So 2016 just started and we thought that we should take a different direction on this blog and not just write about finance and investments but also other things that are intricately linked with finance. Now, the top things that are non monetary but yet related to financial well being are a) Health b) Sleep quality c) Driving quality if you drive d) work quality.
Of these, the points a, b and d are for some other day. Here we focus more on c. Which is the quality of your drive. Now, the car one owns by most accounts should be rather minimal unless you are into cars. So that translates to getting a basic Toyota or a Honda or a Ford. If you are into electric then again Toyota or Tesla seems to be the top options. Once you get a car, it depends on how comfortable you are with new vs used cars. For most parts, a used car is pretty good especially if you are relatively new driver or does not have much experience. A good car dealership or mechanic can vet your car and assure you of any internal rumblings. Then periodic oil changes and maintenance is all you need to make sure that the car easily tops the 200k mileage range that most cars post 1995 are capable of doing. But one thing that will require some annual check is the tire. If you do tire pressure check and constant air fill up, it should be good but there is also the whole tire rotation, re-balancing, winteriz-ation and summeri-zation and all seasons for the rest of the seasons. Now most people either go with all seasons tires or those with extreme weather take precaution to winterize the tires. That is entirely upto your local environment and it is not a bad idea to invest in these extra set of specialized tires to help you navigate the roads well. As a general thumb rule, if you are buying a set of tires or rather a pair or 2 pairs - go with something from different name brands and ideally go with 2 at a time. This gives some much needed diversification to the tires for your cars. However, there are also often advertised specials which cleverly give you 1 free tire if you purchase 3. I was always against such deals .. why not just distribute it evenly amongst the tires. Which is why I tended to stay away from brands which do such sneaky advertising practices. The top brands or rather their dealers do this very often. Of course the margin is very well built in:) .
Now the top of the heap is the Michellin, Goodyear etc which are pretty good and also expensive. But if you are going to drive in a bumpy road with nails, it really does not matter much as to which brands you go for nor does the bumpiness get any smoother due to some extra quality rubber padded on the wheels. Next up there are the Fuzion and Sumohito - both from same companies and a myraid of other brands in this segment. More or less they are all same. Just like computers in similar 250-500 range, they are just slightly different specs with not much variations so to speak. Then there are newer entrants such as Lexani or Veento and many others who price in the 40s-70s because they are new and want to capture market. I would not overlook them just because. I had used Fuzion in the past with mixed results. Twice my cars got nails on them and the tires had to be replaced. The best process would be just call up local tires and get quotes from them for 2 or 4 and keep them all ready. And go with what ever makes sense but in the tire business cheap does not mean less quality nor does expensive brands like Michellin automatically guarantee better ride experience. Of course for the extra money you pay the thread guarantee is there for 90,000 or 70,000 miles instead of 40,000 miles. But choose wisely. Either way does not matter much. There is a lament here that the tire dealers do not give a test drive for different drive experience which would have given the consumers a better chance to experience before making a decision just like cars or electronics or anything else these days.
An adjunct factor for this decision is also install. Now with mount, balance, environmental disposal fee and this and that .. usually the per tire cost is about double the initial quote. Now most of these are standard and mandatory. Except installation fee. Here Walmart quotes are way better compared to others. Here is a quick comparison per tire installation across various places:
Walmart: $12
Costco: $16
Sams Club: $15 with emergency assistance thrown in for free which is pretty valuable.
Average dealership: $12-$18 but these can be good and the quality and speed is often better than the above warehouses and you also get to know the mechanic better for oil changes and other work in future. With Walmart and Costcos do not expect a friendly service .. it is just assumed that you know what you are getting into.
The tires cost higher in Walmart and more so in Costco where they start in the 60s and 70s. Walmart and Sams carry from 50s. The others such as Sears typically fall in between. The install is higher with Sears at about 20 bucks but the quality is pretty good. I have had 4 tires brought and installed there in a specials promotions which Sears runs often. With that it is easier for Sears to beat its competition rather well. And in general they are very friendly and knowledgeable.
Some better online tools help you compare such as Yelp, Google Maps or really any online maps, bbb or better business bureaus, auto repair shops which do not change tires also have good info on reliable stores. Then it is just cold calling them and getting quotes in advance and then just getting it fixed.
