I need a full set of tires and I don't want to make the mistake of being "penny wise and pound foolish". While the stock tires on my car have served me well, especially during last winter (as horrible as it was), they are only 50K mile tires and that is exactly how long they have lasted - 5.3K to be precise. If I want the shorter lived tires, it will cost me just under $500 installed with no extra warranty or free rotation/tire repairs/balances. As I intend on driving my car until it falls apart - and I hope to get at least 150k out of it, hopefully more, that means I would likely need at least 2 more full sets if I stick with the same tire.

OR I could get the 90,000 mile tires that I am lusting after that comes with lifetime rotation and tire repair. For an additional $62 I can add on a full 90,000 mile extended warranty which covers them for the full 90K miles - full replacement with no labor or other charges. So if one, or all, fail at 85,000 miles then I get full free replacement. The 90K installed price without the extended warranty is right at $110 more than the 50K tires, $170 more with the extended warranty.

The 90K Continentals I am considering have great customer reviews, Consumer Reports gives them 3 stars, while they don't even have a review for my stock tire. So, assuming this extended warranty includes all types of road hazard (which I need to confirm), it looks to me that if I spend an extra $170 then I've my tire needs taken care of for the remaining reasonable life of my car.

I DO have the money, but I was planning on putting part of it in savings...so I am stuck in the "valley of indecision" here. It is difficult to know, however, what the reasonable remaining life expectations of my car is. It is a 2011 Kia Soul, and while Kia has done well in recent years, the Soul hasn't been around long enough to get a good idea of the longevity.

Curious to hear thoughts and opinions on this. This is a lot of money for me, regardless of my choice, and I am trying to make the best educated choice that I can - and I just get more confused the more research that I do.