Is Discount Tire warranty worth the cost?

[Mr. Wonderful]

I called DT to find out how the tire warranty program works. I was told that if I get a puncture that is unable
to be patched/plugged, I would get a brand new replacement tire OR the $$ equivalent.
They told me on the MYP the tires average a bit over $400 each, and the warranty lasts for the life
of the tire. I was quoted a price of about $330, but have read that different locations quote different prices
for the same warranty.
Do you have experience with this program? Have you had to use it? Have you shopped around for price?
There are no other locations near me, but I was thinking of calling a different one to get another quote.
I've always thought extended warranties only benefit the company selling them, but in this car, just one
replacement can cover the cost of the initial outlay.

Thoughts??

 

[exxxviii]

What’s your personal experience patching and replacing tires over your lifetime? I have only had 1 tire destroyed in at least 20 years. So if I spent an extra $300 every time I bought a set of tires, I would have thrown away thousands of dollars. For me, the odds of coming out positive with a tire warranty are extremely low, so I pass. But your experience may be different.

 

[jcanoe]

Disclaimer: DT does not have tire centers in my area (DC Metro).

Discount tire will, as a good will effort, offer to repair a tire at no cost to the vehicle owner if Discount Tire judges that the punctured tire can be repaired. So the certificate program is not about plugging a tire. The Discount Tire Certificate program covers the replacement of a tire (not wheel) if the damaged tire cannot be repaired.

IMHO the DT certificate is a good deal, cheap insurance.

More tire shops are refusing to repair tires where the puncture is anywhere but in the center line of the tire tread.

Some tire shops are refusing to repair tires that have a foam sound treatment liner (Tesla OE tires have the foam liner.)

Roads in some areas of the US seem to be littered with drywall screws, sheet metal screws that regularly find their way into tires.

Some Tesla Model Y drivers report multiple tire punctures in their Tesla Model Y (more than with previous vehicles).

 

[Dennisis]

For me, the odds of coming out positive with a tire warranty are extremely low, so I pass. But your experience may be different.

This. I love DT, purchased many sets of tires there over the years, but never went the cert route and never regretted it. I’ve fixed or replaced at a much lower cost.

 

[Midpack]

This. I love DT, purchased many sets of tires there over the years, but never went the cert route and never regretted it. I’ve fixed or replaced at a much lower cost.

That seems to be the case for any added or extended warranties. Why would DT, or any manufacturer or third party, offer a warranty that lost them money? They would not. You can be sure DT or whoever makes money on the warranty, so it boils down to being on the hook for an out-of-pocket tire repair if you don't have the warranty. Seems like a small $ risk, trivial over a lifetime unless you live someplace where flats are unusually common - in which case I suspect DT has some fine print.

Unrelated, but manufacturers tread life warranties are useless IME. I explored the warranty when the tires on my wife's car lost tread depth faster than the "warranty" claimed. I took the car in when the tread depth was 4/32." I was told (at Tire Rack) all 4 tires had to have exactly the same wear, to the 1/32nds, or there was no warranty. A I had to drive them until they were all 2/32's to see if we achieved the stated mileage. Like I would put my wife, or myself at risk, driving tires down to 2/32's.

Why Tread-Life Warranties are Next to Useless

In making a tire purchase, long tread life is among the most important features sought after by many consumers, yet our real-life treadwear tests have found so much variation between the promise and the reality that it’s impossible to use the stated tread-life to accurately comparison-shop...

www.consumerreports.org

 

[Noflash]

I called DT to find out how the tire warranty program works. I was told that if I get a puncture that is unable
to be patched/plugged, I would get a brand new replacement tire OR the $$ equivalent.
They told me on the MYP the tires average a bit over $400 each, and the warranty lasts for the life
of the tire. I was quoted a price of about $330, but have read that different locations quote different prices
for the same warranty.
Do you have experience with this program? Have you had to use it? Have you shopped around for price?
There are no other locations near me, but I was thinking of calling a different one to get another quote.
I've always thought extended warranties only benefit the company selling them, but in this car, just one
replacement can cover the cost of the initial outlay.

Thoughts??

Tires come with Tread Life Warranty. I assume you are talking about the Discount Tire Certificates. I never bought them until I started only buying AWD cars. If you have an unrepairable tire and your tread is worn to a certain point, they want you to replace all 4 tires. With the Certificates, I believe they will cover the cost of replacing all four. I believe the argument is that running tires of different tread depth causes wear on the internal AWD components. Honestly, I have no idea if the wear applies to Tesla's AWD system or not. The certificates are much cheaper than a set of tires. In my old age I seem to be purchasing insurance much more than when I was younger and made less money. With tax my wheels and tires were $1700. $109 was for certificates. Worth it IMO.

 

[rwiegand]

How many tires do you wreck? I know on this forum the numbers seem incredibly high, both for punctures and other problems. (Do you all work in construction sites?) The last flat tire on one of my cars that I can remember was maybe 15 years ago and the result of hitting a pothole that bent the rim. I'd lose my shirt buying tire damage warranties. Your milage may, literally, vary. It all comes down to your personal history and risk tolerance

 

[ucmndd]

With the Certificates, I believe they will cover the cost of replacing all four.

That’s quite the statement to take on belief. I very much doubt that’s the case.

 

[jcanoe]

A not uncommon scenario is that you get a puncture in one tire. Discount tire determines that the puncture cannot be patched or plugged because the damage is too close to the sidewall of the tire. There is more; the tire originally had 9/32nd or 10/32nd tread depth when now but is now at 5/32nd remaining tread depth.

