Steering You Right with Sharon Peters: Tiny Comps

Purchasing >

Q: We love our Toyota Yaris and will probably buy another, but before we make that decision we want to test some cars that are similar in size and price, etc. What do you recommend?

A: Check out the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent and Chevy’s Spark and Sonic

Readers Weigh In

After I responded to a reader who asked whether additional costs are associated with maintaining an all-wheel drive vehicle, several readers got in touch to say I’d left out a considerable expense – tires, if you have the misfortune of having one go bad (in a way that can’t be repaired).

Here’s what a couple of them wrote:

“You listed additional costs associated to an AWD vehicle for the retiring couple. I think you forgot to mention the higher risk associated with a damaged tire during the tire’s normal life. The risk of having to replace all four tires instead of the damaged tire increases your cost exposure with an AWD.”

And another: “Last September a colleague texted me in a panic, saying he was 200 miles from home with a flat tire. The service department where he was towed told him that the tire was not repairable due to a sidewall puncture and because he was driving an AWD (Subaru), he had to replace all four tires (25,000 miles on car). He asked if I thought he was being scammed. My impression was that he must have been but upon checking online I saw that he had to replace all four. Even if getting an un-repairable flat is uncommon, why would anyone voluntarily place himself in such position by buying an AWD!? And, maybe it’s not that uncommon: upon

checking with several friends with AWD cars, I found that one of them had suffered the same misfortune. I asked him why he bought it and he claimed ‘Nobody told me.’”

What I would add to those comments: You should check your owner’s manual. Some of my tire experts say that some AWD carmakers say you can replace one tire with one identical to the other three if there’s little tread wear, which essentially means you were riding on pretty-close-to-new tires.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Sharon Peters What’s your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what’s on your mind when it comes to caring for, driving and repairing your vehicle. Email Sharon@ctwfeatures.com.

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