Re-tired.

As of yesterday, my car has four new tires.  Ouch.  Not for the new tires, but for the price of the new tires.  I didn't even get the best of the best tires, either.  Since we moved out here to the Hill Country, my car very rarely gets close to a freeway, never mind driving on one.  I didn't think I needed top-drawer Michelin rubber on those wheels for just around-small-towns kind of mileage.

For the money, though, you would think they would have cleaned off the wheels, hubcaps, or whatever those silver things are.  How do you put road-dirty silver rim-things back onto new tires? Must be a guy thing.  There's a place in town that hand-washes and 'details' cars.  I may splurge and bring my car there one of these days.  While I look around the shops in town, they can be making my car extra-clean and sparkling, rather than the quick hand-washes that I give my car in the driveway here.

I took my car to one of those drive-thru car washes a few months ago... it came out beautifully clean, but as I was driving away, the engine started to make a strange noise and one of the engine lights went on.  I don't know much about cars, but I know enough to realize that's not a good thing.  I turned around and went back to the car wash, which was connected to the oil change place.   When I told them about the noise, they had no idea what it could be, and suggested I drive down the road to a car mechanic. (I guess those quick oil change places don't hire mechanics?)

As they suggested, I drove down the road to the car repair/tire place... they hooked up the car to some computer thing and within minutes they found the problem.  That car wash was so intense that water got up into one of the cylinder-things, which was making that cylinder 'miss,' giving out that awful noise.  They had to open up whatever it is that contains the cylinders, dry it out, close it back up.... and then my car was back to sounding normal again.  I'm the only one who drives my car, so I know every little whisper and wiggle of that baby.

While the mechanic was doing all of the above, he checked the hoses, gaskets, tires, connections, and a bunch of other things I know nothing about.  The only problem he found was the tires.... factory tires that were nearly 8 years old.  "Change those tires before they start giving you problems," is what he suggested.  He didn't care that my car had very low mileage, baby that it is.  "It's the age of the tires, not the mileage you're putting on them.... rubber has a sensitive shelf life and the older it gets, the more it breaks down inside.... unless you know how to fix a flat, you're going to want new tires on that vehicle."

I resisted the urge to tell that man that I didn't know how to change a tire, nor did I want to learn.  All of that was back in July.... and yesterday was new-tire day for my car.  I won't be going back to the quick oil change place......... since 'discovering' this new repair place, with mechanics who can find a problem with your car and check for other things before they become problems, I'm going to just stay with these guys.  Plus, one of our friends works there, and other friends use those mechanics for repairs and tires as well.

Still...... for the ugly appearance of rubber tires, do they really have to cost that much?  I know they're an essential part of the car... without them, you're not going anywhere...  but you would think they could come up with a prettier tire.  Something in basic black, of course, but with a white-wall sort of design that could be color-matched to your vehicle?  Just saying.....