That would have been my preferred option. Tires are a big deal. I’d hate buying them under duress. I’d want four tires of a type I’ve chosen after research.
If OP decides to get a whole new set soon, that single tire may be worth something to the tire dealer - if they sell used tires. Many tire dealers do sell used tires.
Sure, when I was young and poor my 1977 Corolla had mismatched front tires for as long as I owned it. And neither front tire matched the rears. Most of us are simply saying it’s not ideal.
That $100 tire may not have the same speed rating as the OEM tires. That could be an issue during its lifetime.
So far, no one has given you a good answer here. To determine if you only need one tire, or a pair, or all 4, the first piece of information needed is the tread depth of the tires remaining on the vehicle. This is critical information.
Most new tires come with between 8/32" to 11/32" tread depth. Michelin tends to be at the lower end with about 8.5/32" on their new tires. What you don’t want is a significant difference between the tread depth of two tires on the same axle.
BTW, the absolute minimum tread depth allowed is 2/32", but if you head into winter with anything less than 4/32", you will have handling issues on bad days. Less than 4/32" is OK for summer in most places.
You can get a tread depth gauge anywhere tire pressure gauges are sold. The start at around $3 and I find that a $3 one works as good as a $20 electronic one, and it doesn’t need batteries.
If you haven’t rotated your tires as scheduled (every 5k miles), then the rear tires probably have more tread than the front tires and it can probably tolerate just one new tire. As long as the other tire back there is within 2/32" tread depth, no problem. It can tolerate 3/32" or even 4/32" if you don’t drive hard.
But two other things have not been discussed. Why couldn’t the flat tire be repaired? Did you get a nail in the sidewall?
The other thing is that if the OEM tires were not very good quality and all 4 were nearly worn out, it would have really been wiser to have replaced all 4 at that time just because you would be doing it anyway in the near future.
Edit: One more thing. Is there some reason you couldn’t have had the spare tire put on and then gone for a second or third opinion. That would have been the best thing to do in the first place. Just good business.
Man, if I could get a good tire installed for $150 these days I’d be whistling all the way to the tire shop. I usually pay at least $100 more than that per tire.
The others are right. You should have at least 2 new tires so the sides match, and based on age it’s not inconceivable that you need to replace all 4. The balancing worries are silly, however.
4 months ago I got 4 pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus tires for $150 each mounted and balanced. plus tax
It’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen a 50 dollar tire; other than some odd Chinese one on Amazon and even that depends on size.
The rear tires on my lawn tractor are 50 each not counting new tubes which are another 20.
The only surprise to me in the picture that Nevada posted is that the owner of that car even made it to the shop.
Janice is coming back, neither is the guy that thought a “run flat” tire should not be replaced because of sidewall damage.
One of my college friends owned a rusted-out '59 Pontiac Catalina, and although all 4 tires were the same brand (Delta), they were of 4 different “models”, and there were definitely a couple of different sizes in that group of four. But, he drove like a little old lady, and he knew that he would be getting rid of the car in the near future, so those mis-matched Delta tires were… good enough for him.
Friend of mine owns a 2017 Vette. He just bought 4 new tires…$210 per tire fronts…$350 per Tire Rears for a total over $1,100.
$150/tire isn’t unreasonable for Michelin tires. Wife uses Michelin’s on her Lexus. I think we paid about that the last time we bought tires.
Why didn’t you take two minutes and check current prices online before exploding?
Back in my gas jockey days, one of the other guys at the station owned a Vette–probably about '64 vintage. When he needed new tires, he bought them from the station with his discount.
The problem was that they were middling-rated tires designed for a sedan that would be driven sedately, not for a Corvette. I attempted to explain the situation to him, but his eyes just glazed over, and I don’t think he comprehended the difference between the tires that he bought, and the type of tires that he should have bought.
Like I said before, back in the 60’s, Firestone would have a regular sale for recapped tires. 2 for $50 or 4 for $100. So I get two good snow tires for $50 and a new set of tires later for $100. They actually were not bad and never had a sidewall problem that I can recall.
I leased a new Camry about 10 yrs ago. 2 sedans sitting side by side and mine had Bridgestone tires and other had Michelin. Both had steel wheels. The BS were the worse snow tires I had ever seen. Luckily we drove little so I put up with it.
Have no idea what model Michelin tires were.
My '02 Outback came from the factory with Bridgestone “all season” tires (I don’t recall the tire model), and those tires were the absolute worst on snow that I ever experienced. That began my relationship with both Tire Rack and Michelin winter tires.
Those crappy Bridgestones were acceptable (not great, but… okay) for the warmer months, but I learned within a few weeks that they had to come off for winter driving.
My 2014 Camry came equipped brand new with Michelin tires. They had the best traction, best handling, and the smoothest, quietest ride of any tires I’ve ever driven on in any car. The only downside was, with low rolling resistance tread, they wore out at fewer miles than other tires I’ve had.
When I replaced those I put Pirelli tires on that supposedly have a comparable rating for traction and handling but were on sale for far less than a new set of Michelins at the time. The Pirelli tires have proven a disappointment. The traction is okay on dry paving but terrible on wet roads. Not as smooth handling and ride and not as quiet as the original tires were. Next time, if I can afford it, I’m going back to Michelin.
Some years ago my dad put new tires on my then aging 1987 Olds for me. A budget brand called Mastercraft, I think they were called. Absolute worst tires ever. When I gave that car to my nephew the first thing he did was put better tires on it.
Mastercraft is one of the tire brands made and marketed by Cooper.
At this point in my life, I am no longer searching for the absolute cheapest tires, or anything else.
My personal experience tells me that Michelin tires–even if they are somewhat more expensive initially–are actually more economical in the long run.
I use the ratings from Consumer Reports and at the tirerack.com site, and choose tires that do well in the criteria that are most important to me.
I just pick Michelin, been through others but find consistency a valuable feature.
Uh, I don’t think I’ve seen decent tires for $50 since the 90’s. Tires for my car cost about $270 per tire, and I’ll get about 35k-40k out of this set based on how things are are looking now. The last set of tires I bought was for my previous truck and they were around $240 per tire.
Tires are normally replaced in pairs or by the set. If your car had 28k on the OEM tires, I would’ve replaced the pair most likely. If the tires were more than 50% worn, I’d replace them all.
While you’re probably okay with replacing one tire, if it were me, would’ve done two at the minimum.