heres the thing, i really wish i knew how to change oil/brake pads and had the time and the tools, but bottom line is I don't have the tools, time, knowledge, or even space since I live in the middle of a city to do so.
Also, seeing how I drive up to tahoe pretty often, if you've ever driven over echo summit on route 50 into south lake tahoe during the middle of a blizzard, you would not want used tires. There is 400 foot+ cliff to the valley floor that is barricaded by sand bags in places. $400 for for good, all weather tires is not a bad price and thats not something I'm willing to skimp on.
Another thing is, I probably work 40-50 hours a week at my job, go to the gym/play soccer/grab a drink afterwards, so the last thing I want to do is spend time doing work on my car. On the weekends, I want to chill with friends, ski, or hike or something like that. I don't have a driveway so even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to.
If you are a college student, you will have a lot more time and probably space to do stuff like this. If you have the time, I would highly recommend learning how to do some basic car stuff. But, once reality sets in you have to have your priorities.