Warning: That cheap tire inflator I bought off Amazon cost me more in the long run

I was trying to save money and bought a $18 portable tire inflator from a random brand on Amazon last spring. It worked fine for a few months, but then the hose just split open during a cold morning in January. I was stuck on the side of I-35 near Austin trying to patch a slow leak, and the thing died completely after 2 minutes of use. Ended up having to call a tow truck that cost me $85 because nothing else worked. Plus the tire was so flat by then it needed replacing, which set me back $120 at the shop. I could have just bought a decent name brand inflator for $40 and avoided the whole headache. Has anyone else gotten burned by buying the cheapest version of a tool that should have been built better?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_faith7d ago

My neighbor did the same thing with a $20 air mattress pump last summer and it melted on the second use. That cheap inflator story fits right in with how people buy the lowest priced option on everything from phone chargers to garden hoses, not realizing the first failure always costs more than the upgrade would have. It is a pattern across almost every product category that the savings upfront just turn into hassle and replacement costs later.

the_derek7d ago

Drove twenty miles on a donut spare after my cheap inflator blew a fuse and learned real quick you get what you pay for.