RING FOR YOUR RUBBER

Well these words are now cleared to depart and flash over computer 
monitors across the globe because I discovered yesterday that 
uploads to Aussies.space were working again since Monday evening, 
although Fosslinux never did reply to my email about it.

Clearly Australia still isn't ready for this new-fangled internet 
thing. My attempts to get quotes for tyres by email resulted in 
only one reply between the four stores in the nearest tyre-stocking 
town. This indeed was the second round, after I'd tried to contact 
three via "request a quote" forms on their websites and got nothing 
back at all, then I hunted down some actual email addresses and 
tried going direct.

But in the end they wore me down and I phoned them up instead, 
including the one who replied to my email because I forgot to ask 
whether they had the tyres in stock (they didn't, it turns out none 
did). Price range for the same tyre was $175 - $210 each between 
the different stores, so it does pay to check around. Goodyear seem 
to have the only models in this size that are advertised for some 
sort of rigidity and pot-hole resistance, which is important out 
here with pot-holes and gravel roads. However the size/model 
combinations available from the stores was the opposite of what the 
Goodyear website says is available! The cheapest place for the 
tyres (predictably "Goodyear Autocare", although less predictably 
they tried to sell me on Hankook tyres instead, which they had in 
stock) was indeed also the most expensive for wheel alignment, but 
overall it's still a $70 saving compared to the next place so I've 
booked in with them on Friday, when they expect to have received 
the tyres by mid-day.

 - The Free Thinker

PS. I just remembered the American dual-meaning of "rubber". Sorry 
to anyone expecting a story about something more saucy than tyre 
purchasing advice. :)