Minor rant. I got new tires last year. Today i went to get my oil changed and while I was there I asked for my tires to be rotated. They found a puncture of a nail or something right on the edge so the patch would need to be on the side wall which no one does. The only place around that sold used tires doesn’t do that anymore. If i wanted to get it fixed it was going to cost me $200 to replace the tire. I did not drive in any crazy places, just got unlucky enough that my personal 2 ton death machine found this tiny little piece of metal that I wouldn’t have even had a chance to see and avoid, and got it stuck in a place that’s apparently unfixable.
On top of all the ways car culture has destroyed our landscapes and controls our cities, the car is designed in such a way to be the biggest financial burden possible. What other thing do we have where you can use it as intended, but there’s a decent chance for the equivalent of a splinter to make your hand stop working?!
I don’t think they are designed to inherently be the biggest financial burden possible, that is a bit disingenuous. The reason that can’t be patched up and fixed is for your own safety, the tyres are the only things connecting you and that vehicle to the road and as such need to be sound.
I have had exactly the same issue on my bike, picking up a screw that went in through the shoulder of the tyre and because of the position just couldn’t be patched up properly and still hold air consistently. So it is hardly a car specific issue, yes it is annoying and costly but tyres are a consumable, they aren’t designed with planned obsolescence like a lot of shit pushed out these days.