Is replacing two tires a necessity, or an attempt to bilk customers?

[marcyinPA]

In general, when I go to some tire specialist store to replace tires on my car, they say that they recommend that all tires, or at least the two matching (front or back) are replaced. This is for a 4-door automatic sedan. No AWD.

Why? I have one bad tire. I want to replace the tire. My other tires haven't blown out, just the one. I don't want to pay for 2 or 4 tires when the other ones I have are still good. Is there a valid reason to replace more than just the flat tire? Or is it just an attempt to make more money?

Also, is it better to go to a tire shop, or a general repair shop? My old "guy" retired recently and I haven't found a reliable mechanic yet to replace him...

I'm PM'ing you....

 

[C.Ann]

My poor Dson-in-law.. I just went through this with him a couple of weeks ago when my DD went to use my car (the weekend they were leaving here for the season) and found that my front tire was flatter than a pancake..

I'm cheap - extremely cheap - and the poor guy had to tell me at least 6 times why I needed to replace both front tires.. He was very patient (thank goodness - LOL) and eventually "convinced" me of the need..

He calls me a couple of nights later to tell me that he found my tires online (exact same kind I have on the back) for a "pretty good price", but he was going to check one other online source before he went ahead and ordered them.. Then he tells me that the shipping (on the first site) was over $50 and I went nuts!!!!!! No! No! No! A million times no!!!

He's laughing - tells me to calm down while he checks the other site.. Found them there - same price per tire - but the shipping was only a little over $20.. YES!!!

He had a grand old time - busting on me about how "cheap" I am - - but in the end I knew that he would never steer me in the wrong direction, so I went ahead got the 2 tires.. So - yeah - it's the right thing to do to replace both at the same time..

And might I add, that just driving down to my mail box with that stupid "donut" about gave me a heart attack? Sounded like all the tires were flat.. Hope I never have to drive with one of those things on there again!

 

[goofyernmost]

I guess I need to clarify...if one tire is badly worn and the other is flat, then I advocate replacing both.

I had a blowout a couple of years ago on my way back from WDW. The tires were fairly new at the time (about a year old). I replaced the blown tire with a different brand and a different tread design. Both were all season radials. Absolutely no difference in handling or anything else, for that matter.

I don't understand the problem with the "donut" tire. I've traveled up to 60 mph on a donut, again with no handling problems of any sort. And the car was heavily loaded. Same car, same incident. In fact, if I hadn't known it was the donut I never would have been able to tell.

So...I am still not buying the absolute necessity of replacing both tires.

 

[cm8]

My poor Dson-in-law.. I just went through this with him a couple of weeks ago when my DD went to use my car (the weekend they were leaving here for the season) and found that my front tire was flatter than a pancake..

I'm cheap - extremely cheap - and the poor guy had to tell me at least 6 times why I needed to replace both front tires.. He was very patient (thank goodness - LOL) and eventually "convinced" me of the need..

He calls me a couple of nights later to tell me that he found my tires online (exact same kind I have on the back) for a "pretty good price", but he was going to check one other online source before he went ahead and ordered them.. Then he tells me that the shipping (on the first site) was over $50 and I went nuts!!!!!! No! No! No! A million times no!!!

He's laughing - tells me to calm down while he checks the other site.. Found them there - same price per tire - but the shipping was only a little over $20.. YES!!!

He had a grand old time - busting on me about how "cheap" I am - - but in the end I knew that he would never steer me in the wrong direction, so I went ahead got the 2 tires.. So - yeah - it's the right thing to do to replace both at the same time..

And might I add, that just driving down to my mail box with that stupid "donut" about gave me a heart attack? Sounded like all the tires were flat.. Hope I never have to drive with one of those things on there again!

, you had me LOLing at this... SMH