We sat down to talk to the Service Manager at Bossier, a Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and & RAM car dealer in Hillsboro, TX. From that conversation, we learned about some “hacks” that you can use to save your money and reduce your risk of problems. Keep reading to learn about the “hacks”:
Keep them inflated:
First, underinflated tires don’t roll as easily and this drops your car’s gas mileage. If the tires are 10 pounds underinflated (which is common), your gas mileage will be 5 percent less than it’s supposed to be. By the way, important point: the right pressure to inflate your tires is NOT what the pressure stated on the tire. What you see on the tire is the maximum pressure. To find out what the pressure that you need inflate your tires to is, check your owner’s manual or on the sticker in your door jambs. It is recommended that you check your tire pressure once a week. Try Monday morning before you head off to work to get it out of the way, and stop on the way to work at the gas station. Just an idea.
Do not forget alignments:
This tip is common sense. If your tires show weird wear patterns (worn more on one edge than the other), get your car’s alignment checked out. This is very true if you get new tires, get an alignment too and protect the investment!
Purchase them at the right time:
Did you know that if you buy tires off-season that you can save money? That’s right, buy winter tires in the summer and summer tires in the winter. This might be important if you travel. It’s an easy thing and very few people do it! Just think about it, retailers need sales all year long and guess what they incentivize when products sell slowly? Off-season goods!
Shop around:
We hope you know that tires cost you big money. When was the last time you compared deals and prices from a number of vendors in hopes of getting the best deal? Many people don’t. They just go for whatever the local tire store says to do. Keep in mind, that there are always great deals somewhere when you’re tire shopping. Definitely look into the discount retailers as they often will have the best prices. Keep your eyes open for rebates also. Much like phones and computers, there are always new models coming out, so the retailers need to blow out their old stock.
Not all tires are made equal:
In areas that see winter weather, buy a second set of winter tires. This will help guarantee sure-footing regardless of what Mother Nature will send for weather. What many people do is get a second set of rims and they keep their winter tires and summer tires separate. While a second set of rims might be expensive, you’ll save money when you have your garage swap them over. Again, this is something to experience if you do travel in winter weather at all!