much as possible. There are

• Local shops
• Car dealerships
• National chains
• Internet tire vendors and many other places from which you can purchase a tire

All these sellers will have different prices for their products, and the trick is to identify the one with the best price. By all indications, online prices tend to be lower than other stores, but don’t just buy automatically from the Internet. You have to factor in things like fitting and shipping costs, which can push up tire prices considerably. Point-S website, for example is reliable source for buying tires online.

You Don’t Have To Buy High-Performance Tires

Why are people so obsessed with performance, even if they don’t need it? You will find many shoppers opting for high speed tires when they rarely hit the highway speed limit. Does it matter? Yes, it matters because high performance tires attract premium prices. It doesn’t mean that you have to go for the cheapest tire available; it just means that you should buy the right tires for your car and driving habits. Do you need:

• High-performance tires
• All-terrain tires
• All-season tires or
• Run-flats?

Well if you do, buy them. If you don’t need them, then just buy the normal tires and save yourself some money.

Know When to Shop

As a smart shopper, you should know when to buy your tires. For example, different car tire manufacturers and dealers often have sales and discounts at different times of the year. Once you know when these sales occur, you can easily buy your tires at discounted rates. You should also be on the lookout for different offers like ‘buy three and get the fourth one free’ to save you money. In addition, you can also look for coupons/vouchers, which are always available if you know where to look.

Negotiate

Most places have an option for negotiation, even if they don’t say it upfront. It doesn’t hurt to ask, even if it is refused. Some sellers will listen to you if you show evidence of a lower price from a competitor at the same level. For example, a local shop may lower prices on evidence of a cheaper price from another local shop.