When deciding to purchase tires for your vehicle you will be faced with a vast number of manufacturers, styles, profiles, treads, etc. Now you may be like many other people who assume that tires are all basically similar and go for any set that suits your budget.
In actual fact, if you take a little time to think about what you expect from your tires, the amount and style of driving that you do and the vehicle that you drive, you may find that there is a much better option out there for you that will improve the whole driving experience.
Every tire will have a specific feature, whether that’s a soft compound for better handling or a harder compound for those that do a lot of highway driving. You need to know what you want from your tires. So firstly you need to arm yourself with some basic facts. Things like what tire size does the manufacturer recommend for your vehicle, how many miles would you like to get from your tires (and how many would you accept), do you go off-road and therefore need an all terrain tire or would a standard highway tire suit you, do you have a tendency to drive fast and would a high performance tire suit you better, do you have a preferred tire manufacturer and how much your maximum budget for tires is. All of these things will help make sure that you choose the best tire for your vehicle.
Next call your local tire shop and discuss the requirements that you have just listed. They will give you a list of available tires and prices. You should then compare those prices, either by calling around all of your local tire shops or checking on the internet. If you are calling, make sure you ask if they have any special deals or promotions on at the moment. You may find that one of the tires in your list is on promotion, which could help save you money and make the decision for you.
When you have a good idea of the tires that you want to buy and from where, you should visit your chosen tire shop and ask them to inspect your existing tires and confirm whether you will need two tires or the full set of four. If you are reasonably confident that you only need two new tires and the mechanic states that you need four, ask them to explain why. A genuine mechanic will be happy to point out any faults with your existing tires that he has based his decision on. If the explanation given does not satisfy you then move on to the next tire shop on your list.
Remember when purchasing just two new tires that they should be fitted to the rear of the vehicle for safety reasons. This is the case whether your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive. If it is your front tires that are more worn, ask the mechanic to fit the new tires to the rear of your vehicle and rotate the existing rear tires to the front. Although this should be standard practice in all garages, it’s always better to be sure that it has been done.