How much does it cost to get your tire rotated?

Is it too expensive for many drivers to ignore the practice despite knowing the importance of tire rotation?

Well, we are not going to lie to you with zero cost to rotate tires. But we can guarantee that despite some small costs, tire rotation brings you more good than harm.

Car tires are usually designed to work well for more than 6 years. Some companies claim their tires to last up to 10 years. However, without periodical tire rotations, your tires will not accompany you and your vehicle that long.

Keep reading the article below to get more information on tire rotation and cost.

How Much Does A Tire Rotation Cost?

To help you realize the average cost of tire rotation, we have investigated several shops that might be your potential choice and created a list to make the most objective comparison between their services.

For tire rotation, you should expect to pay approximately from $74 to $90 at most local mechanics. In specific, chain Midas stores will offer various prices for the lower end of the spectrum, ranging between around $60 and $120.

Meanwhile, we also referred to the tire rotation cost of other chain shops, such as Mr. Tire and Pep Boys. Compared to Midas, Mr. Tire shops only charge you a pretty low cost to rotate your tires, ranging from just $30 to nearly $70 for the whole service. 

Although Pep Boys charges customers a little higher than the average cost for tire rotation, at around $100, it offers a great deal of $15 at the low end.

Some people may wonder: Does it cost that much when I do it by myself? Well, according to our findings, you will have to spend nearly $500 on all the necessary equipment. But of course, you can use it time and time again.

So, it all depends on you. If you tend to drive your car constantly most of the time, it is worth investing. Otherwise, trust the professional technician and take your car to a local shop.

Below are some sample costs from some of the leading Mechanic repair chains in the country:

	Work	Warranty	Price
Your Mechanic	Labor	12 months	$74 – $90
Mr. Tire	Labor	12 months	$60 – $120
Midas	Labor	12 months	$30 – $70
Pep Boys	Labor	6 months	$15 – $99

What Is A Tire Rotation? 

Tire rotation is all about switching tire locations over 4 places in the car. For instance, you might have your offside tire removed and reinstalled on the nearside. 

Normally, when you purchase new tires, the auto mechanic would help you place them free of charge. A regular tire rotation is beneficial to your car.

Even though having your tires rotated costs you a small amount of money, the benefits it brings are undoubtedly significant.

When To Rotate A Tire?

There is no exact answer for when you should have your tire rotated, as every vehicle has different braking systems and weight distribution. 

However, in general, car manufacturers are likely to recommend their customers to have a tire rotation between 3000 and 7000 miles. If tracking your average mileage is difficult for you, it is advisable to get your tires rotated whenever you change your car oil.

Luckily, most garages offer to rotate tires free if you are getting new ones from them. Some tire retailers even come with a free lifetime tire rotation if you purchase their full set of products.

Does A Tire Rotation Have Any Good Points?

In theory, your vehicle is completely fine without any tire rotation, but performing this simple maintenance task will help your tires last longer. That is because the 4 tires are put under different forces while you drive, resulting in uneven tire wear-out. 

A regular tire rotation would prevent your tires from wearing unevenly. As you are constantly swapping their positions, the forces they undergo are distributed more evenly so that none of them will wear out faster than the others.

You can easily notice the difference in your tires’ appearance and performance to know if you should include tire rotation in your periodical maintenance. 

In addition, tire rotation can improve your safety on the road. For example, switching your much-worn front tires with the less-worn rear ones would provide you with more tread than you might expect. The more grip you get, the safer you are behind the wheels.

Another implicit advantage of tire rotation is fuel efficiency. Uneven tire wear would reduce your vehicle performance, thus dropping fuel efficiency by 3%. 

Some people may argue that the percentage is too small to consider. However, it could add up to a big amount of money that you might not even notice in the long term.

Does Tire Rotation Pose Any Drawbacks?

The only disadvantage of tire rotation is the time and money it takes to get your tires rotated. But actually, it does not take you that long to cause you any inconvenience.

Except for a heavy-duty car with large tires, it would take around an hour for a mechanic to switch your tires. Nevertheless, in most cases, the work is done in just less than 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the cost of tire rotation can easily make all our mentioned advantages meaningless. Therefore, some people still keep the traditional and standard way – to track the tires’ performance and get them changed only when necessary.

How To Save Cost On Tire Rotation?

As we mentioned above, though it might need a large investment in the beginning, you can save a small fortune in the long term by rotating your tires by yourself. 

This task might take you a long time to do at first, but when you become familiar with it, we guarantee it will not take you too much time; only about half an hour is enough. 

Every step is extremely simple, so you can follow the instructions on the Internet and get things done on your own. If you suspect something goes wrong with the alignment, have the mechanic check it for you. 

You may find it inconsiderable at first, but you can save a lot of money when the time adds up. Another potential way to save money on tire rotation is to buy new tires. Some people find it nonsense, but rotation is often out of charge anytime you buy a new one. So why don’t we combine it? We think it also is a great idea to reduce the rotation tire cost.

See more: Tire Rotation vs Wheel Alignment

The Bottom Line

Despite its obvious benefits to your lovely vehicles, tire rotation is still not a common practice to some people. Therefore, in this article, we have gone through some important sections, especially tire rotation cost, so that you can deeply understand it.

Even though the specific costs depend much on each chain store, the average tire rotation price is not that exorbitant. If you still find it way too pricey, you can consider investing in essential equipment and do it on your own.

No matter which way you choose, either taking it to a professional or doing it yourself, it is advisable to rotate tires periodically to keep your car in tip-top condition.