car tires

If you're a woman take a guy with you and go to discount tire. Say, I'm looking to buy some introductory economy tires. Pick the cheapest ones. The salesman will try to upsell you based on tire safety, stopping distance, driving on snow, highway driving, and stuff like that. Ignore the sales pitch.

Discount tire includes rotations and flats without an extra warranty. Go in every 7,000 miles for rotation.

Do not get the road hazard warranty. This covers side wall damage and ruined tires. The road hazard warranty basically charges you one extra tire to warranty all your tires. Then if you have to use the warranty they recharge you the warranty price on each tire. So in other words you're paying for extra tires every time you use the warranty. The warranty covers damaged tires.

Nothing covers misaligned or worn tires. You have to buy more tires.

Lingo:

Side wall: the part of the tire that doesn't touch the road. Damage requires new tire, even nails.

Shoulder: the edge of the tire that touches the road. Damage requires new tire. Kind of fuzzy though. Sometimes a nail can be fixed here.

Tread: part of tire that touches the road. Nails and small holes fixed in this part. Larger damage cannot be fixed, like hitting a curb hard.

WARNING: Any tire place will sell you expensive tires if you let them. That's how they make money.

NOTE: the number one Mom tire is probably the Michelin defender. If you want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside, pay tons of money and get that. If you want tires that will go the same distance, and be just as safe get the cheap ones.