Replacing my tires…
… one at at time. As they get nails in them, go flat, and become unrepairable. Seriously!
I got a flat tire on my car this weekend, my third in the past year (the 5th if you count the two I got in rental cars). The first one was due to a nail, the second was a failed repair of the first, and this weekend, it was another nail. Or rather, a giant bolt/screw. I have no idea about the rental car ones, but at least I didn’t have to deal with them at all.
That means $150 has been deducted from the car fund, and $125 allocated for the month, so a loss for the month. (I also got an oil change and paid $40 to get the protection plan for all my tires. Generally protection plans are not worth it, but in my case… I won’t have to pay for another flat for 5 years.) So much for growing my car fund into enough for an actual car!
Other expenses this weekend:
- Went to Hollywood Friday night, $33. I go clubbing like once or twice a year, so I don’t feel guilty about that. One drink for me, one for T and one for a friend.
- We went out to eat twice breaking our general once a week rule. I paid $32 towards that. T paid, hmm, $15 or so, and also bought some gelato while we waited for my car. And bloody mary ingredients.
- I also wasted a lot of time and am not on the ball with school yet. What is wrong with me? I guess I’ll be doing homework tonight, instead of watching Gossip Girl. (Or, in addition to watching GG…)
Stacking Pennies 
I can’t watch TV and blog at the same time… I get too into the story. Esp GG because of their outfits 🙂
Fabulously Broke in the City
“Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.“
I truly hate spending money on tires, whether it be for replacing a tire or pulling a nail out- it’s all the same money-sucking waste of time! Glad to hear that somebody else has tire trouble every once in awhile.
I drive a car that has low profile tires- don’t get as many miles, don’t resist nails well, and are more expensive. It’s a bad deal all around.
Generally, you’re not supposed to replace tires one at a time, but rather two at a time. Better for the alignment. You should check with your mechanic. Don’t want to be penny wise and dollar foolish…
@FB – Luckily, I usually get distracted FROM the TV and miss the plot.
@Trevor – At least I have inexpensive tires ~$80 each. But they must have some crazy magnetic force to attract any nail in LA county.
@MM – I did replace 2 in the last 6 months, due to nails. Ha. I’m not too worried about it. I’ve heard that too, but I trust T’s opinion when it comes to cars, and he said it was no big deal. They are all relatively new. I think they balance/align etc when they put them on.
I think Costco tires are pretty good – not the cheapest per se, but good quality. My dad got mine at Costco before he handed off the car to me.
We actually bought the tire insurance for my wife’s car – that’s totally against my nature, but the tires are $250 each so I didn’t want to take any chances!
One more tire and you and I will be tied on tire replacements in a year. 😛
It was actually worth the tire insurance during the horrible run of bad luck, as the replacement for the replacement’s cost was defrayed considerably. But I’m not encouraging you to shoot for the win, here. 🙂
You are not alone, I went through 4 tires in a little over a year from various incidents on LA freeways. Several nails and a giant metal nut, low profile tires are hard to repair and expensive to replace! In my case the replacement warranty was worth it, I got about $1000 worth of tires for about $200. I replaced all 4 last year with ones from Costco and so far, knock on wood, so good. My poor spare needs to be replaced it’s gotten so much use.
I spent all weekend shopping for deals on tires and brake pad replacements. Ugh! The only positive thing I can say is that prices are better, in general, than what the same service/parts used to cost in the Midwest.
I got a gigantic bolt in my tire this week, too! There goes $115 from the everyday savings fund. At least I caught it before it blew on the highway and caused a real problem!
Love the blog 🙂