13/05/2011: Would you ever put cheap tyres on your car?

For many people, the thought of putting cheap tyres on their car seems like a really bad idea. For others, it’s the only way to go these days – especially when you consider the poor economic times we‘re enduring and the cost of living in general. In fact however, the truth is that there are cheap tyres and cheap tyres out there and it’s well worth stopping for a moment and considering whether or not you might be able to get a better deal if you looked a bit more carefully at what is on offer – especially from online retailers. Even if you don’t need cheap tyres now it’s good to plan ahead.

The point I am trying to make is that cheap tyres can either be very inexpensive bottom-of-the-range products or a bargain clearance sale offer of a far superior product. I make this distinction because depending upon your needs you may be able to find cheap tyres of a far superior quality which will still give you the cost savings you want but will also give you higher mileage, lower fuel consumption and superior driving qualities. You may also enjoy improved road safety as well.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when considering cheap tyres is that everything is made to a price – that is to say at the moment it leaves the factory. After that, the price you pay for your cheap tyres will depend upon the cost of shipping, warehousing, distribution and retailing. Such is the complexity of these factors, you are bound to find somebody somewhere offering cheap tyres at a lower price – just consider all those supermarket ‘price matching’ wars that go on.

For the carful motorist, it’s often worth weighing up the pros and cons of paying the absolute rock bottom price for cheap tyres or paying a little more for something that will last longer, save money on fuel and perhaps reduce the risk of accidents and the subsequent extra costs that always follow on. So if you decide this sounds like it might be a good idea to you, how do you actually go about finding these better quality cheap tyres that will save you money in the long run?

In fact the best way to start is to go online. If you know what tyres your car was originally fitted with and you want to replace these with cheap tyres, you have two choices; look for the best deal on exact replacements, or check the size and specification details on the sidewall of one of your tyres and search for the best cheap tyres you can get. It’s easy to do this as most online retailers have search facilities that will enable you to find exactly the right deal within your price range. Remember too that on an older car, it may not be worth the cost of fitting more expensive tyres because they might easily outlast the life of your car. Buy your cheap tyres wisely and you won’t regret it.