Clark's Big Book of Bargains (32 page)

CHAPTER 8
CARS

In my previous book,
Get Clark Smart,
I wrote about how to buy a car. In this book, I’ve focused on what to do once you own the car—how best to protect your investment, although I use the term
investment
very loosely, because a car, since it loses value over time, actually is the opposite of an investment. It’s a lifestyle choice. But there are decisions we make about our cars that can cost us, perhaps a little, perhaps a lot. If we do regular maintenance to keep our cars running well, that minimizes the cost of repairs and can give us years of affordable extra life from the car. If we handle repairs correctly, it can save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

I hope you find this section very useful in helping you stretch your car dollar, and maybe even stretch its life.

* TIRES *

You might not think about buying tires for your car on the Internet, but it can save you a tremendous amount of money, depending on the kind of car you have.

My TV producer, Greg Turchetta, didn’t believe that you could save by buying tires online. So we did a TV piece on it, and after our research he went from being a complete skeptic to an absolute believer. He surveyed people about what kind of car they had and what kind of tires they needed, and the price differences were gigantic.

You’ll save the most money on the Web if you’re buying tires for a luxury vehicle or a performance car. You may not save much if you’re buying for a traditional large-production car like the Honda Accord. The more unusual the vehicle, the more you’ll save. Always comparison shop, so you’ll know a good deal when you see it.

When you buy tires over the Internet, you can have them shipped to your home or to the place you choose to install them. I ordered my tires from Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com), had them shipped to my house, then put them in the trunk and took them to the shop that installed them. These Internet sellers find installers who are willing to make their money only on installation—that’s where the real money is in tires anyway. I looked up an installer near my house on Tire Rack’s Web site, had the tires installed, and then picked up the car. It’s really not any more inconvenient than buying from a tire store, which often will have to order the tire you want. What’s the difference between ordering from a tire store or ordering online?

My wife’s Acura requires tires with a high-performance V speed rating, and they’re quite expensive. But the savings at Tire Rack were shocking. I bought a set of Bridgestone RE88s that were just $78 each, compared to $115 with my buddies at Costco. The installer charged $15 a tire for mounting and balancing. Interestingly, there was less of a price difference with Michelin’s high-speed tire, the XGTV4, which was $118 at Tire Rack and $129.99 at Costco. What really stunned me was Tire Rack had a special on another V-rated tire, a Yokohama brand, for just $43 a tire. That’s unbelievably cheap for a high-speed-rated tire. I may buy a set and store them for when we need to replace the Bridgestones. The bottom line is you can save by buying online and you can save even more if you’re willing to shop around looking for a deal.

It may surprise you to learn that with tires there is no relationship between brand name and quality. So even though Michelin has those great commercials with the baby sitting in a tire, Michelin tires aren’t necessarily safer than other brands. For example, the
Wall Street Journal
reported that one type of Michelin tire, the XH4, failed a rigorous test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The test was designed to see if existing tires could meet proposed new government safety standards. Most of the tires—ten of twelve—would meet the proposed standards, according to a consultant hired by the newspaper.

Consumer Reports
tested a wide range of tires for braking, handling, and traction, and found several of the economy tires it tested did nearly as well as premium tires, for up to $40 less per tire. In its rating of tires for cars, for example, it gave high marks to the economy Uniroyal Tiger Paw ASC ($33) for great handling, and to the Kelly Navigator Platinum TE ($55) and the Yokohama Avid Touring ($50) for all-around driving.

