Tips when Buying Tires

Shopping for tires requires careful tire inspection. The safety mechanisms of any vehicle heavily rely on tires. Steering and brakes, directly apply on them. Shopping hastily may result to unfortunate scenarios.

Be a responsible car owner and exert twice the effort when choosing the tires of your cars. It is not that hard anyway. We now live in a world where car owners are fortunate because they can ask for information about tires as much as they want thanks to the disclosure requirements under federal law.

So before heading out to shop for some new tires, bear these tips in mind.

1. Meticulously inspect the sidewall of new tires before making a purchase. Sidewalls of tires are very important because they necessary information about the different tire specs including tire design, construction, and quality. The value for tread wear is also embossed on the sidewalls of new and used tires. They are usually in percentage, which allows you to relatively compare one brand of tires to other brands. It does not, however, provide absolute estimate of miles of wear.

2. Check the sidewall for the Department of Transportation markings. Department of Transportation markings usually come before the tire serial number. For new tires and used ones, these markings indicate that the tires are manufactured in compliance with state-regulated standards.

3. Look at the tire serial number when tire shopping because these digits provide important information about tire production. The first letters names the manufacturer, while the last digits indicate the date of production. For example, the number 219 indicates a tire was produced in the 21^st week of 1989. You know an automotive tire shop is bluffing you if they say that the tires are newly made, yet the production date states otherwise.

4. Choose new tires that are not older than three months old. Tires that are stocked for longer periods of time degenerate rapidly. This is why most of these tires go on sale.

5. Never attempt to shop to unknown automotive tire sellers especially if you are in a tight budget and shopping for used tires. When in doubt, it is always best to consult your automotive mechanic in the repair shop you regularly go to. There are a lot of stores and tire shops selling used tires these days, but nothing beats the experience of getting advice and buying items from reliable sources only. But if you can afford it, shop for new tires instead. With new tires, you don’t have to worry about issues of past tire owners.

Clarke Automotive Systems
131 Central Drive, Brandon, FL 33510
(813) 685-2939
http://www.clarkeauto.net/