Car Tire Question

Updated on July 05, 2010
M.B. asks from Romeoville, IL
8 answers

My question is two parts. First- my husbands car has about 34,000 miles on it and one tire looks really bad. Do they all need to be replaced and is this normal for the mileage? Also, any suggestions on where to go for a reasonable price. This is not an expense we were thinking we were going to have this summer. Any ideas on how expensive this could be?? Thanks so much!!

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

Are you rotating the tires every 15,000 miles? They do need to be rotated or yes one tire could go bad. No, not all 4 tires need replacing. They may try to tell you that, but only if you have 4 bad tires do you need to replace all 4. Do your research ahead of time and know your prices and needs before you walk in. For an average small sedan, one tire should run about $60 - $65.

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N.M.

answers from San Francisco on

We buy our tires at Costco, and have had really good experiences with them. They might be willing to take a look at your tires and give you advice.

As far as I know, if the other tires are nearly new, then you could maybe just replace the one. But it's better if you can replace two, so you have even pairs on both the fronts and the backs. (In other words, if one of the front ones is bad, replace both front tires.) If the other tire of the pair is better than your spare tire, the tire shop should be able to put it in place of the spare for you. The tire shop will also know by your type of car (front wheel or rear wheel drive) whether the new pair should go on the front or the back, and they will move the older pair accordingly.

We've been replacing our tires two at a time on our car. They just seem to have worn differently front and back. A few months ago it was time to replace the back wheels. So we bought two tires from Costco (again), and they put the new ones on the front and moved the front tires to the back. Then a couple months later I ran over a screw and flattened one of them. Costco fixed it for free for me and put it back on the car and put the donut back in the trunk for me. I love Costco. :)

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M.P.

answers from Provo on

If the others pass the quarter test (put an upside down quarter in the tread and if you can see the top of his hair then you need to replace it) then I wouldn't. The only reason why I'd suggest doing all 4 is so that you will get a better price per tire. Most places give you a discount when doing all 4 or even 3 since a lot of people do replace just one. Replacing all 4 means that they should all wear down evenly so next time you can just do all 4 again.
Some places you can get the price of one tire down to $25 for a tire. But that's here in UT. I'm not sure about IL. And you can just replace the tread, but if it's not done properly you can do a lot of damage to your car. Or you can buy used, which I view it like a car seat. You don't know it's history so I wouldn't. Just search for a great deal, they are out there.

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D.S.

answers from Tulsa on

you have been given good info so far. the tire shop will tell you if the others are good. it may just be a bubble from overinflating which means just buy the one. the tire shop can also tell you if the wear is from front end problems. Don't take it to a shop that does both cause they may tell you you need front end work when you don't. go to just a tire shop. the good news is if it needs front end work and it is a new car which by the milege I would guess it is the warranty should cover it if you have one. Don't play around with bad tires it could cause you to have a wreck.

Updated

you have been given good info so far. the tire shop will tell you if the others are good. it may just be a bubble from overinflating which means just buy the one. the tire shop can also tell you if the wear is from front end problems. Don't take it to a shop that does both cause they may tell you you need front end work when you don't. go to just a tire shop. the good news is if it needs front end work and it is a new car which by the milege I would guess it is the warranty should cover it if you have one. Don't play around with bad tires it could cause you to have a wreck.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I suggest that you research and find the place that appears to give the best deal and take your car to them to look at the tire. Or take it to any tire dealership and get a diagnosis and estimate and then shop around.

Do you rotate the tires? The place that does my car's oil changes also rotate the tires. The tires wear more evenly that way. Also, if one tire is worn badly and the rest aren't you may have a suspension or some other mechanical difficulty that needs to be repaired before putting on a new tire. Otherwise the same thing will happen.

If the tires came with the car and your car was new when you purchased it your owner's manual should tell you how long the tires should last. If the tires are after market installed you should have a paper that gives that info.
Other wise go to the dealership that sells that brand and they can look at it and tell you.

I purchase my tires at Les Schwab but I think that they are only located on the west coast. One reason that I go to Les Schwab is that they will take off a percentage of the price of a new tire if the old tire did not last the amount of time it was supposed to last. They did this for me even tho the car's alignment was out of line.

The experts say that you should buy at least 2 tires at the same time and put them both on either the front or back, depending on whether or not your car is front or back driven. The reason for 2 tires is so that the car is balanced. If you have one new tire and one old tire the new tire will wear out sooner. At least I think that is the reason. Having only 1 new tire, if it's a different kind of tire, negatively affects your ability to control the car.

I've usually chosen to buy all 4 tires at the same time because even tho one tire is more worn out, the others are still worn and close to needing to be replaced. Four tires do cost less for each one than when you buy just one tire. I get 4 for the price of 3. I also pay attention to sales.

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H.B.

answers from Chicago on

Budget wise, if you can only do one than one it is. You can usually get 3 tires and the 4th free. Not sure what the current deals are, but check out Firestone, Discount Tire, and Pep Boys. I think tires run around 40,000 to 60,000 miles...I'm not sure. My dad liked to do two at a time and then rotate them when he got two new ones. A few years ago I had to get all four brand new. Recently the other car needed a new one, but could only afford one. Price wise, my tires run about $80-$100 each. I looked online and called for the least expensive.

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H.S.

answers from Detroit on

The best way to answer this question is to take it to be looked at; most places will look at the tires without charging you; if the one is really bad, get that one done first and make sure they are all inflated as much as they're supposed to be. Good luck! Try Belle Tire

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Go to Discount Tire. They are a good reputable place (at least the one we go to is)

The expense depends on your car and what tire you are putting on the car. I have a sport Mercedes and the front and back tires are different sizes. (BMW's are same way) I can't rotate my tires.

We just replaced my tires at 22,000 miles at $1500. I did purchase a top of the line tire plus they come with a warranty.

Before we got rid of the SUV, we paid about $800 for a set of tires. However, we never go cheap.....when it comes to safety, we don't skimp on quality.

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