Buying New Tires & Front End Alignment
This past February I knew it was time to start looking for tires for my car.
The first thing I did was took a photo of my tires to get the right tire number. Mine was P235/50R18.
I knew I also wanted to get the front end aligned.
When I first started this search four months ago I searched online for tire sales and tire coupons.
What I found was that if I applied for a Discount Tire credit card and paid for the tires using it, I would be eligible for a $60 Prepaid Visa card.
And, if I bought four tires I would receive a $100 Prepaid Visa.
Of course, I would pay the credit card in full the same month I charged the tires as I have no credit card debt and want to keep it that way.
During the last few months I've searched several places around my hometown and made several phone calls and sent mails looking to get the best deal on tires and a front end alignment.
My brother-in-law is an auto mechanic and I spoke to him about what I needed. He suggested someone who would do a good job for me and also be affordable.
My BIL was also the one to suggest Discount Tire to me a while back.
It pays to put out the word or speak with someone who is familiar with whatever it is you are needing in order to try and save some money.
Most of the places I called were asking $79.95 or more for a front end alignment, but I ended up paying $45 plus tax for mine thanks to my BIL who is involved in this type of business every day.
In case you're wondering, the place my BIL works does not do front end alignments or he would have done mine for me.
I did not jump on the buy four tires get $100 back in February because I did not need four tires. I only needed three due to a flat tire I had last winter when I ended up replacing the flat tire with a brand new one, bought at Discount Tire.
Since school is out right now this is the perfect time to get my car into the shop. So, today I took my car for the front end alignment and the mechanic said I definitely needed new tires.
So, after he was finished, I drove over to Discount Tire and bought three new tires and I charged them on my new Discount Tire credit card because they are going to offer me six months no interest on the purchase.
Now I have the money to pay for the tires in my emergency fund, but for right now I am going to take advantage of this interest free deal at least for the summer time while my income is lower than usual.
Total spent for three new tires was $606.15.
Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~
I had to admit I had sticker shock at the tires. In my neighborhood I live around over a dozen tire places. They sell tires for $25 each, install them on our car and take our old ones. My DH told me we will need to replace the rack & pinion on our car. We found one for $100. My DH will do the repair himself.
ReplyDeleteI too was sticker shocked when I saw the price, but the tires required for my car are large and therefore cost more. I used to get better deals on tires back when I drove a smaller car.
DeleteIt's hard to find tires for $25 around here, most often that would be a used tire and they can be hard to find. I bought a $25 used tire for my older car last year when it had a tire that was leaking constantly. We only drive it once a week to the garbage dump, so I did not feel like we needed the safety of a new tire.
My primary car gets driven a lot since we live in a rural area. And I am willing to pay the price for good tires that I know I can trust.
My daughter's car is much smaller than mine with only 20K in miles. When the time comes for her to buy tires they will be less expensive since she is driving a smaller car.
It's great that your DH can repair them himself. That will save you so much money over the years. My BIL saves us a lot of money on our cars whenever he can. And we know that every little bit helps. :)
I hope you have a great day. :)
That is something I have to do in the month of June. I truly hate the idea of spending so much money - but they will last me years.
ReplyDeleteGlad I found your blog!!!!
Thank you, Cheryl. I'm glad you found the blog too.
DeleteI totally understand about sending so much money, good thing they last so long. :)
Hope you have a great weekend.