Went to the mechanic shop to get my tires changed today. After about ten minutes, one of the mechanics brought out one of my tires to show me a massive bump in it, telling me that it's dangerous to use because it could blow while I'm driving. They said they could still put it on for me, but that I'd need to get a new tire ASAP to replace it. So I asked them how much it was to replace it, and they said they'd see if they could get a new winter tire for me at a good price. But then they checked the tread on all of my tires and said there was barely any left and it would cause slip while driving in the snow or on ice, thereby rendering my winter tires useless. So basically, I had to replace all four of my winter tires. I have no choice to believe them because I know nothing about cars or tires, but my winter tires are about six-years-old now, so realistically, I know it's about time to change them. I had just hoped they'd last one more winter. Still, they looked in their database and found a set of four "excellent quality" tires to fit my rims that were decently priced. And that's how I found myself going into the mechanic looking to spend about $40 for a tire change, and coming out with a bill for $640 instead. To console myself, I went for brunch with my friend Ying at Elephant Grind, and got myself an Americano and the Char Siu Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict. I'm still annoyed about the unexpected expense of having to buy new tires, but the Eggs Benedict were excellent.
Was the bump on "inside" tire sidewall?
ReplyDeleteDo you mean you went to have your all-season tires rotated? Or you own a full set of winter tires you needed swapped out for your "summer" tires?
Tires six years of age. How many miles? What kind of car do you have? Lots of highway driving in snow?
Which brand of tires? Which model?
Does the $640 include taxes and environmental / disposal fees?
Yeah, the bump was inside the tire; my rim is a little bent (I have hit a few potholes in the last couple years...) which is what likely caused this bump?
DeleteI had to get my all-seasons changed to my winter tires. Canadian winters start early! :P
My car currently has about 110,000 km on it. Not bad for seven years. I don't do a lot of long distances like road trips, but I travel an average of 50-60 km a day just for work. I have a 2012 VW Golf 2.5L. And yeah, lots of highway driving in snow!
The brand is called Valleystone, it's apparently made by a company in China called Triangle Tyre?
And yes, the $640 does include taxes and disposal fees as well as installation and tire balancing.
Potholes will do it.
DeleteSo. We have almost identical commutes. My daily driver is a 2015 Dodge Caravan. My mileage is much lower than average but I drove a winter beater from November until May.
And somewhat similar climates.
I live in Wisconsin where we test all the snowblowers and mittens and snowmobiles before shipping them to tropical places. Such as Canada.
Seriously, you are the only person I know my age who owns a set of winter tires. My winter beater (RIP) had winter tires. But it came that way. My minivan has all-season tires which I have rotated with oil changes.
There have been two instances in my life when I wish I had winter tires. Both involve driving the minivan in blizzards. As they say, it isn't the driving. It's the stopping. If creeping along at twenty-five miles an hour on forsaken county roads in the middle of nowhere for two hundred miles can be called driving.
The windshield wiper could not keep up with the snow.
At current exchange rates, $483 USD. Including mounting, balancing, taxes and environmental fees. You got a good deal. Valleystone is a decent tire.
I am surprised you didn't get the BTS X Kumho or Hankook collaboration tire.
A good deal especially if the tires are from a garage where you take your car for mechanical repairs, too.
I have not changed the oil on my cars myself for years. I take them in to the garage. It might cost a little more than a quick lube place; I think of it as an investment. Like when the engine seized on my winter beater and the guys did not charge me. They even let me keep it on their lot a couple of days until the tow truck from the donation place could get it.
Since I am not finding a new winter beater (I had my hopes set on a 1999 Suzuki Jimny 4WD but it had right-hand drive and a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Sport but almost 200,000 miles and looked it) so maybe I will get winter tires. And worry about new all-seasons and rims in spring.
Yes, Wisconsin definitely has similar climates to cities in Southern Canada. (But Winnipeg got their first blizzard a few weeks ago, and had something like 60 cm of snow. In October!) Lol, I would hardly call Canada a tropical place, though. Maybe Toronto in the summer. It gets up to 40C.
DeleteThat's crazy that I'm the only person you know who owns a set of winter tires. Almost everyone I know here who drives owns a set of winter tires. Maybe because there's too many people here who drive. (The Greater Toronto Area has about 6 million people.) Roads are almost always congested, and as you said, it's the stopping that gets dangerous without winter tires. Too many accidents in the winter, especially on major highways. I got into a huge car accident on the highway 12 years ago. I didn't have winter tires and my car spun out on to the highway because of black ice. Got hit hard by a pick-up truck. Caused my first traffic jam on the highway. I've learned my lesson.
I've driven through white outs during which my windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the snow. Scary as hell.
With the tires, the garage I went to searched their database for the best winter tire deals, so I didn't actually pick out the tires. The Valleystone was just the best deal they found for the quality. I really know nothing about tires. But, wait. There's a BTS collaboration tire?!
Weirdly enough, the garage I went to isn't my regular place. It's my backup place because my regular garage didn't have any available appointments. I've been there twice before, once for oil change/tune-up, and another time for tire change. But they really did find me a great deal for tires. I've actually always brought my car into a garage and never those quick lube places. I think it's a habit I got from my parents.
According to the mechanic, my all-seasons are nearly done for as well. So I'll need to look into getting new ones next spring. LE SIGH. I will let future Denise worry about that.