Cars Tires Slashed: DISCOUNT TIRE Experience

[kach22i]

Cars Tires Slashed

I had parked both of my cars on the street in front of my house, each had one rear tire stabbed in the sidewall by a knife, I'm guessing sometime late Sunday night.

The Geo Tracker only gets 2,000 miles a year put on it, the 4-year old tires looked almost new. Discount tire pro-rated the tire wear and gave me half off the tire. They said had I purchased the Road Hazard Certificate they would of replaced the vandalized tire for FREE.

My 30 year old Porsche 911 originally got new rubber from Discount Tire when I purchased it 5-years ago. I replaced the two rear tires at Belle Tire 6-months/1,000 miles ago. Story is that one of the rear tires went flat at a job site, Belle Tire was right across the street, my client gets his tires there and recommended them, plus my client gave me a ride back down town afterwords. No tow truck, no driving on the rim. Now get this, Belle said I did not purchase the Road Hazard (they never offered it to me) and had I done so they still would not cover the vandalized tire. In addition Belle Tire said they would not pro-rate the almost brand new tire at all, they would not give me a discount of any kind either.

I took the tire to Discount tire, not only did they give me half off the new tire, they allowed me to purchase Road Hazard coverage for BOTH rear tires (even the one they did not sell me).

DISCOUNT TIRE America's Largest Independent Tire Dealer, rated number one for as far back as I can remember, and for a good reason - they value their customer's business.

 

[mgb_phys]

They are selling insurance, it's not necessarily being a freindly business they are just making a bet against the low risk of tyre damage for most people.
Tyres today are much better than they were 20years ago and most people only drive on well maintained highways so the chances of a puncture are very low.

In most countries you are required to carry a spare tyre even though most people won't suffer a puncture in the average life of the car and most people will call the AA rather than fix it themselves. In the EU manufacturers are campaining against having to fit spares at all - claiming that sealant aerosols would be as good in an emergency.

 

[EnumaElish]

Sorry that happened to you. Did you report it?

 

[kach22i]

In the EU manufacturers are campaining against having to fit spares at all - claiming that sealant aerosols would be as good in an emergency.

I think the new Porsche's (US spec) have no spare tire at all.

I took the spare out of the Porsche to save weight, plus I've been told that the factory jack is dangerous to use. The can of "Fix-A-Flat" is for something dire as I have some towing coverage.

I carry a 12V plug-in a "cigarette lighter" air compressor which I keep in and use on the Geo Tracker. I've been told not to plug anything into the Porsche's cigarette lighter (no heater or cell phone chargers) because it will make havoc on the car's electrical system - just never designed for the strain of other uses back in 1977.

 

[chemisttree]

Cars Tires Slashed

I had parked both of my cars on the street in front of my house, each had one rear tire stabbed in the sidewall by a knife, I'm guessing sometime late Sunday night.

The Geo Tracker only gets 2,000 miles a year put on it, the 4-year old tires looked almost new. Discount tire pro-rated the tire wear and gave me half off the tire. They said had I purchased the Road Hazard Certificate they would of replaced the vandalized tire for FREE.

My 30 year old Porsche 911 originally got new rubber from Discount Tire when I purchased it 5-years ago. I replaced the two rear tires at Belle Tire 6-months/1,000 miles ago. Story is that one of the rear tires went flat at a job site, Belle Tire was right across the street, my client gets his tires there and recommended them, plus my client gave me a ride back down town afterwords. No tow truck, no driving on the rim. Now get this, Belle said I did not purchase the Road Hazard (they never offered it to me) and had I done so they still would not cover the vandalized tire. In addition Belle Tire said they would not pro-rate the almost brand new tire at all, they would not give me a discount of any kind either.

I took the tire to Discount tire, not only did they give me half off the new tire, they allowed me to purchase Road Hazard coverage for BOTH rear tires (even the one they did not sell me).

DISCOUNT TIRE America's Largest Independent Tire Dealer, rated number one for as far back as I can remember, and for a good reason - they value their customer's business.

According to National Tire's warranty, you would have had the tire prorated anyway (unless the clerk is a newbie).

How does it work?
If a tire covered by the Certificate for Free Replacement fails due to a defect or an unrepairable road hazard, and still has legal tread (3/32") remaining across the tire, and is less than 3 years from date of purchase, Discount Tire/America's Tire Co. will replace it absolutely FREE. There is no prorating, no disqualification for any reason such as run-on damage and no mileage adjustment. It is the very best tire warranty we know of.

 

[kach22i]

Sorry that happened to you. Did you report it?

Yes, I have a Police Report Number.

My golf buddy said to check my Home Owners Policy and see if I'm covered for the cost I've experienced.

 

[Moonbear]

Might have been covered by the home owner's policy if you were parked in the driveway, but I'm not sure it'll cover you for parking in the street.

It's actually pretty good they even pro-rated the cost of the tire you got, since it wasn't a road hazard but an act of vandalism. The best you might have been able to hope for is to recover the cost in a civil lawsuit against the vandal if they were ever caught.

 

[slugcountry]

In most countries you are required to carry a spare tyre even though most people won't suffer a puncture in the average life of the car and most people will call the AA rather than fix it themselves.

I've had my mazda protege since '99 and I just had my 2nd puncture on the freeway so I wouldn't go so far as to say it doesn't happen >=(. Not only that but I was pretty happy I had my spare both times so I just put that on in about 15 minutes and hopped over to a tire shop instead of having to wait on a tow truck on the freeway...

 

[Garth]

I once had two tyres slashed on a newish car parked outside my appartment, I had them changed - not cheap as the were not two spares and the car could not be driven, and the next night the two new tyres were slashed.

I parked the car in a different place that night!

It didn't happen again.

Talk about annoying though...

Garth

 

[GeorginaS]

Tires are a part of your car and covered under your car's insurance policy for something like vandalism -- assuming you purchased that coverage. Regardless of where it's parked, it's not covered under your homeowner's policy. Should stuff you have inside of the car (clothes, CDs, whatnot), that aren't a part of the car, get stolen, then that's covered under your home policy.

And, yes, they're going to take age and wear of a part that naturally wears out over time into consideration for how much of that part they'll cover for replacement. Insurance covers "like-for-like".

Or at least, that's how car insurance works here. And I work in insurance.

I can't figure out why you'd purchase extra or separate insurance coverage for your tires when they should be covered on your auto policy. But, again, maybe you don't have that coverage.

It really sucks when someone damages your property. kach. That Discount Tire place sounds like a decent company to deal with.

 

[kach22i]

My Geo Tracker has NO-Fault, nothing is covered.

However the Porsche has collector car insurance from Hagerty Insurance, I'll give them a call.