Dear Readers,
Do any of you have any experience with these contracts from InTire and First Automotive? The replacement cost for one Michelin Primacy HP XP is $475 per tire (front) and $447 per tire (rear). InTire coverage is $700 for five years to service the tires from road hazards, and First Automotive ($1200) will also cover the rims.
Thanks!
I’ve never heard of tires on any car of light-truck costing anywhere near those prices…
What are the size of those tires??? This I’ve got to see.
I think ANY of those warranty insurance coverages are NEVER worth it…Save your money…How many times have you actually had to replace a tire or rim due to damage??? Sure it happens…but not too often…far less often then the cost of that very very expensive policy would cover.
Save your money. These “contracts” are nothing but profit generators.
I think you should shop around more.
Do the math. Even if you put in a claim for a damaged tire and they paid off in full (not on the sneaky pro rata basis they often use) you have still lost money on the policy.
If I tell you to ‘take your chances,’ it’s unclear whether I am advising you to reject this policy or to buy it.
You might come out ahead 10% of the time, the other 90%, you’ve flushed money down the drain. My general rule is “insure what you can’t afford to replace on your own”. That means life, home, car, health, and liability. Most everything else you’re better off taking the slight risk yourself and saving a LOT of money.
It would seem to me if I got two nails into my tires that the $700 would pay for itself with these Run-Flat tires at the stated prices? Also, these are service contracts, and not insurance policies.
Am I not seeing the math clearly?
No difference between ‘service’ and ‘insurance’ in this case. When’s the last time you had nails in your tires? If it’s a common event, maybe you do need this, but sure seems expensive! This sounds like ‘road hazard’ coverage. I usually can buy that for a fraction of the $$ you’re talking about. But I don’t, I’ve had 2 flats in 30 years. Wouldn’t pay.
If you got two nails in your run flats, why would you have to replace them, can’t they be patched like any other tire?
What are the odds of needing two tires replaced anyway. When was the last time you had to have a tire replaced due to a road hazard?
If you have 4wd or AWD, will they replace all four tires if one of them gets unrepairable damage from a road hazard?
You need to shop around more. The most expensive size of that tire that Tire Rack sells costs $407
C’mon SunnyAl, what size tires ?
What are you putting them on ?
The only Primacy HP I see at that price fits on our 2005 Ford GT ( The retail version of the GT40 race car ) rear, p275/35r19. The 18s in the front are less.
A repair savings account will net you more usable money when you don’t need to use it. ( If you don’t use it, the money stays yours.)
$700 for five years. You rotate maybe twice a year. So that’s $70 per rotation. My local tire shop will do it for free if you had them install the tires there (you don’t even have to buy the tires from them). A road hazard warranty should be around 5-10 bucks a wheel, so $40 max, and that’ll cover the punctures. I just saved you $660. Feel free to share the savings with me 
Also, if you are buying this contract from a dealership, negotiate the cost of the contract. The contracts are legit and if you happen to drive in a city, it’s easy to ruin a rim or tire. In addition, call the contracting company and ask if the contract is refundable if you do not use it. Many warranty/service contracts are now cash back if unused.
Those warranty companies unless backed by tire maker have a nasty habit of going out of business.
Its all a sham, they take the money and run sooner or latter.
$1200. worth of insurance for tires and wheels? I’d also put back money into a repair/replacement fund. $20.X 60 months=$1200. I’ve been driving 35 years, I think I’ve had one tire ruined by road hazard and never damaged a wheel. Some of my cars aren’t even worth $1200. LOL
If you have the worst luck in the world, this insurance policy may be worth buying. Paradoxically, if you have the worst luck in the world and buy the insurance, you will never need it and will have thrown money away for no reason. Your choice.
What on Earth kind of car takes tires that cost that much??? I choke at the thought of paying more than a hundred bucks each for tires, and also refuse to buy cheap junk. Then again, you said they are run-flats, and I would avoid those like the plague. We have had horror stories from owners of Toyota Sienna AWD owners (no spare, standard run-flats instead) and Honda Odyssey Touring owners (run-flats standard on the Touring trim level) whose tires wore out in less than 30k miles and they find out the rims rarely survive dismounting and installing a second set of tires, so they have to buy four new rims along with the new tires. Is this, perchance, how those tires cost that much?
The rims are 19"
Front: 245/40
Rear: 275/35
Prices from the Tire Rack.
Have you checked with Sam’s club or Costco. You can order those tires at the store. The installation is $14/tire and includes a lifetime balance, rotation and road hazard warrantee.
The manager at my local Costco told me the tires I have were not listed in his sheets.
what kinda car is this going on? I see you’re more interested in summer tires, so I doubt it’ll be driven during winter
Well, it still gives you a comparison as to the service contract. Everything in your service contract is only $14 per tire at Costco. Tire rack usually has a road hazard warrantee available but I don’t see one listed for this tire, they maybe able to give you one over the phone.
You won’t rotate these tires. Costco will balance any tire for about $20/set.
The bottom line is that I don’t think these service contracts are worth what they are asking. I think the other responders here agree with me.