Buying tires for your vehicle can be a tough task. How do you do it? Most of the time it’s been a year or two since you’ve done it. At Evans Tire and Automotive we have put together a few things that may help you with this process. Your tires are a very important to the safety of you and your family. At 60 MPH you are riding on 4 patches about 6inches by 6 inches. This is not a lot of rubber, so you want to make the right choice. When you are quoted a price for tires, find out what the price includes. Don’t be concerned with the price per tire. Ask what will it cost to drive away and what will I get when I leave.

There are a lot of ways to price tires, the most important number is the one to write the check for. Secondly, trying to compare tires based solely on the mileage rating of the tire is not accurate. Two tires with equal mileage warranties can give completely different service. All tires are not created equal. Thirdly, unfortunately as a consumer mileage warranties are the way that tires are compared. Be careful these warranties can be misleading. Some companies put mileage warranties on tires that are not supported by the tire manufacturer. If you happen to be in an area that the dealer doesn’t service, you may find that the warranty is not honored. Mileage warranties also require that you perform certain maintenance items periodically, such as tire rotation, air pressure checks and wheel alignment. If the tire wears out and it is determined that one or more of these criteria have not been complied with, then your warranty is void.

The next item is the treadwear rating. All tires have a treadwear rating. Unfortunately these numbers cannot be used to compare different brands of tires. In other words a 500 rating for a Michelin is not the same as a 500 rating for a Goodyear. It can only be used to compare tires within the same manufacturer. The fifth item is the speed rating of the tire. Most cars today have been designed with a certain speed rating of tire.

Most of us do not drive anywhere close to those speeds, however reducing that rating to get a cheaper tire can have negative effects to the safety of your vehicle as well as affect the proper operation of the ABS and Traction Control systems. As you can see, it is difficult to choose the correct tire for your vehicle. Considering all the safety systems such as ABS, Traction Control and Handling packages won’t work with the wrong tire. In closing, the most important way to buy tires is to find a salesperson or dealer that you can trust. That person can ask the right question to help you determine the right tire for your car.

At Evans Tire, we have been in business since 1972, Cars are our only business, so we know them well. Our current sales staff have over 75 years in the business which makes us the experts for helping you make the right decision.