Car Tires?

I'll start by saying I know NOTHING about tires and only slightly more about cars (as in, I know I have to get my oil changed and fill it with gas, lol).

I have a slow leak in my front driver's side tire - I'm not getting new tires until the spring because in about a month I'll be having my winter tires put on. It doesn't make sense to buy new tires now (nor do I have the money) just to store them for 6 months. I'd rather pay the $1 every few weeks to fill my tires for the month. I've had the tires for three years now, they've been on my car for 2 years total (1 year all season, 2 years for 6 months after I got winter tires). They're at the point where they need replacing, even if the leak wasn't there.

If it matters at all, I have steel rims (or whatever they are if they aren't aluminum). I really don't know what kind of tires to get when the time comes to get them... any suggestions? They're on my car from about March/April to October/November. My car is a 2008 Aveo5 (hatchback) and I drive quite a bit (I'm at 757 000 k right now).

Any suggestions for a lower priced, good quality tire? Would it be better to get them now or wait until the spring? Are there tire sales?

No, don't buy them now if you're going to put on the winter tires soon. The rubber degrades even while in storage, so buying fresh tires in the spring would be best.

Small tire stores probably do have sales. I don't know what time of year they usually do that, but maybe if you go in to talk to the salesperson they'll tall you when the next sale is. I always buy my tires at Sam's Club/Wal-Mart, and they only have 2 choices for my size, so I just pick the one that looks best . I know plenty about maintaining tires, but I don't know anything about the differences between the brands or what kind of fancy features they have.

And I guess that's worked for me so far, because my car has 250,000 miles on it (I think you have me beat!), and the tires I have now are 5 years old and still look fine.

If you tire just has a slow leak you can always get it patched. Its pretty cheap, about $25 in my area. I know if you live near a walmart with a tirecenter they do it or if not any tire place will. I actually have to do that tomorrow with my car. Though, a word of caution, they may not be able to seal the leak depending where it is but I think alot a of places will check for free of a min. fee.

Discount tire will evaluate your tires and diagnose them for free.

When we had a tire issue, I called AAA and they suggested getting a can of sealant and using that temporarily. Couple bucks and works like a charm.

However, your best bet may be to go to Discount and check out their recommendations. Locally, they also beat Costco on prices for tires!

If you have them in Canada I also think a discount chain tire store might be your best bet. We have one in Ohio that includes everything even the front end alignment in the tire price. No laundry list of addons which I don't consider to really be additions because they are necessary when getting new tires.

Thanks, I'll have to look and see if we have that store here... I honestly have no idea, lol.

The leak isn't the only problem with the tires - the tread is getting pretty low so they need to be replaced anyways. I just filled them up with air, in the past two weeks the problem tire had gone from 31 PSI to just below 20 PSI! They always look squishy to me, even when they're full, but he notices when they're lower so I'll make sure he looks at them every time he goes outside.

If you have Kal-Tire there, they are pretty good, even Canadian Tire can do a check and quick repair. Call around, saves time and money.

Originally Posted by sk_pacer

If you have Kal-Tire there, they are pretty good, even Canadian Tire can do a check and quick repair. Call around, saves time and money.

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Canadian Tire charges $28 to fix a leak. We went in last weekend because one of our tires had a bad leak (filling it 1-2 times a week) and it had 3 nail holes in it.

Originally Posted by catlover19

Canadian Tire charges $28 to fix a leak. We went in last weekend because one of our tires had a bad leak (filling it 1-2 times a week) and it had 3 nail holes in it.

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Last one I had fixed was 30 bucks at the local Firestone dealer. Got told at other places to come back the next day - not an option because I live 30+ miles out of the city and I know I picked up the offending hardware in the city so went to Firestone where I know they deal with crabby, rushed farmers all the time. Had I figured I had a shot at making it home, I would have and the Co-op would have done the job for 15.00. All in all, 28.00 isn't too bad.

Getting a leak fixed is not that expensive. If you're not sure where its coming from, get a bar of soap and rub it real good on a wheel brush and get it into a lather and coat the tire. You'll hopefully be able to spot the bubbles. Discount Tire has always done mine for free if I bring them the wheel and have the spot already marked with chalk.

Also, everyone should own a tire-pump.

Throw one of these in your trunk, and check your tires at minimum once a month to ensure they are at optimum pressure, it can save a ton on gas and is important for safety:
http://www.amazon.com/Viair-00073-He...6306694&sr=1-5

Alternatively, for peace of mind you can get a little roadside repair kit which includes a pump (I have one of these in both of my cars, and a tinier version under my motorcycle seat):
http://www.amazon.com/Slime-Powerspa...306694&sr=1-24

Originally Posted by Willowy

No, don't buy them now if you're going to put on the winter tires soon. The rubber degrades even while in storage, so buying fresh tires in the spring would be best.

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Not necessarily, if you throw em in a big plastic bag out of the UV and extreme temperature changes, they can last a really long time without dry-rot concerns. Checked out some from a old 911 Porsche that were stored in an upstairs closet at my friend's dad's house for at least a decade and looked ship-shape... actually, I think the tires on my old 1990 Yamaha are pretty ancient too, heh.

I usually buy my tires from TireRack, as they seem to have pretty good deals and the reviews and customer ratings are very useful. BTW, you just missed the big labor day sale that discount tire had ($100 MIR even on cheapo tires... doh)!

If Df ever heard me say this he would kick me but when I was taking care of my cars on my own I always got my tires from Walmart. I basically said gimme the cheapest tires that fit my cat and then they put them on and all that stuff. Easy peezy lemon squeezy.

Now its a different story. Df goes thru a gerbillion types of tires because he will only buy certain brands and has to inspect the style of tread because I guess they make a difference in the ride of the vehicles. I kinda noticed the difference when we put new tires on the ranger. It went from crazy choppy to a semi normal ride. The Explorer is always smoother than glass.