Tire "Warranty" - Why I won't buy from Sears.

[joenkims]

Just wanted to let you know what happened to me yesterday since word of mouth is the most powerful way to help or hurt a business.

 

Picked up kids from school (last day was half day) so we hit the Carl Jr. drive-through. As I'm placing my order I can hear the sound of air blowing or escaping from something. Originally I thought it was coming from a fan from the rear of the restaurant but as I pulled all the way around I could still hear it. I pulled into a parking slot to inspect my truck. I saw nothing out of the oridinary so I chalked it up to hearing things.

 

I switched cars with my husband so he could use my truck to haul some stuff for work. He calls me a little while later and reports I have a flat tire. Ugh..didn't need that. Roadside assistance comes and changes it. I told my husband I bought those tires a few summers ago from Sears and the receipt is in the glove box so we'll just go by there and either they'll fix it or replace it based on the extended warranty I purchased.

 

We go there and long story short (after spending 2 hours arguing with a someone who should not be in customer service) even though the tires are warrantied for 50k miles and I only drove 38k on them they could only offer me $30 towards the purchase of 2 new tires. The warranty is pro-rated (apparently) based on the amount of tread left. I spent more than $30 in the time I took off work to stand there and argue with this guy.

 

I told him he lost my business, my husband's fleet business and anyone I could convince to take their business elsewhere. I won't even go there for an oil change after the way we were treated there.

 

Just my experience - take it for what it's worth. I'll be spending my hundreds of dollars for new tires somewhere else.

 

Kim

Las Vegas, NV

[biomajor]

Take this to Planetfeedback too. They will send your letter to Sears Corporate for you.

[kranky]

Maybe I'm dense, but what did Sears do wrong? Did they not honor the terms of the warranty?

[conj]

It is sad, but true, that most tire warranties are pro-rated... some based on miles... It is extremely frustrating when dealing with such a high price item... I've been there.

 

I've heard horrible things about sears tire before... so I avoid them anyway

[biomajor]

if it were based on miles, I don't think she would be as upset. I don't know the terms of the extended warranty, but my tires are over $130 each (cheap in comparison to some with the sensors I know) and with 30 credit for 2 tires, that would hardly be a fair compensation for only 76% of use. I don't how much her tires are or anything like that though.

[conj]

if it were based on miles, I don't think she would be as upset. I don't know the terms of the extended warranty, but my tires are over $130 each (cheap in comparison to some with the sensors I know) and with 30 credit for 2 tires, that would hardly be a fair compensation for only 76% of use. I don't how much her tires are or anything like that though.

I know, I said some... I've never heard of one based on 'wear' but my exposure is limited.

 

30$/1 tire is approximately correct based on the # of miles. ($31.20 is what my math arrived at). However, that said, most places will not replace just one tire... even wear and all....

[joenkims]

If the warranty says 50k miles and I only drove 38k miles and only one of the 2 tires purchased went bad then to me that says defect and satify your customer by replacing the tire.

 

My husband has 10 sporting goods stores here in Southern Nevada and he couldn't believe Sears wouldn't try to do more. He said that's exactly why they will be out of business next.

 

A tire that costs $100 retail, costs them maybe $50 at cost. I think $50 is a small price to pay to keep a customer.

[joenkims]

I think I was most irritated by how I was treated. Even the higher-up managers said that the paperwork on the warranty should be more clear. All it says is 50k mile warranty.

 

The CSR said they don't know where I've driven, how I drive, etc. That's when I pointed out I bought 2 tires and only 1 is bad. I realize sometimes you do have to replace 2 tires at a time and honestly if he was willing to comp one and made me pay for the other that would have been fair but he was acting like the cost of the tire was going to be deducted from his paycheck.

 

I spent $120 per tire when I bought them. I have a 2001 Ford Expedition and apparently the size tire I need isn't cheap or easy to come by (all the places I've called have to order them). Sears no longer carries the tires they sold me because they had problems with them...the guy actually said that.

