There is a garage of sorts at Schinnen, attached to the gas station. The gas at Schinnen is the most expensive in the area. Aafes fuel products are significantly cheaper in Germany and in Belgium for some reason. I never understood this since I am fairly sure Aafes buys their fuel products from the same source. Regular gas was $4.67 in The Netherlands Aafes stations but only $3.93 in Germany and $4.05 in Belgium. Motor oil is also more expensive in The Netherlands.
Last week I ordered new tires for my compact car at the garage at Schinnen. My tires were getting worn enough that I wanted fresh tires for the coming winter. Of course I knew tires would be more expensive here than in the states, everything is. But I had no idea how much more expensive. I have been driving since 1977 and these were the most expensive tires I have ever purchased. The garage, or Tire Center at Schinnen only offers one brand of tire, Cooper. I had never heard of Cooper Tires but I did an Internet search and they appear to be a fairly well known and good quality tire company. But they certainly are not one of the lower priced tire lines out there.
This is only a guess but I would estimate I paid about 30-40 percent more for these tires than I did for the four tires I put on my Ford Explorer three years ago (and they were much larger, heavier duty tires). But the price of the tires themselves is only part of what you pay. At the Aafes garage at Schinnen you will have all sorts of charges and fees added to the price of your tires. At most tires stores, and stateside Aafes garages, these fees are included in the price of your tires (except maybe the fee to discard your old tires).
At Schinnen you will pay an additional $8.95 per tire for them to balance the tire. You cannot drive with unbalanced tires so this should be included in the price as it is a normal part of mounting tires on the rims. Then you are hit with a $4.50 per tire charge for tire disposal. Again, unless you have your own landfill this is a charge you cannot escape but $4.50 per tire is an excessive charge; I never paid more than $1.00 per tire anywhere else. Most garages now actually get paid for their old tires by retreading companies or rubber recycling companies. Next charge is a $1.00 "Environmental" fee. Normally that is what the tire disposal fee is for so this is an excess made up fee in this case. In total you will add a minimum of $57.80 to the already higher tire prices you can expect to pay in The Netherlands. Aafes offers a good "Road Hazard" plan for $18.75 per tire (again, that is a bit excessive). It pays for tire repair and free rotation and balance for the life of the tire to include the initial balancing of your new tires. I will only be here or near an Aafes facility for one more year so it wasn't cost effective for me.
How to reduce these costs? My recommendation is to have new tires put on your car or truck right before you PCS to The Netherlands. You will save a considerable amount of money and effort and have a wider selection of tire types and companies. Store your original tires until you come back to the states. If you are going to drive in Germany you MUST have real snow tires mounted on your car in the winter. You will be fined if you are driving on "All Season" tires if there is snow on the ground. Switching tires on your car twice a year will get expensive but it is cheaper than buying four more rims and swapping winter tires for summer tires. I just just avoid Germany in the winter.
I do not think you can get tires cheaper on the economy so you are stuck with Aafes price gouging. I guess they figure that is what your overseas COLA is for; to increase Aafes profits. But in any case it is something you need to factor into your budget while you are here.
While I am on the subject of the Aafes garage in Schinnen... You should be aware that they have only a very limited supply of oil filters and absolutely no air filters for your vehicle. I always bring back filters when I go to the states on leave. Buying them online is an option but then you have to add the cost of shipping to the price. If you haven't yet left the states be sure to buy a couple of each filter that you need and bring them with you. Motor oil is about 50% more expensive here and the types and weights are limited. Oil changes at the Schinnen garage are very expensive and the quoted price does not include the oil or the filter; just the labor. They charge $85.00 an hour with a minimum labor charge of $17.00. Learn how to change your own oil and you will save hundreds of dollars in a three year tour here. You can dispose of your oil on Saturdays at the recycling center on Schinnen.
There is a "Car Craft" center on AFNORTH in Brunssum that is supposed to be cheaper for almost everything. I haven't used it so I do not know the details. Check them out before paying for work at Schinnen.
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