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Tire warranty 'not worth the paper it's written on,' .... Continental

3K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  westslope 
#1 ·
Tire warranty 'not worth the paper it's written on,' B.C. man says after manufacturer refuses to pay out


We should probably replace the OEM tires (circa 47K kilometres) on our 2015 Kia Soul before next winter so I have been looking at a few posts on the subject.

I thought this article might be of interest. I would argue as a general rule that the vast majority of consumers should strictly avoid extended warranties. It is a form of insurance, expensive insurance where as is typical, the house always wins.

As a general rule, consumers should buy insurance for possible events that in the absence of insurance would bankrupt consumers, e.g., house insurance, auto insurance, and liability insurance where appropriate. Most of these items are capital investments. Tires are a form of equipment that constantly wear out and should be thought of as a recurring, variable or operating expense.
 
#2 ·
I'm sympathetic, but not too sympathetic. That guy's too old to be that dumb. Who the hell buys tires based on the warranty? It's like buying a pair of shoes based on the warranty. Yeah, it sounds like he got shafted on the miles on the tires, this guy looks like he has been driving long enough to know that some tires kick ass and others are ass. I noticed in the story no one talked about his proof of tire rotation, which is going to be part of any warranty claim for sure. Those tires also look to me like they've been habitually overinflated.

I'm not sticking up for Continental - everyone knows their tires suck anyway. I'm just saying this guy is a dip****.
 
#4 ·
What a strange article. Not sure if the guy bought an extended warranty or purchased tires with a high mileage warranty (I have seen some warranteed to 90K miles).

Hard to believe that during his period vehicle services no one saw that his tires were wearing unevenly or prematurely--not sure what they looked like but by the term "uneven wear" does not sound good. Also hard to believe that no one documented that the tires were inspected/rotated at each service interval or if they were even done at the interval required by the manufacturer. Not sure if the consumer read the warranty paperwork carefully.

Doubly hard to believe is that the vehicle owner agreed to purchase the tires before anyone determined that they were not eligible for warranty adjustment. It appears that the owner did not pay attention to wheel alignment/suspension issues/proper tire inflation or tread wear from the time they were installed.

Most if not all warranties that manufacturers or tire dealers offer clearly stipulate that the tires be rotated every 5k or so miles and that in order for warranty coverage to occur there needs to be a paper trail of that rotation.

One of our offspring did not heed that instruction which lead to an early demise at 50% mileage on the Michelin tires--since there was either no paper trail (or most likely) or rotations done at the required intervals, no warranty adjustment could be offered--expensive lesson in accountability indeed.

Kudos to the Canadian Tire store manager that knocked off 50%--clearly they did not need to do that. They could have stood firm just like the tire manufacturer did and said that the terms of the warranty were not followed by the consumer therefore the consumer is not entitled to compensation.

If you are purchasing tires with some very optimistic mileage warranties, follow the terms of the warranty and have a paper/silicon trail and you and the tire dealer/manufacturer will get along just fine.
 
#6 ·
Have had great battery warranty replacement on batteries purchased at Costco--downside is that they do not install or remove. Also had decent tire warranty replacement/adjustment with tires purchased at Costco (just make sure that we bring the vehicles in to do the rotations at the recommended intervals (that way they have the paper/silicon trail in their system).
 
#8 ·
Those tires look like my tires did when I was 21 and drove flat out all the time. Wonder if he ran them on another vehicle? I don't see how such wear is possible given his claimed driving habits.
 
#14 ·
I just read over the thread again and was wondering are there any warranties that really work to the advantage of the consumer?

Yes, there are. Gore-tex waders for recreational fishing from reputable companies. My Patagonia waders have now been replaced twice now for 'handling fees' that are roughly 1/8 of the original cost.

The waders are excellent, and I do take good care of them; I simply hike hard and use them a lot.

You could argue that less keen anglers who fish and hike less are cross-subsidizing my waders.....
 
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