Credit Card Processing for Your Tire Shop

How often do car-owners change their tires? Most drivers cover a mileage of 12,000 to 15,000 miles every year. So they should change their tires after three or four years of driving. Of course, others only drive on the weekends, so they can stretch that period much farther. Many drivers use the ‘penny test’. Meaning if your treads can hide a penny without exposing Lincoln’s head, their wheels are safe to drive.

Whichever system they use, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests drivers change your tires every 6 years maximum, even for light driving. Many drivers don’t bother until their tires are balding. If they go to the garage for a different reason, their mechanic may suggest they change tires. Then they’ll head over to you, whether they planned to or not.

Unfortunately, many drivers put off changing their tires. While there may be many factors that account for this, perhaps the most common one is cost. Even though delaying this purchase may put a driver at risk, if they don’t have the cash available, then they may simply have no choice.

Change on credit

Making one simple alteration to your business model could change things for everyone: accepting credit cards. Tires can cost anywhere from $50 to $500 a piece, and it’s much easier to swipe your card than forking out that cash. So when customers walk into your store and blanch at your quote you can offer them the option to swipe instead.

While they’re at your shop, you could consider signing them up for your tire store loyalty program. They might not be back for years, so they’ll appreciate that the loyalty program can be automatically linked to their credit card, which means that they won’t have to hold onto a loyalty card over all that time.

Tread carefully

Of course preparing your tire shop for credit card acceptance can be needlessly expensive. For example, some merchant account providers will charge you an application fee, charge for equipment, and charge you again when you close your account someday. Find a payment processor that provides all of this at no additional cost.

For more information on credit card processing for your tire shop, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.