Have you ever wondered how car dealers talk to their customers about you and your business?

Under the headline “Tech Tip-The Truth About Tires,” published by the Penobscot Bay Pilot, a newspaper in Maine, was this advertisement disguised as “news” from Atlantic Motorcar Center in Wiscasset, Maine.

All bold emphasis is from the original story as it appeared:

Tires are just as much as a safety system on your car as are the brakes. The vehicle manufacturer, be it BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, Volvo, Lexus, it doesn’t matter who, designs the car around the tires, the “stickiness” of the tread, the handling and speed rating are all carefully considered.

Yet we see it time and again, someone spends a good deal of hard earned money of their car, then, when the tires wear out, they put on the cheapest tires. Such a decision comprises both the ride, handling and safety of the car! In fact, the wrong tires or improper installation, can even damage your car’s steering and suspension.

Worse yet, such tires are all too often mounted by lower skilled installers, damaging alloy rims, or even the wheel hub itself! If they are balanced, the equipment used is often out dated, or out of calibration! You drive off, with the steering wheel shaking, on your new set of tires…not a good outcome.

The Truth About Tire Price

We’ll let you in on a secret. You may not know it from all of the advertisements floating about, but the average of a quality tire sale nets the selling dealer perhaps $10-20 profit. Certainly not a big reward. However, by selling off brand, or so-called “private label” tires, the unethical dealer can reap very large returns, sometimes doubling their normal profit. Who pays for this? You, the customer, in short tire life, poor installation, vibration in the steering wheel, suspension wheel, suspension and steering part wear and damage.

We handle only quality tires, your safety is too important to us to compromise for money. The brands we handle have been carefully chosen, our experience has proven to us, they consistently perform better than any other brand we have tested.

We are convinced these tires, installed by us, will provide the overall lowest cost per mile. Each and every tire we sell is Balanced and checked for RoadForce on the Hunter GSP-9700 system.

At Atlantic Motorcar our philosophy is to provide our clients the overall lowest service cost. most people realize that quality always cost less when considered over time. that is the main reason people look for high quality products. Higher quality last longer and performs better.

Why “Cheap” Tires Cost More

Let’s consider tires, which is why we only sell quality brands like Michelin, Goodrich and Continental. A good set of tires, properly mounted and balanced may cost $600. They last 60,000 miles, give excellent service and offer no problems. The cost is $0.01 per mile.

Another set cost $350 and they vibrate badly. You take them to two different shops to have them balanced at $50 for each visit. In desperation you decide to live with poor performance. After 35,000 miles they are worn out, but now the rack and pinion is leaking. The rack was damaged by the bad tires. The cost is $350 for the tires, $100 trying to make them work, $900 for damaged parts divided by 35,000 miles. That’s nearly four times the cost per mile of the good tires. This does not included the inconvenience or putting up with the poor performance for 35,000 miles.

When you think about it, cheap repairs and parts are just too expensive. It is always less expensive to do it right the first time.

This is the philosophy upon which the Atlantic Motorcar Center has built it’s reputation, stop in, say hello. We think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Atlantic Motorcar…Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Cars. (207) 882-9969
Well, that was delightful, wasn’t it? They took shots at independent tire dealers AND private brand companies.

Really want to read your thoughts – especially if you’re from Maine – in the Comments space below!