Why Are Tires So Expensive? | Montgomery CDJR (2024)

Repairing or replacing automobile tires can often be costly. Car owners often feel surprised by the sticker prices of tires and their assorted repairs because they assume that objects made primarily of rubber would likely be on the more affordable side.

So exactly why are tired so expensive? There's actually an array of factors that typically drive up the prices of tires. Read on to learn more about some of the primary reasons that repairing or replacing your car's tires can be a pricey endeavor.

Tires Are Costly To Develop

One of the main reasons that tires can have high prices attached to them is that they're typically expensive to research and develop. Most businesses that create tires often spend a lot of time making sure that their tires offer a unique design and value compared to other tires on the market. This means that many companies invest lots of time and money in hiring scientists, chemical engineers, and other professionals who work in research and development to craft one-of-a-kind tires for their company or car lines.

This research and development on tires can have an array of goals depending on the company's current needs. For instance, the organization might want to develop tires that need fewer repairs, can drive better across rough terrain, or provide better braking abilities.

Tire Materials Are Expensive

The materials required to create automobile tires are costly for development and manufacturing organizations to procure, which subsequently drives up the sticker prices for both car companies and the end consumers. Materials of tires can include steel, synthetic and real rubbers, polymers, fibers, textiles, and nylon, all of high quality. The best tires typically have thicker treads to improve their gripping ability, but these types of tires require greater quantities of material. These high-quality materials usually also have steeper tax rates.

Additionally, high-quality tires are critical when it comes to driving a vehicle with excellent braking skills. Factors such as the size, durability of the rubber, and grip pattern can all impact the car's ability to offer responsive breaking. New tires also typically possess an outer protective layer of material to help make the tread pattern last longer. All of these factors typically mean that it's quite expensive for manufacturers to acquire materials for and produce their tires, which raises the prices for consumers too.

Consumers Prefer Quiet Tires

Older vehicles used to make a lot of noise, in part because of their tires. Nowadays, car owners typically prefer their vehicles to make less noise, but unfortunately, this preference comes at a price. Both the materials and the research and development process for these quieter tires can be costly.

Issues With Supply Chains Can Arise

Tire prices can also fluctuate based on economic conditions, specifically issues within the supply chain. If there's a problem within the supply chain, that means that certain types or brands of tires may be in short supply, which can lead to increased prices. This can be especially true for vehicles that come with specialty tires, such as luxury ones made by a specific brand or tires designed for specific conditions, like off-roading or driving on ice.

Newer Tires Tend To Be Larger

Modern car tires are usually bigger than tires found on older vehicles. Many car owners nowadays want to purchase tires that are both larger and heavier. Bigger and heavier tires can offer drivers an array of advantages, including a higher vehicle clearance, faster breaking, and improved gripping ability. Since both acquiring tire materials and manufacturing tires are costly processes, the price tends to go up even further for larger sets of wheels.

Manufacturing Tires Is Expensive

The process of manufacturing tires involves layers of rubber, steel, various chemicals and often other materials based on the tire's customization features. The diversity of the materials involved in making tires means that the processes and machinery required for manufacturing them can be costly. Higher quality or specialized tires, such as those for off-roading, tend to also need more production money and time, which can further drive up manufacturing costs.

Better Tires Can Improve Fuel Efficiency

Many car owners nowadays seek out vehicles with excellent fuel efficiency to both help the environment and save money at the pump. Unfortunately, some of the qualities that make great tires in other respects can reduce the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. For instance, while larger treads on tires can improve braking and gripping, they tend to make the car less fuel-efficient.

In order to produce vehicle tires that are excellent at both gripping and making the car fuel efficient, companies often spend a lot of time and money engineering tires that can achieve both. Since fuel-efficient tires take more time and cost more to develop and produce, this can further raise the price that end consumers pay for tire repairs or replacements.

Good Tires Can Handle All Weather Conditions

Good sets of wheels are adept at driving come rain, shine, or anything in between. However, some tire styles operate better in certain seasons or weather conditions than others. This means that engineering and manufacturing teams need to create tires that possess numerous positive qualities for driving in diverse seasons, which in turn increases the price tag.

For instance, winter tires typically have thicker treads to boost their ability to grip snowy or icy roads. In comparison, tires that excel in the summer need to use specific rubber compounds that can eliminate the possibility of those tires overheating or blowing out. Although some car owners might change out their tires based on the current season, most drivers typically use the same tires on their vehicle year-round. This means that manufacturers must spend extra time and money researching and engineering the best way to create tires for all seasons.

More Drivers Want Off-Road Tires

Off-road and other specialty tires usually cost more to develop and produce, and the demand for these custom tires has increased in recent years. Customized tires are more expensive for an array of reasons, including that they often involve tailoring other aspects of the vehicle, like the hubcaps or the car's clearance ability. since these specialized tires cost more to make, consumers often pay the price for that.