But it's a bummer when you only have a few hundred miles on the tire, and then the sidewall gets badly damaged from a mishap so minor that you weren't even aware of it. At that point, you're stuck buying a new tire or living with the worry that it could fail suddenly. That's what happened to me twice. Having to replace an inexpensive tire long before it would have worn out due to normal use isn't a good value. Maybe I've just had really bad luck - I don't know. However, I've never damaged a sidewall on any other tire.