 

All of this left a bad taste in my mouth and I told my husband I will be sure to tell everyone I know of my bad experience at Sears.

 

BTW - I hate spending money on car things!

[biomajor]

Try Sam's. IF they don't have it in stock they'll order it and they have nice service guys

[kranky]

I don't know, it looks to me like you had 24% treadlife remaining, and they offered you 25% of what you paid towards another tire. In my experience, that's how tire warranties work. I've had tires from Goodyear, Firestone and NTB and the warranties were all based on wear. The manufacturer's tire warranty covers defects only, and an extended warranty covers road hazards also - but the amount they will reimburse is based on wear. I'm surprised that their extended warranty document says nothing more than "50k mile warranty".

 

If you were treated poorly, I can definitely sympathize with that.

[Scott]

I don't think that sears is in the wrong here at all, but they probably could have treated you better. I think that a pro-rated warranty is pretty standard in the tire industry and is almost always based on remaining tred.

 

However.... basing it off the miles only, I get about $28.80 due. That doesn't seem too far off from what sears is offering.

 

For those who think it should be miles based... How exactly would you expect Sears (or any other company) to handle that?

 

What about people that have different tires for winter/summer driving?

What about people who's vehicles are not aligned properly? Should Sears be responsible because they don't maintain their vehicles?

What about aggressive drivers?

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational... just pointing out the facts.

 

Shame on Sears for not handling the situation better though.

[BigNate]

Any tire warranty is prorated unless it's a manufacturer's defect that's apparent very early after being installed. Usually they'll give you a few months, a year tops, where they'll replace it with a new one. After that it's prorated. It keeps people from killing their tires on purpose right before the warranty is done and trying to get brand new ones.

 

If you paid $120 for the new tire (pretty cheap for a truck tire) and they offered you $30 for it, meaning you had used 75% of the safe life of the tire. What's there to be upset about? They are paying you for the unused life you didn't get from the tire, why should they pay you for the use you got out of it?

 

Tires are wear items. They go bad, you need to replace them. Heck, you used to be lucky if you 5k miles out of a tire. You got a few years out of them, and 38k. They only cost you $240 for the set of two, which was a great deal for truck tires.

 

If they treated you badly, go somewhere else. However, any tire place will have the same warranty.

[joenkims]

I can understand where you guys are coming from with the "all tire warranties are pro-rated" but that's assuming customers know that. I didn't.

 

When they took my credit card and charged me originally and I paid for the warranty, I took the warranty to mean if this thing breaks before the warranty expires they will fix it or replace it. Sears or any store for that matter can't assume people know this. It should be explained to the customer or posted somewhere.

 

It's also a shame that I had to spend 2 hours there and basically be talked down to and end up being offered 30 bucks. If he were good at his job he could have been nicer and explained things and ended up making a sale, knowing that I have to buy at least one tire from somewhere in the next few days. Instead he argued with me and acused me of driving off road or whatever and assumed I should know and understand a warranty policy that wasn't outlined clearly.

 

Bottom line is I need at least one new tire, if not two and I won't buy them from Sears. I also won't continue to have my oil changes done there, nor will my husband send his fleet vehicles there for any services. Just thought I would post this and spread the word.

 

I went to planetfeedback.com and they have more than 8 pages of complaints about Sears in general including some about tires and auto services. Guess I'm not alone in how I feel.

[Kayakmom]

You mention that you purchased an extended warranty. Do you have the paperwork for it? What are the terms of that? Who services this extended warranty? How much did you pay for it? While I do agree with the pp's, and treadlife along with time are usually considered, I'm interested to know what this extended warranty you bought is all about.

 

I buy my tires from Tire Rack and they post their generaal warranty info online, although details vary by manufacturer: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=50

[conj]

It seems to be a running sentiment: Sears followed the warranty to the letter.

 

 

also: they treated you lousy in how they informed you the details of the warranty.

