I need new tires but I'm clueless! Help?

My rear right tire keeps going flat and has gotten pretty damaged, so I want to replace it. My car is a Saturn (I think the year is '97).





About how much will a pair of new tires plus installation cost?





Do I buy a pair of tires and then take them someplace else to be installed? I'd rather make one stop.





Where is the most cost-efficient place to get it done? Saturn dealer? Sam's Club/Wal-Mart? Discount tire dealer?





What do I need to say to make sure they ONLY replace the two rear tires and don't rip me off? Or what should I look for when signing documents?





The bad tire has cracks all along the edges (and one thick one that scares me), but the tracking on all my tires is still good. Do you suppose they could just repair it and it would be cheaper?





Anything else I should know?|||First off, I would recommend that you look on the side of your existing tires to see what the size is for your car. You mentioned a 1997 Saturn, which is listed on the internet for the 4-door sedan as size "P175/70R14".





To be sure, somewhere on the tire (also written on a small sticker inside the driver side door), you should see something like P175/70R14 near the tire's brand name. It may be worn off if the tires are as bad as you mentioned.





The "P" means it is a passenger tire.


The "175" is the width of the tire.


The "70" is the height from the ground to the edge of the metal wheel.


The "14" is the diameter of the inner hole where the metal wheel goes.





Go to Sam's, CostCo, Walmart Automotive Center, or any other place that sells tires. Compare prices for your size of tires. There are many different brands and the prices will vary based on the size, brand name, and their performance rating.





Expect to pay anywhere from $70 up to $120 for a typical all-season tire for a Saturn. That will NOT include the cost of installing it, but some places offer installation free if you buy the tire from them.





They may also suggest balancing and an alignment. The balancing ($5-10 per tire) will make sure the tires are wearing down evenly. The alignment ($50) will help if your car has a tendency to pull to the left or right when you drive. If the tires are not balanced or aligned, it will reduce the life of the tires and lead to poor gas mileage.





Considering your message about the condition of your tires, my guess is that you will want to have the front tires checked as well to see what condition their tread is in.





I know that spending $400 or more on tires is not something anyone looks forward to, but you have to think about this...the tires are what is keeping your car on the road. If you don't have tires you can rely on to get you from point A to point B without deflating and leaving you stranded, or worse a blowout that causes you to lose control of the car and have an accident, then I hope that you are not driving around with kids in the car (or my kids in the car that you may end up hitting)!





Check out the discount tire websites on the internet to get an idea of what is out there and the costs, then you can find out costs in your area and see what they may offer you.





As for brands, I am a big fan of Yokohama and Michelin. I used BF Goodrich in the past and did not like the ride, Toyo wore out too quickly, and Goodyear is a great tire but can be pricy depending on what model you want. (For the record, Yokohama was also a bit pricy, but I was able to get Yokohama performance tires for my Saturn SC really cheap)|||I usually end up going to a discount tire store like Tread Quarters...they are pretty average price wise, and the price includes mounting and balancing.





Always look for included service, a lot of places charge extra for balancing...





No, you don't repair cracks or splits on a tire, especially on the sidewalls.|||Goodyear is best





you have say no to all the extra things, get balancing, pay the few bucks for valves, and balancing , and tire disposal, and beer for the tire changers, etc.





buy two. $200 or so





if there is no tread on the other two , get 4, ..$400





see if you can get one of them to use as a spare, its always nice to have a real tire as a spare, or two instead of that little runt tire





Firestone will try to take your whole car apart, thencharge you $2,000 to put it back together





The discount ones are always a crapshoot





I bought a brand new spare tire for $65 flat, last tire purchase





its in the trunk for when I get my next flat|||Ha ha noooo you dont buy them in one place, load them up and lug them to another place to install. Its all at once.





That one tire does sound bad. However, other than that, you should go by tread. If you can stick a penny in the tread Lincoln's head first, and it covers his head, your tread is still good. When you take it to a place like Sears, which I've never had trouble with, they will measure the tread, and give you a discount on new tires depending on how much life you have left.





If your tread is still good on all 4, just replace one. However, it isn't a bad idea to replace all 4 at once, because then they wear evenly if it is at an unsafe tread level.





Big O tires WILL rip you off, they will really try to get you. With Sears, it's all business, they dont' have any special incentives to make you buy more expensive tires.





Tires would cost something in the range of $300-$500, and improvements will include such things as deeper and longer wearing grooves, and sound improvement inside your car. Cheaper tires will have a noisy ride, and they look dirty really quickly. If you live in an area where it the weather is not too extreme, don't spend extra on tires that serve harsh weather conditions.





Above all, remember tires are one of the most important safety decisions you will make, right behind brakes. It's not really the place to save a few bucks, but you dont' have to go all out either.





For brands, try consumer reports. Some libraries keep that magazine on file.|||If you want the best tire that you can count on, buy Michelin. The best place to buy them is at Sam's Club.|||If you get a no frills set of tires, it'd be around 50 per tire, or 200 or so for the entire set for that car.





If money's an issue, they can see if it can be repaired, and if possible they will patch it up, if not, then that tire will need to be replaced.





If the rest of the tires are still in good shape, then just tell them you only want that one tire replaced. The process isn't as complicated as buying a car, you can more readily see the finished product and see if they screwed you over.





The only concern i'd have with replacing only a single tire, is that if it's not the same brand/size/model as the others, it may feel a bit lopsided.





I personally, if i had the money, i'd just replace the entire set for peace of mind, and less stress keeping track of specific tires and their life expectancies. And keep the old tires and take them home with me in the case that if one ever needs to be replaced in an emergency, i already have spares.





If they patch it up, from my experience, it'd be around $30. But if you know a little spanish, and know a small hispanic run tire shop in the area, they'll patch it up for a few bucks, and if you don't mind a used tire that's been retreaded, give you one (with installation) for $25.|||Your description of your tires is more than sufficient to warrant replacement, not repair. I would expect you to pay about a hundred to a hundred and fifty bucks for a pair of decent tires installed. You can get them cheaper, but beware. Cheap tires wear faster, or they are noisy, but in reality tires need to meet federal standards, so just because they're cheap doesn't mean they're unsafe. I would not go to the dealer. They are not in the tire business. They are in the service business, and they will take more of your money. Go to Pep boys, Sears, Wal Mart, someplace like that. I found the best deal on my last set of tires at Sears. They are called Goodyear Revelation. Tell them exactly what you want. Two new tires, mounted and balanced. They are not allowed to do more than you ask, however they will recommend extra work. That's called "up-selling". They work on commission. You are in complete control. Do not allow any work you don't want, and if they insist on fixing something that they say is wrong, get another estimate. Sears got themself into trouble for recommending unneeded work, so they are very careful now. Get two tires, have them put the new ones on the front. If you have a crap tire on the front, it has more of a chance of blowing, and you are much safer if you blow a back tire, and get a road hazard warranty so when you blow a tire they will fix it free. That way you will have no excuse for driving on junk tires like you are now. And for God's sake, don't let anyone put nitrogen in your tires. It's the greatest rip-off known to mankind. Air is more than adequate.|||Normally one stop, like Walmart, is best. You will want mounting, balancing, tire valves and disposal. If you have aluminum rims, you may also need to have them cleaned. Don't buy into any extended warranty plans, or extras. Simply say no thanks.|||i get my tires at wal-mart.i get douglas tires.they are good tires and i get alot of miles out of them,but i just buy them and take them to a tire shop to get them on.if the other tires are good,then you can just get 1 tire.