Where I get my tires done, there's a service window. I've watched them 'actually' rotate and balance the tires. One time, I was standing there, talking to the mechanic, as he was doing the work.

The cost of doing free mount/balance is typically worked into the price of the tire, yes. But these places still meet and sometimes even beat the prices of other shops which do have additional charges for this work. I know, because I price around my tires a lot before deciding where to go. The last tire shop I went to was Goodyear. The one before that was Big O Tire. The one before that was Firestone.

There are three things that businesses compete on. Differentation, which we talked about. Cost, which we're talking about now. The tire stores constantly try to beat each other's prices. And also response. Which is why a lot of shops have a 59 minute or less guarantee when replacing tires.

But, you also talk about a business losing money. Yes, lots of businesses do things that make them lose money. Offering free mounting and balancing. Free tire rotation for life. And becoming the standard these days, offering free flat repair... even if you didn't buy your tires from them. Lose money? Yes. Increase the potential of not only keeping their current customers happy, but also increasing the potential to attract new customers? Definitely. Take a grocery store. You think they make any money when they sell soup for 10 cents per can? No way. They lose a lot of money since they pay 25 cents per can. But in selling soup at 10 cents per can, they hope when you come in there to buy soup, you'll also buy other things too. So no, not all businesses do things just when they can make a profit. They do things to make customers happy, and in doing so, increase their profitability, overall.

But, I digress. We're not here to debate our ability to buy tires at great prices.

The service department called me back a few minutes ago. While I had my car in the shop for the check engine light, I also had them check on a few other things. The ANC is being replaced. Luckily, the part was available at a local dealership, so they should have it come in and replaced within a few hours. I also felt a shudder during heavy braking while on the interstate. They're machining one of the rotors and replacing the other. They feel if they machine the one that they're replacing, it'll be too close to the tolerance, so they're just going to put a new one on and be safe. Oh, and the check engine light was on due to a misfire on cylinder 3. I do seem to remember flooring it to pass a vehicle on the highway yesterday right before I noticed the lamp coming on. That's probably what set the code. The dealer said they reset it and drove it and it hasn't come back on. I should see my car by the time I get off from work today.

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