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So I'm rocking a set of Michelin Pilot Sports that I picked up in Oct '15. These things are completely worn through where the fiber is showing through the rubber....in just over 2 years. Now this type of wear probably doesn't apply to everyone, but in the Arizona heat where you're rocking the same set of tires year-round, it does. I was planning on picking up a new set of 4, which will cost just under $1000. So during my perusing on Discount Tire's website shopping for a new set, I noticed that they have a pretty sweet "certificate" program. For around $30 basically your tires are completely covered for everything, including wear, up to 3 years.
I did happen to buy my last set from Discount Tire, so I decided to call them to see if I purchased the extra warranty certificate...no dice! Would have scored me a free brand new set of tires.
Also, a lot of the tire manufacturers have mileage guarantees. I believe the Pilot Sports have a 40,000 mile guarantee. I'll need to check my original receipt, but I am probably just outside of the warranty range now. Too bad, I was probably under the 3/32 tread limit months ago and could have scored a free set. Anyway, will let you know if it works out.
AFAIK, most tire places do prorated discounts on the new set (for mileage warranty at least). So if you get 20,000/40,000 miles from a set of tires, you'll get 50% off the new set. If you get 30,000/40,000 (only 10,000/40,000 remaining) you would get 25% off the new set. I'm not sure how the $30 certificate program works though, but I would like to know if you get it.
Quick update. So I did some digging and found my Discount Tire paperwork. Firstly, I was at 39,800 miles on my tires...just inside the limit! Even better, you'll never guess what I found...
BOOYAH BABY! Look who's scoring a set of free tires! So I eagerly call up my local Discount Tire to have them order these for me. I told the tech there how my tires were bald with the fibers showing through. The tech started out helpful, I told him what was going on, he looks to order them, but first he tries to upsell me on upgrading to the new A/S4. He said they are newer better tires, yada yada. Then, he finds my particular model of Michelin Pilot Sport to be discontinued. No big deal, it says clearly on the certificate that if the tires are discontinued, they will replace them with the nearest comparable tire. Pretty cut and dry...you would think. He then offers to split the cost difference between what I had and the new A/S4s. I told him no, the tires should be replaced for free, it says clearly on the certificate. He proceeded to tell me that since the fibers are showing through on my tires, that they are below 2/32 tread, which means that they are past their term of life and he can't return them at all. He said that Michelin wouldn't accept them for a warranty. I proceeded to explain to him that this was a Discount Tire program, it has nothing to do with Michelin, and DT's program clearly states that it protects against wear. He insisted that their program does not cover tire wear. I argued back and forth with him for 15 minutes, then asked to speak to a manager. Got the manager on the phone, told him what happened, he said "No problem, of course wear is covered, I'll order them right now and call you when they're in."
Moral of the story: Discount Tire's policies are awesome, their employees are idiots..and I'm getting free tires. Woot.
How is he scamming DT? Am I missing something? They stated they cover tires for 3 years up to 40k miles, to include wear. He was inside both of those parameters.
You ride the tires down to that point and you dont claim and part of the fault?
He was using them as intended and they wore prematurely. That's what warranties are for, which he paid for. So when you get sick or hurt yourself and have to use insurance you've been paying for does that mean you're scamming the system?
OP, I'm glad you were able to hold them to their word and thank you for reminding us all to check our warranties!
04-30-2018, 07:25 PM
