Is DIY Tire Installation Worth The Bother? A Quick Cost-Benefit Analysis

Can I Install My Tires By Myself?

You can, but it’s rarely worth the effort. Without the right equipment, work space, and know-how, you’ll be spending more in start-up costs than you’d pay for pro service. You could also seriously injure yourself and cause thousands of dollars of damage to your tires, home, or vehicle.

Clearly, there’s a lot to consider, but TIRECRAFT is here to help.

Read on for a quick cost-benefit analysis, or contact your local TIRECRAFT to speak directly with a tire installation specialist near you.

Is DIY Tire Installation Worthwhile? A Quick Cost-Benefit Analysis

Assuming you know what you’re doing, and your tires are already on rims, DIY tire installations can provide a number of benefits, including:

• Service cost savings, as you don’t have to pay a professional for their labour;
• No service delays, as you never have to wait in line;
• Fuel savings, as you don’t have to drive down to your local tire installation shop;
• A sense of self-satisfaction and accomplishment, since you did it all by yourself!

But is this enough to outweigh the costs?

Even if you have the skills to do the job right, DIY tire installations still come with a few cons, including:

• Opportunity costs—Whereas you can drop your vehicle off for a pro tire installation and go about your day, doing it yourself means spending the afternoon toiling away in the garage. This comes with certain opportunity costs, which could be financial (e.g. missed opportunities for overtime hours, extra shifts, or sales at your small business) or social (e.g. giving up your weekend with family to labour away on your vehicle).
• Effort—When you go pro, you leave the difficult jobs (e.g. scrubbing rust and corrosion off your rims and mounting your tires) up to us, whereas DIY tire installations force you to do all of the dirty work.
• Equipment costs—To get pro-level results, DIY tire installations require special equipment, including a quality tire changer, lift/jack, and wheel balancer, all of which will cost you much more than the price of a professional tire installation. The cheapest manual tire changer on Amazon, for example, comes in just under the $200 mark, and its quality is questionable.
• Lost reward points—At TIRECRAFT, every dollar spent on tire installation, repair, and maintenance gets you rewards points that can be spent like cash to drive down the costs of future products and services. So while DIY tire installation might eliminate your service costs, it’s costing you more service savings down the line!
• Tire disposal—DIY tire installation means DIY tire disposal. You’ll either have to pay a fee or drive your tires to a local shop participating in a free tire recycling program, in which case you’ll be burning the gas you thought you saved with a DIY installation!

Based on this quick cost-benefit analysis, it’s clear that, for most Canadians, the costs of DIY tire installation outweigh the benefits, even before you factor in the risks of personal injury, imperfect installations, and damage to your tires, home, or vehicle.

Go Pro For Cost-Effective Tire Installation: Contact TIRECRAFT

Whether you want to book pro service or find quality tire installation equipment for a great price, your local TIRECRAFT is here to help.

Use the Find a TIRECRAFT tool on our website to schedule a free consultation with our tire installation techs and get a free quote on any tire product or service.

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