Most probably, you are among the ride enthusiasts who would go to an auto store, buy trendy and sophisticated accessories without being too anxious about the cost. But that’s not the real thing happening in the market today. What’s really real is that most enthusiasts have become very smart tire and wheels shoppers. That’s true in the last couple of years. Yeah people car owners have become smarter that they would do the tire, themselves and do a research online prior to wheel purchase.

When we shop, we look for the best bang for the bucks. That’s right! Definitely, we don’t mind spending a little more if the tire or wheel is going to last longer. We will get into shopping for custom wheels later but right now let’s concentrate on tires. Let’s loom at an example. If tire A cost’s $50.00, tire B costs $60.00 and tire C costs $100.00 for instance. Tire A has a 40,000 mile treadwear rating however customers do not like it in the reviews. It rides rough and makes our car shake. Tire B rides better has the same mileage rating and has fairly descent reviews. Tire C has a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty and has good reviews.

Now, let’s talk about warranties. Let’s say that 60,000 tire wears out in 50,000 miles. Can I just go an get a new tire free of charge? The answer is NO. Tires are prorated. So just for a rough example the tire cost new $100.00 it now has worn out with 1/5 of its’ life left meaning that you can purchase a new tire to replace it and get a $20.00 rebate so it will cost you $80.00. However you still have to pay for the labor involved which is usually around $15.00. You also need to consider that the the other 3 tires are now almost worn out and if your car has ABS brakes you need to change them all not just one since it will change the circumference and through your ABS system off. So where are you now? You are back at buying 4 new tires at 40,000 miles. You could have saved your self $160.00 buy purchasing the discount tire.

Now let’s talk about reviews a little bit. tire reviews are very important and should be listened to. Sure most of the time the expensive tires will get good reviews. However I have seen many times that the cheap tires actually receive some really good reviews. I myself will buy a cheap tire if the reviews aren’t bad. Hey why not save some money and use it for other things such as gas for my car right?

So my suggestion is to go with what will save you the most money while satisfying your needs. do your research on tires and look into cheap tires as an alternative to the more expensive tires. remember cheap tires can also mean that you just saved money by purchasing your tires at the right time. Many people are shopping online for tires these days. You can really get some cheap tires by shopping online.

Saving money on wheels and rims is another area to look at. You need to ask yourself a few questions. First off am I running the rims in states where they will be exposed to salt? if so then you want to make sure they have a corrosion warranty, or if you live in one of the Northern states then run your custom wheels only in the summer. Many of us here in Vermont have Summer Rims and winter rims that have our snow tires mounted on them.

The next question you want to ask is how long am i keeping the vehicle? remember most rims these days will not fit your new vehicle unless you get the same make and model. Even in this case they may not fit so do your research.

Perhaps the last question should be how much do I want to spend on rims? The price of rims varies extremely. Your not going to get spinners on a steel wheel budget. So my advise is to shop for discount Rims. Many times if you do your rim shopping online you will find some deals. be careful of discontinued styles in case you ruin a rim you will want to be able to replace it. Discount rims are found all over the internet so shop wisely.