Discount tire - Free repair!

[CardsFan]

DW's car started a slow leak over the weekend. Checked a local tire place, that we had used before for repair, on-line appointments were out until Thursday.

Checked Discount tire and got an appointment for 10:15 today. The note on the page said repairs were free, but I figured there was a catch.

NO catch. Out 40 minutes later. NO charge.

I guess they figure enough folks come in for the freebie, but the tire is beyond repair and they buy new ones.

Anyway, I'll take free! And when we need new tires, I will be sure to check out Discount tire.

 

[dmpi]

I love Discount Tire. Not for the tire repair but the fact that you can order name-brand tires and they have a good selection. Also if you request weird stuff like "I only want to replace two tires", they'll offer you a good discount on four tires.

 

[TN Jim]

My Discount Tire will fix a flat tire for free. They will only insert a plug. They do not break tire apart and place a patch.

 

[aja8888]

I've been a customer of DT since 1992. Great retailer.

 

[Koolau]

My Discount Tire will fix a flat tire for free. They will only insert a plug. They do not break tire apart and place a patch.

That's usually good enough. If not, you may need to replace the tire. Of course, YMMV.

 

[ncbill]

Never had a tire patched, only plugged.

The only time I had a plug fail was when it was finally showing the treadwear bars, 10,000+ miles after it was plugged.

 

[rodi]

I've had them fix a flat. And I buy my tires there. They are great at honoring warranty. Switched to them after Costco tire didn't honor their warranty.

 

[COcheesehead]

Free air too.

 

[Cobra9777]

I had a very sketchy experience recently at DT. I researched online and found the tires I wanted. DT had a good price but nothing in stock near me. So I ordered them online and also scheduled the installation date/time. Very convenient. It took about 5 days for the tires to arrive at my local store. They installed the tires quickly and I was on my way.

At the first red light, I glanced over the paperwork. The mileage didn't look right on the invoice. It was ~5K miles lower than the odometer. But it didn't look like a typo because only the first of 5 numbers was correct. In any case, 5K of my warranty was already used up, according to their system.

I drove back to the store and asked that they correct the mileage on the invoice to match the odometer. They said no can do. Once an invoice has been created it can no longer be changed. They would need to void the original transaction and re-enter it with the correct mileage. But their system does not allow them to void an online purchase. So I would have to pay for the tires again (in store) and seek a refund from their online "entity", which evidently has no actual business affiliation with the local franchise.

I asked for the manager. After much discussion, he said the best they could do is issue a second, zero-dollar, labor-only invoice showing the correct mileage. He also added a "note" to the second transaction describing what had happened. I reluctantly agreed. He handed me a copy of the second invoice and of course there was no mileage and no "note" printed on it. He said those fields don't print on labor-only invoices. But he assured me it was in the system. He swung the monitor around and showed me where he typed it. I just shook my head and left.

Was the 5K an honest mistake? Maybe. Maybe not. How many customers actually check? Maybe they just check the first number for reasonableness. But one thing for sure: any future warranty claim on these tires is going to be problematic. And the customer service experience I had was inexcusable.

That's actually not the end of the story. But I've written way too much already. Suffice to say that DT Corporate "Customer Care" was even less helpful than the store.

 

[CardsFan]

My Discount Tire will fix a flat tire for free. They will only insert a plug. They do not break tire apart and place a patch.

OP here.

I asked. Was told they put in a plug AND a patch. Can I check? NO. Does it matter, probably not.

 

[OldShooter]

DT is literally the only national chain that I have any loyalty to.

My first positive experience years ago was putting new tires on a relatively new Chev K1500 diesel pickup. After maybe a year and way too soon the fronts were badly worn. A little research told me that the tires their guy recommended were a sort of light duty truck tire, definitely not enough for the heavy diesel engine's weight. I went back to the store hoping to negotiate a discount on some replacements. The manager agreed with my diagnosis and gave me two new tires. Another time I went in with a slow leak, ez fix, but the sidewall date on the tire was older than their policy allowed them to repair. This time the salesperson gave me four new tires but charged for only three.

I'm a believer. @Cobra9777's story is pretty weird but I have no question that it was due to an error. Main reason is my years of positive experience, secondary reason is that a dealer has very little reason to try to shortchange a customer on a mileage warranty. Those warranties come from the manufacturer.

 

[Koolau]

I've had them fix a flat. And I buy my tires there. They are great at honoring warranty. Switched to them after Costco tire didn't honor their warranty.

Can you give any details about Costco not honoring their warranty? I've never heard of such a thing as Costco seems to have a good tire reputation - including service after the sale. Thanks.

 

[Surewhitey]

They added the warranty to my last purchase (I know because I always have declined any warranty). I didn't notice or think about it until later. 2 months later I have a flat and damaged the tire sidewall & I got a completely new one @no cost. The first time I needed the warranty in my life and accidentally had it.

I always use them with good experience though.

FYI, the warranty is only good for the one tire and has to be repurchased for the replacement...

 

[Donno]

They added the warranty to my last purchase (I know because I always have declined any warranty). I didn't notice or think about it until later. 2 months later I have a flat and damaged the tire sidewall & I got a completely new one @no cost. The first time I needed the warranty in my life and accidentally had it.

I always use them with good experience though.

FYI, the warranty is only good for the one tire and has to be repurchased for the replacement...

How much did they charge you for the tire warranty? I bought a set of tires from them a few months ago and without asking me they included the tire warranty in the total price. When I noticed that I told them to remove it, which they did after trying to sell me on it. IIRC the price for the warranty on 4 tires was nearly the same as the price of one tire. In all my years of driving, I've never had to replace a tire and if I did on this set of tires, I would just break even unless I needed more than one tire replaced.

 

[Surewhitey]

How much did they charge you for the tire warranty? I bought a set of tires from them a few months ago and without asking me they included the tire warranty in the total price. When I noticed that I told them to remove it, which they did after trying to sell me on it. IIRC the price for the warranty on 4 tires was nearly the same as the price of one tire. In all my years of driving, I've never had to replace a tire and if I did on this set of tires, I would just break even unless I needed more than one tire replaced.

IIRC, it was around $26/tire. Sounds similar to your experience. They would have reimbursed me if I wanted for the warranty (good CS), but didn't want to complicate a busy day. Kept the other tire coverage.

 

[GenXguy]

There are different types of warranties. On my new Goodyear "Black Friday special" tires from Walmart, the tires have a warranty for no extra charge, but you have to rotate the tires on their schedule, and it only gives prorated warranty after a year or 25% tread usage. There are some exclusions. The road hazard warranty normally costs extra, but since I had Walmart+ (trial), I got that as an added perk. I knew I would get free lifetime rotation, but the printed invoice also says lifetime balance. If you have Walmart+ at the time of a tire repair, it's free, even if you bought the tire somewhere else.

 

[Jeffman52]

OP I had the same experience more than 10 years ago and they have had my business since then. I have always found them to be honest and competitive in their pricing. Hopefully it will always be that way and I wont have to look elsewhere.

 

[Dean56]

Discount tire is great. Very professional. Good prices.
I've been using them for 15 years.