Rats. 10 month old, new car has nail in sidewall. 8k miles to date. Turns out new cars don’t have road hazard on tires. So, we got 1 new tire. Tire store asked if we wanted road hazard on 1 new tire. Sort of odd. 3 tires have no coverage. But 1 does. That’s like insuring 3/4 of your roof for hail damage.
Turns out new cars don't have road hazard on tires.
In 40 years of buying cars I’ve NEVER seen road hazard on tires. Road hazard is just an insurance policy. Nothing more. The places around here that offer road hazard…also sell their tires for significantly more then where I buy my tires.
How many miles are on your car? Buying only one tire will create a mismatch in wear. Some cars are very sensitive to unbalanced tires (e.g. Subarus). I’d get at least two.
Yup, been there. I had 1500 miles and ran the tire up against the corner of my concrete step in the garage. Cost me $300. At 8000 miles its kind of a toss up whether to replace all of them or not, I guess if you like the tires and aren’t worn much, you’ll just end up with one tire with a lot more tread on it. Good point though on the matching tires. I wouldn’t have that one on the front if FWD and it’ll screw up rotations because you wouldn’t want mismatched on the driven end.
“The places around here that offer road hazard…also sell their tires for significantly more then where I buy my tires”.
It’s too bad that you don’t have a Costco near you.
Even with their standard road hazard coverage, Costco charges less for their tires than any competitor that I have found. On my recent set of Michelin Defenders, Costco’s total price was ~$170 less than what Tire Rack would have charged.
it was rear tire. fwd car. one shop did give me the 2 tire pitch. he said even buying an identical new tire and mixing it with partially worn tire would have affect on that axle. he said i could remove 1 good tire from axle and sell it? he didnt want it of course.
Do you have a full-size spare? You could have used THAT tire and purchased a used tire for the spare…It’s all water over the dam now…
3 tires have no coverage. But 1 does. That’s like insuring 3/4 of your roof for hail damage
Actually, it’s like insuring 1/4
Insurance always looks good after the fact. How many critically damaged tires has anyone had in the lifetime? I’ve had a number of tread punctures but only 1 that could not be repaired and that was 30 years ago. Rather than invest the savings from not buying tire insurance for nearly 40 years, I squandered it on beer but to each his own…
It's too bad that you don't have a Costco near you.
There’s a Costco about 2 miles from where I buy my tires at. I’ve checked with Costco…they are the same price or a little higher. Costco truck tires are a LOT higher.
I’ve checked with Costco…they are the same price or a little higher."
The price at Costco includes road hazard coverage, and complementary lifetime flat repair, rotation, & rebalancing.
Does that competitor include those services in his price?
If not, then you are not comparing them on a level playing field.
Yeah I’ve wrecked two tires. One years ago when I ran over a spring or something in the road-never found it but shredded the tire. The other one in my garage. Well three if you count my trailer tire that the fender came down on and peeled the tread away. 'Spose tomorrow I’ll hit something now.
The price at Costco includes road hazard coverage, and complementary lifetime flat repair, rotation, & rebalancing.
They offer everything but the road hazard…
My place doesn’t have high-school kids putting on new tires…or fixing the flats. Many times the owners are out on the floor doing the work. Does Costco do that??
As I said…Road Hazard is nothing more then an insurance policy which in 40+ years of driving it MIGHT have come in handy just once. So I’d prefer NOT paying for it.
My place doesn’t have high-school kids putting on new tires…or fixing the flats. Many times the owners are out on the floor doing the work. Does Costco do that??
Does the CEO of Costco install tires?
Ummm…no, but then again, the CEO of Ford doesn’t work on the assembly line.
Would you really expect the CEO of Costco to be working in their tire shop?
The guys working in the Costco tire departments in my area all seem to range from their mid-30s to late middle age, but…of course…I have no idea about the age of their tire technicians in other parts of the country. As to their qualifications, they have all been trained by Michelin, at that company’s training seminars, and their credentials are on display on the wall in the tire center. Some have more certificates than others, but they have all been trained by Michelin’s corporate folks.
Does the CEO of Costco install tires? Ummm...no, but then again, the CEO of Ford doesn't work on the assembly line. Would you really expect the CEO of Costco to be working in their tire shop?
I was obviously being facetious. Costco may be fine. But I know the place I buy my tires at are good. Been going there for about 15+ years. I use to buy my tires at BJ’s (like Costco and Sam’s club - here in the North East). But their tire department is now run by Monro Muffler. And they ALWAYS were trying to upsell me something. And as I said earlier…I’d rather not pay for something I would rarely need.
Mike
After taking a look a few times over the years at the tire department at a BJ’s, I decided that I was not interested in putting my car into a service bay that looked like the Exxon Valdez had unloaded its oil there. To say that the place was filthy, unkempt, and unprofessional-looking is a massive understatement. And, over the past few months, I have noticed that when I drive past the BJ’s closest to my house, there never seem to be cars in the tire installation bays.
By contrast, at Costco, there is a constant stream of tire customers and the wait for your tires to be installed could be as long as 2.5 hours. But, when you are offering the best prices in town, on premium-quality tires, a large demand is to be expected.
And, while I will probably not have to avail myself of the road hazard warranty during the life of my tires, it is nice to know that I have it, and that–even with that added level of coverage–I paid less for my tires than I would have paid anywhere else in my area. So…in reality, I am not really paying extra for that coverage.
Bad tire was 8/32 at 8k miles
So…in reality, I am not really paying extra for that coverage
Of course you are, in reality.
It costs them money to honor it and they are passing a fraction of that along to every customer. You don’t notice it (or care) because their price is less than the competition even with that extra protection provided but the fact is, they have costs associated with it and guess who is paying those costs. Can you decline and pay even less or is it bundled in?
“Can you decline and pay even less or is it bundled in?”
As far as I know, you cannot decline it, but for me it is not an issue.
I am saving so much over other retailers–even with the bundled road hazard policy–that I am not going to lose sleep thinking about how much more I could have saved if it was not included.
Or–do you not think that getting my tires for ~$170 less than what Tire Rack would have charged was not a good deal?
VDC:
Are you getting the same tire at Costco that would get at Tire Rack? Or do they have differing suffixes where Costco sells the variants spec’d for the big box stores?
Tire Rack is great if you DON’T live in a state that has a sales tax. But here in NH…where there’s no sales tax…their prices become less competitive. I can do BETTER then Tire Rack at most places here in NH.