The long distances of Canadian roads and the harsh yearly winters wreak havoc on tires. While Canadians don’t wear tires out at a rate any different than their neighbors to the south, the long distances they tend to need to drive and the heavy urban traffic in areas like Toronto make tire replacement a necessary chore for any car owner. The problem is that tires are expensive, especially higher quality brands. Fortunately, clever buying strategies and patience can allow buyers to save hundreds on tires each time they need to replace them, regardless of brand or type.
The best way to save money on tires is to buy them out of season. While there is certainly an advantage in terms of selection when buying them in season, during the off season the lack of demand puts pressure on tire manufacturers and warehouses to ditch the old tires to make room for the new. Therefore, if your winter tires are too worn in the Spring to be put back on in the Fall, don’t buy replacements right away. Instead, determine what brand you want, and keep an eye on it during the summer months. Odds are you’ll find someone eager to ditch last year’s winter specials in the middle of July or August, enabling you to get a significant discount. The same is true in the reverse for summer tires; they are cheapest in the dead of winter. This, coincidentally, makes them an excellent Christmas gift for the gear-head in the family.
Another way to save money on tires is to buy proactively. Most people purchase new tires whenever the old ones wear out, simply snagging replacements when absolutely necessary. This is not only dangerous, since it may mean that a tire is allowed to wear excessively before replacement, it is financially wasteful. Tire repair and replacement shops know that a customer is in a rough place to negotiate when they have a worn tire and can’t drive the car home without a replacement. As such, they tend to jack up prices, or at least be unwilling to negotiate or apply a discount. In contrast, when a customer is buying tires they don’t immediately need, they are more able to haggle down a price or simply walk away from a deal that doesn’t look good enough. Buyers can thus make demands and shop around until they find a price they feel comfortable with.
Lastly a good way to save money on tires is to simply hunt around for a good sale when the current tires are wearing out and need to be replaced. Many tire centers, mechanics and even big box stores will have regular tire sales to rotate out old inventory or attract new customers. As such, careful searching around and patience when a tire begins to wear out, but is not yet wholly worn, can help to yeild significant savings. The internet is the obvious choice to look for such deals, although traditional paper and magazine advertisements are also a good source.
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