(17) New Tires

I was able to take my car to a tire shop place to get the flat tire repaired. I was happy 'cause I found a coupon online which would have made the repair free. Unfortunately, they couldn't fix it and told me I needed a new tire. However, because I have snow tires (blame it on my paranoia when I was moving to Boston 3 years ago) and they don't have those in stock around these parts, I either had to get 2 new tires or replace all 4. Apparently, it's not good for cars to have different tires on the same axle. Don't worry, I double checked with my vehicle-guru coworkers, and they said it makes sense. According to them, tires should last about 5-6 years, depending on the mileage. I'm probably going to be selling my car in 1-2+ years, so 4 new tires didn't quite make sense. I did, however, go for a named-brand (Bridgestone) instead of the generic (who's ever heard of Republic!?) for the 2 new tires. I'm one of those people that feel a bit more comfortable/safer with the known-name items, especially when it comes down to car safety.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the new tires! :)