You will need to replace both tires on the affected axle because the difference (4/32nd inch) in tread depth (affects the tire outer diameter, circumference and rotations per mile) between the old and new tire would be too great and cause a problem with the Tesla Model Y's traction control system. If you had purchased the Discount Tire Certificate then you would receive 2 new tires at no cost to you.

 

[Noflash]

That’s quite the statement to take on belief. I very much doubt that’s the case.

That's how they sold it to me. I supposed they could have been lying, but that's not my first instinct when dealing with them.

 

[s1rk]

DT warranty has come in handy for me on multiple occasions. Considering the cost of the tires and me driving through LA daily... it's worth it for me.

 

[cbdream99]

I bought it when I first got my Tesla, and then on subsequent sets just bought the road hazard insurance which is much cheaper or included in the price. I have used DT insurance before for another car with run flats which most likely has to be replaced when punctured

 

[avs007]

What’s your personal experience patching and replacing tires over your lifetime? I have only had 1 tire destroyed in at least 20 years. So if I spent an extra $300 every time I bought a set of tires, I would have thrown away thousands of dollars. For me, the odds of coming out positive with a tire warranty are extremely low, so I pass. But your experience may be different.

That's not the cost of the warranty, I think that was the cost of the tire. When I got my DWS-06 Plus on my Tesla, the warranty was an extra $27 per tire. And yes it is totally worth it. There were times, where becuase of potholes, I had to get all 4 tires replaced under warranty within about a year and a half time. On average, I have to use the warranty replacement at least once per set of tires over its life. The most I've used it, was 4 times.

The other thing to take note, is the exclusions. Discount Tire, explicitly states in their warranty that there are no exclusions for any reason, other than tread depth having to be greater than the minimum allowed by law. Other places, like Les Schwab and Costco, explicitly have an exclusion for damage caused by a flat. So if you get a flat, and do not stop IMMEDIATELY, those other places will refuse to replace your tire... Discount Tire does not do that. One time my dad clipped a curb, and got a flat, but he was only 2 blocks from home, so he drove home... When I went over to help, he totally shredded the tire... I brought it into Discount Tire, and they happily replaced it since I already got my parents the certificates.

A lot of other places also pro-rate the warranty coverage, so they would only replace the tire for the first year, then after that, they only cover a diminishing percentage of the tire... Discount Tire will replace the tire, up until you have the minimum tread left on the tire... I've had that happen before too, where I had a pothole rupture the bead on my tire. My tire was barely above the wear bars, so they still gladly replaced the tire.

 

[avs007]

That’s quite the statement to take on belief. I very much doubt that’s the case.

They are actually much nicer when you have certs for all 4 tires. On my Infiniti with a staggered setup, I told them when I only replaced the rears, my traction/stability control went haywire. They said since I had certs on all 4 tires, they let me use the treadware warranty on the fronts even tho they had plenty of tread left.

 

[avs007]

Seems like a small $ risk, trivial over a lifetime unless you live someplace where flats are unusually common - in which case I suspect DT has some fine print.

This is the beauty of the certs at DT. It explicitly says that there are no exclusions for any reasons, and goes on to state how they are better than the competition which is littered with fine print.

 

[avs007]

Tires come with Tread Life Warranty. I assume you are talking about the Discount Tire Certificates. I never bought them until I started only buying AWD cars. If you have an unrepairable tire and your tread is worn to a certain point, they want you to replace all 4 tires. With the Certificates, I believe they will cover the cost of replacing all four. I believe the argument is that running tires of different tread depth causes wear on the internal AWD components. Honestly, I have no idea if the wear applies to Tesla's AWD system or not. The certificates are much cheaper than a set of tires. In my old age I seem to be purchasing insurance much more than when I was younger and made less money. With tax my wheels and tires were $1700. $109 was for certificates. Worth it IMO.

This has always been the case with my AWD Redsport and MDX. whenever I needed a tire replaced, they said since I had certs for my tires, they let me use the treadware warranty for all 4 tires.

 

[avs007]

Disclaimer: DT does not have tire centers in my area (DC Metro).

They told me if you get an unrepairable tire and you can't get to a DT and have certrs, they said you can take it anywhere, and have the tire replaced. They said to keep the receipt, and bring it in to any DT, and they will fully reimburse the cost, including mounting and balancing.

 

[avs007]

I bought it when I first got my Tesla, and then on subsequent sets just bought the road hazard insurance which is much cheaper or included in the price. I have used DT insurance before for another car with run flats which most likely has to be replaced when punctured

Runflats aren't fun to replace out of pocket... On my other car that came with runflats... A misaligned steel plate in a construction zone took out one of my runflats. Those runflats were $500 a piece. Luckily I got the construction company to pay for them, for misaligning the steel plates.

 

[TacoGuy]

I wouldn’t pay the for the cost of the tire in tire insurance. I just had to replace one MYLR tire due to wife making minced meat of it on a curb. It also took the wheel out. The whole replacement cost, wheel <refurb>, and tire was $800. I have the old wheel out for refurb, and will make it a spare tire for road trips. Don’t spend an extra 300 on top to get a plug if you have a failure.

 

[Spinkick]

Extended warranties are almost never worth while for the customer. If they were, they would not be selling them becuase DT would be losing money overall. You have to "get lucky" that you will need them. Its better to bet that you wont need them and save a few bucks to put into a tire fund for repairs just in case.

Look at the app "you need a budget" and make a category for tires.