Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

You can rent a movie, a car, furniture or electronics of various kinds. And now, you can rent tires. You read it right: rental tires. They are, it turns out, a growing business.

The price of rubber is going up, which means tires are more and more expensive. That’s where these tire rental places come in. Their marketing says: if you depend on your car to get to work, but you can’t afford to buy four tires, rent them instead.

It’s true that renting can be easier on this month’s budget. After all, paying $100 is less painful – this month – than paying, say, $1,000 for new tires. But renting to own is always more expensive in the long run.  Anyone who’s ever rented to own can tell you that, in the end, they paid two to three times the cost of the item.  

So, if you need new tires and you can’t quite make the full price this month, what could you do instead of renting tires?

• Find out if used tires are an option. Ask a reputable mechanic in your area, or search online for a dealer with good reviews.
• Buy new or used tires on your credit card, if you have room. Even paying a high credit card interest rate will probably be cheaper than renting tires. Just pay it off as fast as you can.
• See if your credit union or bank offers personal loans. If you can get one, that might be less expensive than either renting tires or using your credit card.

If you decide that renting tires is the best option for you, try to keep up with your payments. The company owns your tires until you make the last payment. If you have to stop making payments, whatever the reason, you might find your tires repossessed and your car up on blocks. And nobody wants to see that.