How To Get A Vehicle Tire When You're Nearly Busted
Stuff like this always happens when you are broke, or nearly so. You ruin a car tire and you either don't have the money to buy a new one, or you want to wait until you have the money to replace all your tires with new ones at the same time. On the other hand, you need to get a serviceable tire now.
There is a solution to your dilemma: buy a used tire from a salvage yard. Used tires are often half the price or less of new ones.
Finding a Tire
To buy a tire from a salvage yard, you will need the recommended tire size and type for your vehicle. You can find this information on the inside driver's door panel or in your vehicle owner's manual. You will also need a penny, a quarter, or a tire tread gauge.
You should avoid tires that have:
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Any bulges,
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Belts appearing through the rubber, or
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Any deep cracks.
You need decent tread to grip the pavement and for adequate traction, especially on wet, snowy, or icy roads. Look for a tire with an even wear pattern across the width of the tread.
You will also want to check tread depth. You can do this with a penny by inserting it into the tread pattern with top of Lincoln's head facing into it; if the tread covers part of his forehead, you may have a good tire. If you can still see any of the space between his hair and the edge of the penny, the tread is definitely too thin for a safe purchase.
You can also use a quarter with top of Washington's head facing into the tread groove. The gap between the top of Washington's hair and the edge is 3/32". A new tire has between 10/32" and 8/32" of overall tread depth, so you want at least half of the lower number (2/16" or 4/32") or more. If you have a tire gauge, you will need to straddle it on the raised parts of the tread and push the plunger into the tread groove. It will pop back up with a measurement.
Getting the New Tire Put On
The salvage yard like Bi County Auto Truck & Salvage may have the equipment to replace the tire for you in just a minute or two. If not, you can to take it to a mechanic's garage or tire shop and have it done for a small fee. You can also do it yourself with a few simple tools, but it can be difficult without the proper setup.