Is Discount Tire Going Downhill?

[Pat Germain]

I've been buying tires at my local Discount Tire Company for about seven years. Since I had five cars in the family, I bought a lot of tires. They always treated me well and provided good service. They even fixed a flat on my VW for free when I was still running factory tires.

Things changed last Saturday. I went to get new tires for my VW Jetta. I got about 50K from the factory Michelins, not bad for performance tires, and they worked great in the Colorado snow and ice.

I was all set to get another set of Michelins. The sales rep at Discount tire recommended Goodyear Eagle RSA tires. They were on sale for $79 each; pretty cheap. I agreed and bought the Goodyears.

When I started driving my Jetta, I heard a rumbling sound like you'd hear from off-road tires. The tires also didn't seem to handle nearly as well as the Michelins, yet they were supposed to be a performance all-season radial. Then I noticed one of the center caps was missing from my wheel.

I went online and did some research on the Goodyear Eagle RSA. Apparently, it's the worst tire Goodyear ever made. Almost every review said it handled poorly, especially in snow and ice and would wear bald at around 20k miles. There were also numerous reports of premature sidewall failure; complete with pictures.

Discount Tire exchanged the Goodyears for Michelins after I paid an additional $255. But why would they unload such lousy tires on me? Their own web site is full of bad reviews for those Goodyears, which it turned out were mounted backwards on my wheels.

Without going into even more detail, I had a few other problems as well. Before I go back to Discount Tire, have they been assimiliated by an evil company? Are they going downhill? Anyone heard anything about this?

[Joe Pelonio]

Our local branch has been trying to compete with Sam's and Costco, even to having banners advertising that they will match or beat those prices.

I have never used them, we have used Sam's, Costco, Tire Factory and Les Schwab at times over the years. The most knowledgeable and helpful staff has always been at Schwab, by far, but they do not carry typical name brand tires. They will fix flats free even if not their tires.

Normally I'll look at reviews and pick the best 2-3 tires then compare prices and go to the one with the best price that has decent service.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

never heard of it.

[Nancy Laird]

Pat, every Discount Tire we've been in has been superb in sales and service. I have a feeling that you ran into someone (or two) who were trying to unload some tires that may have been unloaded on them. Discount will check tire pressure, air them up, fix flats, etc. without any charge--even on tires they didn't sell. Just bad luck on that one buy--I wouldn't write them off based on one bad experience.

Nancy (66 days)

[Pat Germain]

Thanks for the info, folks.

Nancy, your experience echoes my experiences previously. Good to know it was likely an isolated incident.

I do indeed think those Goodyears were being unloaded by multiple people. They went for over $200 each when they were new. Now they're being dumped for $79 each. I shoulda known better than to take the bait. Maybe they were made in China.

[Jim Hill]

Pat,

I've bought several sets of tires from Discount Tire and been very pleased. I've also used their free service to fix tires that weren't bought from them. I've worked with several people at the store and always received good prices and advice. Staff turnover seems low, since I see the same people there each time I go. I've bought 3 sets in the last 15-18 months (for different vehicles)

Jim

[Chris Damm]

It's hard to go downhill from the bottom of the hill! At least that's where the local dealer is. I can go to a local owned tire store and get much better service and a cheaper price.

[Kyle Kraft]

I heard from a friend with ties to the automotive industry that Discount tire only carries factory seconds. I haven't researched this information, so it's still in rumor status. The last set of tires I bought (about 1 month ago) were purchased from a local Mom & Pop outfit and they gave me a better deal than anyone, Sams, Discount, Belle Tire.

[Pat Germain]

Kyle, I'm the ultimate cynic, but even I don't think Discount Tire would be able to pass off factory seconds without informing customers. I've heard such statement before about Discount Tire and TireRack.com. I chalk them up to viscious rumors from competitors.

When I was young, I used to actually look for factory second tires for my Mustangs. I needed to save money and most seconds have only cosmetic issues. It turns out factory second tires are pretty difficult to find in the US. I got the impression such rejects were sent overseas to avoid competition for the premium tires as well as liability issues.

I also learned it doesn't pay to buy cheap tires unless you'll be selling the vehicle very soon. And don't even think about buying retreads for a passenger vehicle. I know commercial truck tires are retreaded with good results. However, I have never, ever seen good results with retreaded passenger car tires. The new treads just come off.

[TYLER WOOD]

Happy Discount customer. I have had nothing but good experiences with them. I drive 500-750 miles every week, 25-30 k a year. Never once had a problem with their tires except flats from puncture wounds. I have bought every set of tires from them for 10 years. Never once did I get a bad set, or bad advice from them. I have tried price comparison, and yes from some stores you can get cheaper. Typically though they do not offer the free flat repair, pressure check act that DT does. I think you had a single bad experience. For those factory seconds, HEAR SAY. They have to be noted on the receipt or some other verification for the customer. If you don't see it on paper handed to you in information, it's a first!!! NOthing lower class from them!

[Thomas Canfield]

Here is another hapy customer of Discount Tire. I have used them almost exclusively the last 20 years. They have rotated tires without question even when the tires were on a new car at no charge. Every flat has been fixed by removing the tire and repairing the leak from the inside, and then rebalancing the wheel before remounting, and evening putting the spare back in the proper manner. I do not do a lot of price shopping when buying tires, but know I can usually find a Discount Tire when traveling if there is a problem.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Les Schwab is a tire company that is pretty well limited to the Pacific North West. It is headquartered out of Prineville OR.

I moved here from Chicago 25 years ago. My oldest son had the family SUV at HS one day that fall...had a flat....took it to Schwab's......free repair. Now mind you, I bought that tire in Chicago.....Later my wife experienced a flat ....same scenario......Schwab's repaired it free of charge. At one time I had 3 personal vehicles. I only buy tires at Schwab's.......good tires.....good prices......great service......

[Ed Garrett]

Pat,

I'm sorry to hear you had a negative experience, but I'm betting it's a fluke. My experience with Discount Tire has been great. The current tires on our truck are 5.5 years old. We also got tires there for our Taurus 2 years ago. At that time I asked to buy a real spare and rim to replace the factory temporary spare tire. The clerk told me I wouldn't need to purchase the spare, they would just keep an eye out for one for me. About three days later I came back by and they gave me a free used tire with a decent amount of tread and it was mounted to a free rim for use as my spare. They've got my business for a long time.