nail in tire. Inbetween sidewall and first groove. Too close to sidewall to patch? Falken 452. 305-25-20 $375 for the tire plus install etc...
My tires only have 5k miles on them

Any advice? Am I just stuck buying a new one or should I try to patch? Merc says replace cause so close to the wall and the tire bends a lot there. At almost $400 I would rather buy Mich ps2 but isnt it a bad idea to mix tires?

I would say replace because it sounds like it's pretty close to the sidewall. Get it further inspected though obviously.

If the tire isn't leaking air I would just leave it in there. Several years ago I drive a car 10hrs with a nail in the tire in a very similar location without any problems. I continued to drive the car for several months after that without any problems.

I would replace the tire just for the piece of mind. I would be worrying about that tire every time I took the car out.

Rob,
I would replace the tire. I had the same exact thing happen and was dealing with it, by pumping air into the tire every few days for the past few months. Tried to save money. Anyways to make a long story short, tire disinigrated while I was traveling on a secondary highway last Friday during evening rush hour. Very glad it didn't blow up while I was traveling 70+ on major hwy. That would not have been good!

Anyways, just replace it instead of trying to deal with it. It was a pain in the asz.

BTW, how do you like the Falkens? I was looking into replacing all fours with Toyo T1R's or Falken FK-452. What's your opinion bro?

+1. Your life is riding on the tire.

had the same thing happen to the wife's slk350, changed the tire... of course the bullet was a little smaller to bite... $143 for a 17 inch tire

buy a used tire from a tire shop with a similar tread pattern and load ratings. It is fine to mix tires butyou may consider replacing both tires and usingthe good tire as a spare, backup.

I use completely different rears than fronts and my car has never had alignment or performance issues

ordered new tire..putting it on later today...i like the falkens..better than the contis ive owned in the past not as good as the ps2s. i have less than 6k miles on them..305/25/20s