 

I know, as a group, we may come off as somewhat less than supportive... but you've probably:

-Educated a bunch of people about tire warranties

- Prevented many from visiting sears Tire

-gotten sick of this subject :)

-give us all the opportunity to chime in and feel important

 

we do support you. we just dot our i's and cross our t's (and sometimes cross our eyes)

[Kayakmom]

I know people are throwing out some varying numbers, but let's set your tread measurement aside and talk about mileage...

 

You had 50,000 mile tires and used 38,000 miles on the tires, which means that there were, in theory, 12,000 miles "due to you" on the tires.

 

12,000/50,000 = 24%

 

You paid $120 for the tire

 

$120 x 24% = $28.80

 

What they rightfully are supposed to give you is $28.80, which confirms what Scott said.

[Kayakmom]

It seems to be a running sentiment: Sears followed the warranty to the letter.

 

 

also: they treated you lousy in how they informed you the details of the warranty.

 

I know, as a group, we may come off as somewhat less than supportive... but you've probably:

-Educated a bunch of people about tire warranties

- Prevented many from visiting sears Tire

-gotten sick of this subject :)

-give us all the opportunity to chime in and feel important

 

we do support you. we just dot our i's and cross our t's (and sometimes cross our eyes)

 

LOL!

 

Some of us just like any reason to do math, too!

 

[Scott]

LOL!

 

Some of us just like any reason to do math, too!

 

Math is fun!

 

And I agree that they handled it poorly.

 

I always look to see the terms of any extended warranty before I buy. Most of the time, they end up not being worth it.

 

I hope that particular Sears takes notice of this and posts their tire warranty information. I'm pretty sure that our local one has.

[Azzycat]

I've had a similar experience. yes, I understand about pro-rating. Sam's and Costco also pro-rate their tires, as do most tire stores.

 

Last time we bought from Sears we bought the extended warrenty, too. The tires were rated 60K tires. At the 10k mile mark, the tread is getting too thin. I paid $90 a tire or so. I know if I take the tires to Sears, I'll be prorated the difference. It's based on TREAD, though. So if the tread is wearing the tread down too much at 10K miles, I'll be prorated on what their rating is of the tread. And the tread should NOT be as bad as it is for such few miles on it.

 

I am mad that my tires didn't last their entire length of service. I bought new tires elsewhere and they are lasting longer. Same car, same alignment, different store. Sears should be buying from the same distributer as other people, how come their tires don't last?

 

I'm not even bothering taking my tires back to Sears. The only reason we went to Sears was they had financing deals at the time. But even that is not an incentive to go back next time.

[dtdoda]

All tire warranties are pro-rated. I dont see what Sears did as wrong.

 

The fact that YOU didn't understand that isn't Sears fault.

 

That said, I wouldn't take my car to Sears for ANYTHING.

 

My favorite Sears story from a many years ago:

 

I was having tires installed and was in the waiting room near the end of the install. I was looking through the window and in the bay closest to me was a car with the hood up and the "technician" kept popping his head up from under the hood and looking at the wall and then back under the hood. I couldn't see what was on the wall that he kept looking at. He did this multiple times.

 

I finally left the waiting room and as I walked into the garage to get my car, I glanced over at the wall to see what the guy kept looking at. On the wall were detailed instructions on how to install a car battery.

 

That was the last time I went to Sears.

Edited June 6, 2008 by dtdoda

[1angelnhvn]

I have had a lot of bad experiences with sears warranties of any kind! We quit buying them as they always find some loophole or they 'interpret' the rules different than how it's spelled out to avoid replacing or repairing things! I have even had them try to refuse me returning things. I don't shop at sears anymore unless I have to! I have also noticed the salespeople will tell you anything to get you to buy them, and they aren't even fully aware of what all their warranties cover! (at least the people we have dealt with!) Plus we always get poor customer service when going there as well! Sorry you had to deal with that! Weather they were in the right or not, it's not a good feeling to 'think' you are protected from things like this happening as it was your intent when purchasing it-only to find out it doesn't cover what you thought! We always have to get a manager involved just because of the fact that most of the salespeople we have dealt with never have the right answer......

