One Tire or Two (and front vs rear)
 

I got 4 new tires about 3,500 miles ago (on a 2013 A6 3.0 w/ 20" wheels); the tires still have almost all of their tread left. I hit a pothole and got a sidewall bubble that is big enough that I want to replace the tire (the tire shop said I could "probably" just keep it, but I want to err on the side of safety). My first question is whether I can get just one tire vs. whether I need to get two. In either case, should I rotate the tires such that the new one is either on the front or on the rear or does it not really matter?

Thanks

3500mi is pretty negligible, unless its hard driving. I would say ok, unless you feel better getting 2 tires and keeping an extra. Did you ask the tire shop?

Happened to me, tread difference less than 1/32, so doesn't matter, but my rears wear quicker than the front, by about 1/32 (more) per 10K, so if you put it on rear and rotate just one side after 10k, they'll all be even again in 20K...

Do NOT keep that tire on the car. Put the spare on until you replace it. One tire should be fine with that low a mileage.

I found that I have the most wear on the right rear tire. I tend to corner harder on left-hand turns.

I have three sets of tires and check tread depth with every change.

I feel for you. I bought my car in the summer and it had new Bridgestone tires, last week I ran over a patch of nails in the road. I ended up with 3 in the tread and one in the sidewall. With 9/32 I was going to replace the one but because there's a national backorder of that tire I had to replace all 4. Not having a full side spare stinks in situations like this.

i say just one since they have less then 10k miles on it. usually i would say if they are within 3/32 diff they should be fine