guy incognito
Well-Known Member
So I am in the market for new tires, and I want to get nice new tires. Trying to get an out the door price I added them all to my basket to check all the bullshit add on crap. The tires are $144 each, and the add ons (tire disposal, installation, lifetime rotation, tpms rebuild kit) are $23.25 per tire. There is another optional add on for a "tire certificate" of $19 per tire for repair or replacement. When I saw this I automatically assumed it was unneeded because it's simply an extended warranty.
I did some research and the overwhelming majority of people are saying it is cost effective to buy the certificates. This seems very counter intuitive to me. How does a tire retailer make money selling certificates if they are used more often than not? Wouldn't it make more business sense to not sell the certificates and just sell more tires when they break? If people need the reassurance of an extended warranty, shouldn't the business raise the price to at least the break even point? I mean for every dollar of tire a customer receives for "free" because of a certificate, doesn't the business have to at least make that much off of unused certificates, otherwise it's not a profitable business move?
All the tires seem to have a warranty mileage (inlcuded with it - no certificate purchase needed). The warranty is defined as:
"The mileage warranty of a tire indicates the number of miles that a tire is estimated to last. If a tire fails to last for the number of miles indicated by the warranty, the customer will be given credit toward a new tire based on how many miles short of the estimate the tire fell. Some restrictions apply."
The certificate program sounds like its just a warranty program:
"
[h=3]How Am I Covered?[/h] In the event one or more of your tires with certificates fail due to defect, or incurs road hazard damage that cannot be repaired, Discount Tire/America's Tire will replace it at no additional charge. Regardless of the number of miles you put on the tires, you will be covered for the life of the original tread down to 3/32" remaining, or 3 years from the date of purchase, whichever occurs first. We have offered certificates for over 30 years; they are unbeatable in the tire industry!"
So what exactly does the "certificate" cover that the warranty doesn't? I assume if it's defect it's covered under the normal warranty, so what good does having a certificate do? Things like a nail or screw in the tire, or some other road hazard maybe.
The very first testimonial they list:
"I bought a set of Goodyear Eagle GTs. 1 week later, there was an impact bubble on the sidewall of the right front tire. Renewing the certificate was a lot cheaper than buying a new tire.
-G Pritchard"
If I spent $700 on a set of brand new tires, and 1 week later had a bubble on the sidewall, and they told me they will not replace it because I didn't purchase a certificate I would be contacting the BBB and then a lawyer. I can't believe there would not be a manufacturers warranty to cover the obviously defective tire. I also don't believe any legitimate business owner would have the balls to tell me they wouldn't replace it free of charge, and risk losing me as a customer.
This was all from discounttire.com
I found the certificate scheme at every place I checked out though.
Anyone have any recommendations or advice on getting some good quality tires?
I did some research and the overwhelming majority of people are saying it is cost effective to buy the certificates. This seems very counter intuitive to me. How does a tire retailer make money selling certificates if they are used more often than not? Wouldn't it make more business sense to not sell the certificates and just sell more tires when they break? If people need the reassurance of an extended warranty, shouldn't the business raise the price to at least the break even point? I mean for every dollar of tire a customer receives for "free" because of a certificate, doesn't the business have to at least make that much off of unused certificates, otherwise it's not a profitable business move?
All the tires seem to have a warranty mileage (inlcuded with it - no certificate purchase needed). The warranty is defined as:
"The mileage warranty of a tire indicates the number of miles that a tire is estimated to last. If a tire fails to last for the number of miles indicated by the warranty, the customer will be given credit toward a new tire based on how many miles short of the estimate the tire fell. Some restrictions apply."
The certificate program sounds like its just a warranty program:
"
[h=3]How Am I Covered?[/h] In the event one or more of your tires with certificates fail due to defect, or incurs road hazard damage that cannot be repaired, Discount Tire/America's Tire will replace it at no additional charge. Regardless of the number of miles you put on the tires, you will be covered for the life of the original tread down to 3/32" remaining, or 3 years from the date of purchase, whichever occurs first. We have offered certificates for over 30 years; they are unbeatable in the tire industry!"
So what exactly does the "certificate" cover that the warranty doesn't? I assume if it's defect it's covered under the normal warranty, so what good does having a certificate do? Things like a nail or screw in the tire, or some other road hazard maybe.
The very first testimonial they list:
"I bought a set of Goodyear Eagle GTs. 1 week later, there was an impact bubble on the sidewall of the right front tire. Renewing the certificate was a lot cheaper than buying a new tire.
-G Pritchard"
If I spent $700 on a set of brand new tires, and 1 week later had a bubble on the sidewall, and they told me they will not replace it because I didn't purchase a certificate I would be contacting the BBB and then a lawyer. I can't believe there would not be a manufacturers warranty to cover the obviously defective tire. I also don't believe any legitimate business owner would have the balls to tell me they wouldn't replace it free of charge, and risk losing me as a customer.
This was all from discounttire.com
I found the certificate scheme at every place I checked out though.
Anyone have any recommendations or advice on getting some good quality tires?