[First Lady]

I just bought new tires at Sears a couple months ago. On the back of the forms they give you had a detailed explanation of all the warranties. Including the extended tire one which tells you it's based on tread life.

 

 

Great story about Sears (who has in the past pissed us off). We were driving on vacation and ran over a sharp thing in the road. Sliced our tire! Put the spare on, called 411 to find a tire place. By the time we found one, it was Sears. They said if we hurried they'd be able to get us set up. We showed up on the donut at 7:30pm. They closed at 8pm! Let me tell you, the paper work took longer than the guy did to change and balance our new tire! The tire guy was awesome!! Kids said he needed to work in Nascar, lol. I never got his name, or else I would have written a great job letter. He saved our trip!

[believet]

I agree Sears handled it properly as well. I work at Wal-mart Tire Lube Express. when you buy the protection plan there, anything over 25% wear of the tires is pro-rated. You had 38k miles of 50k miles already, they only had 12k miles left so that is in the pro rate stage.

[joenkims]

Thanks for all your posts.

 

You have all been very clear about tire warranties being pro-rated but I still feel mistreated. Customer service has gone down hill in my opinion so that's all the more reason to shop online even though my husband's career is in retail.

 

The guy had a chance to make a sale (since I would have had to buy 2 tires and only one is "defective") and lost it by not being able to explain things to someone who doesn't know about tires or how to interpret their warranties. I won't take my car there anymore and neither will my husband or friends I've talked to.

 

Have an appointment today at Discount Tire where a friend of a friend works and hopefully he can explain what is covered and what isn't to someone not familiar with car stuff.

[Kayakmom]

I agree. If the guy had taken the time to explain the math and what he was doing for you, you probably would have been calm and bought the tires. I agree that they handled the math part of it properly, but they totally bombed the customer service.

 

I bought appliances for my house 3 years ago and didn't know better, so I went to Sears. They USED to be good products. Not any more!!! This time I went to Lowe's when my 3 year old washer broke. I didn't even want to bother messing with fixing it after the horror stories I read about them. A fellow GD'er had her water heater break and my one piece of advice was to buy from a plumbing supply house - DO NOT GO TO SEARS! I read some horrible, horrible stories (a LOT of them) when researching for my new water heater a couple months ago.

[joenkims]

Went to Discount Tire and bought 2 new tires.

 

They were installed and we were out the door in 40 minutes!

 

Spent $350 for 2 new tires. Did not buy extended warranty/road hazard stuff...I've learned my lesson on that.

 

Sears lost my family as customers this week. I can buy tools and appliances at Home Depot and Lowes. I can get my car serviced at Jiffy Lube. I can buy tires at Discount Tire.

[DaveL]

Went to Discount Tire and bought 2 new tires.

 

Did not buy extended warranty/road hazard stuff...I've learned my lesson on that.

 

 

I agree with everyone above. While you could have been treated better, it isn't Sears fault. You didn't read the fine print...thats the lesson you should have learned.

[debbha]

Wow...sorry you had a bad Sears experience...but glad you've gotten new tires. I'll end this by saying..if you think Sears is bad...wait until you have to deal with Jiffy Lube!!!! LOL!

[Azzycat]

Spent $350 for 2 new tires. Did not buy extended warranty/road hazard stuff...I've learned my lesson on that.

 

Sears lost my family as customers this week. I can buy tools and appliances at Home Depot and Lowes. I can get my car serviced at Jiffy Lube. I can buy tires at Discount Tire.

Best Buy has also been great on warrenty issues for me. Those are the 3 places I will buy appliances from now. Small local shops usually have great service and warrenties too but honestly I need the 0% financing deals.

 

I think Costco and Sam's Club give you free hazard warranties w/ tire purchases, just in the future :)

[joenkims]

I checked Costco, unfortunately they don't carry the size tires I needed. Costco was my first choice. We don't have a Sams Club membership so I couldn't go there.

 

Thanks.