As with any significant investment, you may wonder whether you should purchase a warranty to protect your new tires. After all, you’re probably purchasing them with the assumption they’ll last for years. If something unexpected happens and you need to replace them sooner, that’s a significant expense you may not have budgeted for. Should you buy a tire warranty? There’s no right or wrong answer. Before you decide what’s best for you, read on to learn the services included in a road hazard warranty and circumstances that may void your warranty.

If you’re like most drivers, your knowledge about vehicle tires is limited. However, when it comes time to replace the tires on your car or truck, knowledge is power. Before you go tire shopping, take time to evaluate your driving habits, the environmental conditions your tires likely will be subjected to and your budget. The adage, “you get what you pay for,” certainly applies to tires. Sure, even the cheapest tires will suffice to get you from point A to point B, but skimping on quality will affect your ride quality and, more importantly, your ability to adeptly handle your vehicle.

They’re black, round, your car needs four of them (plus a spare) and sometimes they need to be replaced. That sums up many peoples’ knowledge of tires. If the sea of options at your local tire shop is overwhelming and the meaning of the letters and numbers on your car’s tire walls is a mystery to you, read on to learn how to decipher the information found on your tires. Once you know what the information means, you’ll find it much easier to shop for new tires.

You could drive the priciest performance car out there, but if its tires are substandard, your ride will be substandard too — not to mention potentially dangerous. Most people don’t think much about their tires until a dashboard light indicates they’re low on air, they discover one is flat or they’re riding along and have a blowout. The best way to protect against this last worst-case scenario is routinely inspecting your tires for wear and damage.

If you’re like most car owners, when you a buy new car, you don’t pay for it upfront with cash. Instead, you finance it and make monthly payments over the course of years (on average, most car loans are for a five-year term). The two most popular sources for financing your next car purchase are commercial banks and credit unions. Read on to learn the pros and cons of credit unions vs. traditional bank loans for vehicle financing.

A decade or so ago, shopping for motor oil was fairly straightforward because few options were available. Essentially, all you needed to know was what viscosity your car required (5W-30, for instance) and you were all set. Since then, cars have changed and motor oil has changed with them. Today, many car makers have unique oil specifications (special blends they require to be used in their vehicles). General Motors’ newest generation of oil specifications, Dexos, is a consolidation of five previously-recommended oil specifications for GM vehicles. 

Until recently, the process of car shopping was not for the faint of heart. Shifty salesmen, hard-sell tactics and the pervasive uncertainty the price you negotiated wasn’t the best price available all culminate to create a stressful experience. When you buy most other goods, you aren’t expected to haggle to get the best price. Now, more consumers are asking themselves, is haggling the best way to buy a car? Fortunately, many car dealers are taking notice and changing the way they do business.

If you’re like many car owners, you enjoy paying off your vehicle and then holding onto it for awhile, sans car payments. Or maybe you dread the often-stressful car-buying process and prefer to keep your vehicle as long as possible for that reason. Considering most manufacturer’s original warranties protect you anywhere from three to 10 years, or between 35,000 and 100,000 miles, you may be tempted to purchase an extended warranty if you plan to keep your car beyond those parameters. Before you sign on the dotted line, though, be aware of the following pros and cons of extended warranties.

How much time did you spend haggling over the price of your last car? Did you know you could save hours of time with haggle-free pricing? Today, an ethical car shop is more likely to offer this type of pricing to help save everyone time and keep the costs of their cars as low as possible. To ensure you are getting the lowest possible price, there are important questions to ask the dealership before you buy a used car, many of which can help complete the process more quickly with less stress.

Oil changes are a critical aspect of owning a car, but unfortunately, many car owners tend to neglect this important service because they don’t want to pay the high cost of an oil change in Sussex. However, when you choose a discount oil change service, your car will suffer. Fortunately, there are still benefits of using local auto repair shops for this service. They will cost less than a dealership and will still provide the high quality of service car owners expect.