Saving Money 101

[kamranistan]

2 questions. Well one question and one favor.

Favor:

I created a blog on tips for saving money.These are based on first hand experience. If you find the information useful at all please comment If you do not find it useful at all please make suggestions on how I can improve the blog.I am open to constructive criticism.

http://www.cashsmarts.blogspot.com

Questions:

And here is an actual question. Where is the best and most affordable place to get your oil changes done and tires changed?

Thanks in advance!

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[Que]

I find that having a relationship with a good and honest mechanic that I trust and being a loyal customer there is the best way to get a good price for my car repairs.

I would never take my car to a “Quickie Lube” place, as they are known in the mechanics world to take shortcuts and cause more problems than they solve.

Personally, I always go to Master’s Auto on 16th Ave SW in White Center. Greg is honest and he has great mechanics working with him who have been there for years. They sold us tires years ago on a day they were closed (He was just there working on his own car) and it was about to snow and the tires we had were not going to be OK with that. He gained a family of loyal customers that day.

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[WSB]

My advice on #1 would be to write more often.

You’re not likely to gain serious traction writing once a week, no matter how compelling the topic.

If that doesn’t matter to you, great, write whenever, but I’ve seen people start promising blog-format sites and get upset when readership is fairly low – without taking into account factors like “how will anyone find you or build a habit if you only put up something new every week” (or less often).

Good luck!

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[voodoo]

My advice is to offer suggestions that are more creative than “ask for a lower price.”

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[Jiggers]

Stop buying overpriced brown water at Starbucks.

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[kamranistan]

Sweet people. More frequent writing is something I’ll keep in mind.

Another question, has anyone gone through Firestone Courtesy Tire over on 35th? I am going through them probably tomorrow. I have had services done before but they were expensive, but great customer service. What are your takes on this place? Are they just their for the upsell or are they looking in your vehicle’s best interest?

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[Franci]

If you want great service from a tire store – you want to go to Courtesy Tire at 4820 California. They are GREAT!

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[Franci]

I hit a button and it submitted before I was finished.. ;)

The guys at Courtesy Tire on California are very nice, honest, provide great customer service. You can’t go wrong taking your car to this establishment. I’ve done business with them for the last 10 years.

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[CMC]

I like the concept. I would read and agree with the comments so far. More frequent posts and a variation of suggestions.

I have had very good service at Courtesy Tire on two different occasions. They quoted my on a set of four, kind of hard to find, tires and it seemed a little high so I looked around, came crawling back, and they were there with open arms.

Oil Changes, I always go to Jiffy Lube in WS and the service has been an A+ every time from me. Got $7 off with an Entertainment Book coupon. Don’t know if there are less expensive places around or not.

Happy Hours would be another thing to suggest for people trying to save money. Lots of great menus around. Splitting large dishes between two people could be another option when eating out.

Good luck.

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[kamranistan]

CMC, on your last paragraph. That is excellent advice. I might have to include that in one of my posts :)

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[kamranistan]

Voodoo, I know it would make plenty of sense to create ‘more creative’ ways to save money. However ‘more creative’ isn’t always going to save the most money. I’m really looking for simple ways for people to tweak their habits to save a little here and there.

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[rockhills]

I’m not sure what Jiffy Lube charges, but Firestone Courtesy Tire will change your oil for $21. Although their repair prices are a bit high, they have always been honest with me about what is and isn’t necessary.

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[rockhills]

Apologies if this appears twice–my first post disappeared. I’ve used Courtesy Tire for three years. Although their repair prices are a bit high, they have always been honest with me about what is and isn’t needed. They will also change your oil for about $21.

With regard to money-saving, inexpensive or free entertainment options have always been a big one for me–alternatives to pricey entertainment such as evenings at the restaurant or bar, movie/theater tickets, or even home entertainment. What are less expensive alternatives–rotating dinners, hosting game nights, how much of that full cable package are you really using, etc?

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[missmandy]

Oil-change: Ty’s on Delridge. Tires: Marty’s on Ambaum. Neither are the most glamerous of places but you can’t beat the price and they are both family run businesses.

I’ll take a look at your blog when I get a few extra minutes :)

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[cjboffoli]

Speaking of tires, how does everyone feel about siping? I bought tires for decades and never heard of it before moving to Seattle. But then last year I was buying tires with a friend and they recommended to her that she have her new tires siped. Some have told me since that it is a rip-off along the same lines as paying to have your tires filled with nitrogen instead of air. But other say the siping helps. Any opinions?

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[lazybeard]

Eh, I opt’d for the siping by Les Schwab when I recently had all four tires. I can’t tell a difference. Possibly the one way for me to tell is if I have both tires side-by-side (one with and one w/o). I think there are too many conditions to be met to have a comparison by me at least.

If I had to do it again, I’d save the cash and opt not.

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[CMP]

I brought my car in to Les Schwab for tire rotation and was talked into having the tires siped as well. Granted, I had it done in the summer so I didn’t notice a difference since it didn’t rain for awhile. And I have a Subaru so it handles well already. I think siping is a good way to extend the life of your tires and would help in rainy conditions so it can’t hurt. I defiitely would have spent money on that with my old Honda Civic, but never knew it was an option. I also think I’ll be taking my car to Courtesy Tire on California for an oil change soon since they always get good reviews.

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[kamranistan]

Rockhills,

Thank you for the feedback on Courtesy Tire. I was suppose to go there today but it involved waking up extra early on my weekend, so it didn’t happen :).

As for your suggestion for saving money, thanks for the idea. Is there any particular way you’d like to credit you for the idea on my blog? An alias?

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[kamranistan]

I’ve had a poor experience with Les Schwab. Its a long story so I’ll just say that they didn’t do what they say they did. Because of that it ended up costing me hundreds of dollars in repair costs. This was in Bham so I don’t know about the one in WS yet.

And I;ll be checking out Tys. Have any of you done big repairs at Tys?

And wheres the most economical place to get your tires changed? Courtesy quoted me nearly 700.00 for 4 tires on my 2500 dollar car.

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[rockhills]

Thanks, Kamranistan.

You can just call me Rockhills.

Because I relocate frequently, I tend to look at national chains for tires so that I can take advantage of lifetime rotation and road hazard dels. Have you checked prices at Costco and Sears?

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[kamranistan]

Hey Rockhills,

Sounds great! I’ll let you know when your idea is posted. Costco was going to be around 500.00 for all 4 times. Where is the nearest Sears to WS?

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[Que]

closest Sears is 1st Ave S, over near the Home Depot and the Starbucks HQ

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[Author]

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