Can someone explain tire warranties?

[flaco]

I have a 2016 Subaru Forrester 2.5 limited with the original tires. The car has 31,500 miles and the tires are sort of bear. They supposed to be guaranteed I believe up to 50,000 miles. How does that work? Can I go back to dealer and say change my tires cause they’re kind of bald or has too much time pass for that to happen? Can someone explain how tire warrantees work? Thanks.

 

[Clover]

Tire warranties are good for an argument, but not often much more. Best case, which is not common, they will give you the depreciated remaining value of the tires when you replace them. So, if it was a 50K mile tire and you used 31,500 miles, you have already used 63%. "Kind of bald" means something different to everyone you ask. However, if they say you have 20% lift left based off tread depth and you used 63%, they will give you at max 17% value of the tires off replacements. The very big thing that nobody likes the hear, but is the truth, is you used your tires and should pay for 100% of the replacement. The missing rubber did not dissolve on its own. You drove harder than avg, or had poor alignment, or carry extra weight around, drive on ruff roads, drive faster than avg. a combination, etc.

Nothing was wrong with the tire, you just used it faster than avg. How you treat a tire will determine how long it last. If you killed it in 30K miles instead of 50K, you did that. Some will have tires last longer than others. Not a reflection that they got a good batch and someone else got a bad batch. Only a reflection that one driver was harder on the tires and generated more heat while driving than the other. Plain and simple. Most tire shops will essentially tell you this. They may be a little nicer about it since you are their customer, but Subaru/tire manufacture won't give them anything and the tire shops are not in the business of giving things away either. They may, give you that 17% or whatever because they think they can make more money off you by the markup in tire or service. They are more likely to tell you it is your fault but they can give you a bit off with a deal on X. They may also just decide you're acting entitled and they don't want to work with you and give you nothing. You probably have the best luck at a dealership where they might view you in a long term view that they could make more money off you later by maintaining their relationship with you. However, you should go in expecting them to tell you it is your fault and the tires are at the end of their life from excessive use, improper alignment, or a combination. And they will be right to tell you that after 8 years and over 30K miles.

No, I don't work for a tire company, shop, dealership or anything related. I just like to track, AutoX and rally my cars and go through a lot of tires which I like to research before buying. I'm probably harder on them than anyone you have ever met and have killed the tires that come on my car within the first year of multiple cars. I remember one car I bought new in May, I had to replace the tires in August or September. Never have I personally gotten a tire warranty. Nor should I have. I used those tires, just like you used yours, only way fasters. I've worked with multiple shops and have now found one shop that I trust and have built a relationship with. That relationship works to my advantage, but they probably are not going to be as interested in someone who comes in once every 8 years. How do they make money off that other than charging you way too much the one time you come in.

In my opinion, don't even ask about the warranty. They will just know you have no experience or product knowledge but are entitled. I suspect it would make them more inclined to take advantage of you then take care of you, especially if they are busy. Just go on TireRack.com and look up prices and know what you want going in. They have lots of reviews and test data many options, and competitive prices. Your local place will likely meat or slightly beat their price if you know what you want and what they charge. Also know there can often be a big difference between good tires and bad tires and your tires determine your car's limits. They are literally your only connection to the road and determine how quickly you can stop and turn. Ask yourself, is saving however much money with a cheap tire worth 30 feet in an emergency stop? Have you ever just stopped in time or not quite in time? Are you going to be pissed if you end up rear ending someone when better tires would have stopped you in time? Also, I have seen people try to buy tires with the longest rated tread water life. Just know grip and tread wear are inversely related. The longer the tire life, the less grip it will have. If you buy the tire with the longest life available. it will have poor relative grip. If you 100% always drive below you limits, that may be fine. But an emergency brake is going to take longer. This means, you should not follow people as closely. A small sports car on good summer tires will be able to stop in a much shorter distance than a Forrester on avg tires. Put the Forrester on bad tires, that spots car might be able to stop 50 ft or more shorter than you can possibly stop even if you start braking the exact same moment.