My recent experience with the Tire Rack Road Hazard Program suggests that the buyer beware. In the end, I didn't get the kind of benefit I expected, so if you're considering buying the road hazard program with your tires, look closely first so you know what you're really getting.

I bought some Kumho tires through the Tire Rack just over a year ago and, after some coaxing from the tire installer, decided to buy the road hazard protection. It covered flat repair (although through mail-in reimbursement) and tire replacement if the tire was not repairable... pretty standard fare, I figured. Turns out, if something bad happens to a tire within the first 12 months, and it's not repairable, the coverage is great: 100%. But, after 12 months is up, the coverage drops off considerably. At 14 months out, the coverage was 42%, which, BTW, does not apply to shipping. Tire Rack no longer carried my tire, so one good thing is the 42% was applied to the tire I did manage to find, which was more expensive. The road hazard program does seem to cover flat repairs, however I was surprised to find that the road hazard program does not cover mounting and balancing of a replacement tire. Makes me think I should have poked a hole in the new tire, then they would have covered mounting and balancing for the flat repair [just kidding].

So, this is how it turned out: I run over something that punctures the sidewall of one of my tires, so I manage to find and order a replacement tire [thanks to a Forum member ]. I end up paying the majority of the cost of the tire, the entire cost of shipping and the entire cost of mount&balance for a tire that is 14 months old and had lost only 1 mm of tread. The road hazard program ultimately paid 30% of the total cost to replace the tire. To say the least, I'm disappointed to find that the tire-replacement coverage I bought covered less than one-third the actual cost of replacing a tire.

As much as anyone else, I'm guilty of making assumptions and not reading the fine print until it comes time to make a claim. I just assumed the road hazard program was similar to other programs at local tire shops. It turns out the Tire Rack Road Hazard program is a time-based program, rather than a tread-wear based program.

So, if you want a road hazard program that provides good coverage in the first 12 months, this seems like a good program. But, if you want decent coverage beyond the first year, it may not meet your expectations.

 

That's a useful write-up, K87ZZ4. It would seem that Tire Rack's Road Hazard Program doesn't neccessarily match the needs of folks with high performance tires on cars that might not be daily drivers.

 

I forgot to add the icing on the cake: the road hazard policy apparently 'expires' as soon as the tire is replaced, so if I want coverage on the tire I just replaced, I get the opportunity to pay again... that is, even more dollars.

I did notice that the program pays for shipping the replacement tire "if shipped from Tire Rack". Why on earth it should matter where it's shipped from is beyond me.

 

(knock wood)

I've never bought or used such a warranty because they are 90% profit for the company and little to no benefit to the consumer.

Same goes for extended warranties at BB or Circuit City.

 

In most cases extended warranties benefit the seller more than the consumer. A lot of extended warranties are pro-rated which further benefits the seller. I've never brought a road hazard warranty on a tire and over the long run I can only thing of one or two times where it would have come in handy.

 

I have been VERY happy with Discount Tire Co's warranties. I always buy road hazzard. They have replaced many tires free of charge, even mounting/balancing.

The only time they hassled me over one was when my wife's tire had THREE nails in it and shreaded apart. The camber was also off, causing uneven wear. They tried to tell me it blew up because it was unevenly worn. I argued with them a bit until they finally saw it my way that "this never would have blown up if it didn't have three nails sticking out of it, THAT is road hazard"...

I've replaced quite a few tires through them, their prices were always fair IMO too.

 

I agree... I guess I hadn't really thought of a road hazard policy that way, but I suppose it is, especially if it's a time-based program, rather than a wear-based program.

The flat repair coverage was what I figured I would probably end up using, since I have never had a tire damaged beyond repair in my 25 years on the road. I figured that 2 flats over 3 years and it woudl pay for itself. I just assumed that I had full coverage for tire replacement should that ever happen... so, when that turned out to NOT be the case, I thought others should be aware before they fall into that assumption like I did. Considering the hassle of having to mail in for reimbursement and the requirement to have the original paperwork, in retrospect, I'm thinking it's just not worth it.

It's also good to know that local shops provide a warranty that meets driver expectations; I think I'll be buying local in the future.

 

Does Discount Tire have widespread retail outlets? I only know about
them because of their magazine campaigns.

I ask because if your remark about local shops is based on anything
other than the earlier post in favour of Discount Tire or your own
experiences, methinks you are assuming too much.

My feelings, based on my experience with tire and other warranties
are that manufacturer's warranties are a crap-shoot, extended
warranties are a profit-center. Shops can and will manipulate
unwary buyers in warranty situations.

.

 

I will be honest, just about EVERY tire replacement warrantee I have ever seen is exactly the same... it's pro-rated. Much like a battery replacement warrantee.

Only once did I ever win on a service contract. I bought a cell phone from Radio Shack about 10 years ago... they offered a 3 year service deal that included free replacement if lost and a new battery each year. I got new batteries each year, including one year when the battery was upgraded. I think I made about 20.00 on that deal.

 

your on the left coast, les schwab give free flat repair, even if you don't buy the tire from them.

why would you pay in advance for flat repair?

 

They do around here, anyway.

I've heard that's true... and Les Schwab does provide top-notch service; I buy my truck tires from them. Seems a bit unfair if I didn't buy my tires from them and I'm not planning to buy the next set from them, either... But, I almost bought my max performance tires from them last time. If they have 255/50-16s next time around, I'll probably buy there.

I agree... and I expected a pro-rated program; but the one's I've seen are based on tread-wear, not on the number of months that have passed. I'd expect if I'd used up 1/7th of the tread, that I would be reimbursed only 6/7ths of the cost to replace the tire; that's the kind of replacement program I'm familiar with--and what I expected.

In my case, intead of being reimbursed 6/7ths of the cost, I was reimbursed less than 1/3 of the cost.