It sounds simple, but you have to have the correct tire for your car, and you can’t always figure out what that is by looking at the existing tire. Lane’s Acura wasn’t riding well because it repeatedly had the wrong tires. Make sure you get the right size and speed rating, which you should be able to find on the door jamb, the glove compartment, or the fuel door. If you’ve ever wondered what those numbers and the ones on the side of the tire mean, here it is: If the tire says something like P195/60R15, that’s the size of the tire. The P means it’s a passenger-car tire. The first number, in this case 195, is the width of the tire in millimeters. The last number, 15, is the diameter of the wheel in inches. The R means radial-ply construction. The 60 means that the sidewall height is 60 percent of the tire’s width. The tire might also say 90H. The 90 stands for the maximum load the tire can carry, in this case 1,312 pounds. The “H” is the speed rating, or the maximum speed the tire can go. H is 130 miles per hour. Other speed ratings are S (112 mph), T (118 mph), V (149 mph), and ZR (150 mph or higher). While it’s illegal to drive that fast,
Consumer Reports
says that tires with higher speed ratings handle better at normal highway speeds.

When I buy tires, I look for the tire that is the right size and speed rating—and costs the least. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and
Consumer Reports
data tell me that just because a tire is a well-known brand like Michelin, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the best tire, or even the safest. In the absence of proof that one tire is safer than another, price is the standard I follow. I don’t worry about the tread-wear guarantees, because my experience has never matched the claims. As best as I can tell, that’s for marketing.

If your tire is shot and you have to replace it, put on a tire that matches the other three, otherwise the car won’t ride right.

It’s also important to maintain your tires at the right pressure. That was one of the problems in the huge Firestone recall of SUV tires.
Consumer Reports
says tires can leak air over time. Its tests showed tires lost an average of 4.4 pounds per square inch of pressure over six months. Use a tire gauge to check your tire pressure, when the tires are cold, each month. You’ll find the correct pressure on the door jamb or the fuel door.

Don’t overinflate either. My co-author, Mark Meltzer, was on a trip to the Northeast one winter and stayed overnight in a motel. It was very cold out, and in the morning, he noticed that one tire looked low. He added air without checking the pressure, and when he got back on the road, the overinflated tire heated up and the pressure grew, causing a blowout. Mark had to put the limited-service spare on in the middle of a snowy median, then buy a new pair of rear tires. It made for a very unpleasant road trip.

Other things to keep an eye out for, according to
Consumer Reports,
are uneven wear, which could mean poor alignment, brakes, or shock absorbers; and tires that have cuts, bubbles, or bulges, “which could mean failure is imminent.”

If you don’t buy your tires on the Internet, the places to turn for the lowest prices are the warehouse clubs. There are some drawbacks, though. They have a very limited selection compared to traditional tire stores, and wait times can be frustrating. People often line up at the warehouse stores on weekends before they open, then rush to the tire counter to beat the other customers. Within minutes, wait times can soar. But the prices are excellent. I solve the problem of long waits by leaving the car and picking it up later, rather than waiting in the store for the tires to be installed. I don’t want to turn a year older waiting for tires to be installed.

When you shop for tires, always ask for the “drive-out price,” because the cost of the tire is only one component of the purchase. There’s also the cost of mounting and balancing the tires, which can be vary tremendously from one place to another, and there may be other charges. So you could find that a tire costs $49 at one shop and $59 at another, but the final price is more expensive at the shop that charges $49.

Costco and Sam’s Club charge around $7 a tire for mounting and balancing, or $28 for four tires. Other tire shops can charge as much as $18 a tire, or $72 for four tires. That’s a lot of money.

The tire business is dominated by regional stores that advertise heavily in their areas. There’s no way these chains can win on price, but they can win by offering faster service or other services. Some shops will repair your damaged tire for free, even if you didn’t buy it there. You can just walk in off the street and they’ll fix it. It’s a marketing gimmick. They’re hoping that when you buy tires next time, you’ll remember how nice they were to you.

• Tips on Tires •

• Consider buying tires on the Internet for potentially great savings.
  

• If you don’t buy on the Internet, the places to turn for the lowest prices are the warehouse clubs.
  

• Government and
  Consumer Reports
  tests show that premium brand-name tires are not necessarily the best in quality.
  

• Buy the correct tires for your car. The right size and speed rating should be on the door jamb, the glove compartment, or the fuel door.
  

• Check your tire pressure monthly when your tires are cold.