What You Should Know About Buying New Tires

It’s easy to understand why pushing off buying new tires, especially as warmer weather rolls around, is something of which most car owners are guilty. Tires are the most important non-mechanical part of your vehicle. Poor-quality tires will tear up your shocks, leave your head pounding, and scare you witless on wet roads. Buying tires is no easy task, though. Rubber all looks the same, and tread doesn’t differentiate one brand from another, and every set of tires costs more than you’d like.

But whether you’ve budgeted $100 or $1000 for a new set of tires, it’s important to replace your tires when they get too worn. Here are a few simple tips to make the whole experience as pain-free as possible:

• If you were happy with your previous tires, go with that. Usually car companies have invested significant money to match (or design!) a set of tires that highlights the positives and smooths over weaknesses in your vehicle. It should be easy to find a replacement set! If you run in to problems finding an exact match, look in to something similar–your mechanic will be able to make the most informed recommendation.
• If you’re unhappy with how your car handles, either now or when you first purchased it, new tires can make a world of difference. Sometimes changing from an all-season to a summer tire, or a touring to a high-performance model (or vice-versa) can be a large enough difference to increase driving satisfaction.
• Research before you shop. If you know what type of tires you’re interested in, it becomes easier to explain what you’re looking for to your mechanic. If you find yourself totally lost in tire types, brand names, and tread lines, trust your mechanic!

When you decide to shop for tires, call us at Brown’s Automotive in Billings, MT. We have four convenient locations to help you get in, out, and back on the road safely, efficiently, and with the confidence that you and your car are in good hands.