road hazard protection a good investment???

[bikeman1]

Before you shell out an extra $50 for road hazard on those new tires, read thishttp://www.repairtrust.com/articles_tireins.htmlIts also worth considering:a) if you get road hazard from a local vendor, wal-mart, etc, a dispute over coverage is face to face -- perhaps in front of prospective new customers. With national insurance plans, you are on an 800 number praying for rain, or asking an installer you may not have ever done business with to vouch for your claim. Sound like fun? From this article"Like all insurance, tire insurance plans are a numbers game. However, this is a game you have a 98% chance of losing. Insider statistics show that the percentage of claims paid out by providers is as low a 2%."b) punctures are the most common road hazard claim. But these policies pay out to repair (value up to $15) rather than replace the tire if possible. So you need 4 or more fixable (nail) flats to break even. If you get a sidewall cut or slash, on the other hand, you may have trouble supporting that this was not "willful abuse"c) some tires already come with manufacturer road hazard for first 25% of tire life -- the time that replacing a single tire is most economically beneficial. For example, my Hankook tires are on the below list (with zero treadware warranty):"If the eligible tires are rendered unserviceable due to non-repairable road hazard during the first 25% of original tread life, it will be replaced free of charge with a comparable Hankook produced tire. Adjustment procedure is prescribed in the Owner's General Obligation section. Taxes and service charges are not included. The eligible products under Road hazard warranty are as follows:VENTUS Line : Sport K104, ST RH06, HR II H405, H101, S1evo K107, R-S3 Z222, R-S2 Z212, V4ES H105, RH07, V12 evo K110OPTIMO : H411, H417, H418, H420, H426, H725, H725A, H727Mileage Plus II (H725), H406, H420, P-METRIC RH03, P-METRIC RF08, P-METRIC RF10, RA23ExclusionA. This warranty is not applicable to original equipment tires.B. Repairable punctures are not covered under this warranty.C. After 25% of usable tread depth, this warranty is no longer valid."Moral: if you pay for road hazard protection, don't pay much. Its expensive insurance for limited return

[ColonelPanic]

If a place gives me a free road hazard warranty, I'm fine with that. Otherwise, I've never purchased a warranty like that outright.Although last time I bought tires, I certainly could have used one. I destroyed two of them within the first few thousand miles thanks to road debris one time and a massive pot hole for the other. So I've bought 6 tires plus $40-something in shipping shipping charges for the two replacements since they didn't have the exact tire in stock any longer.

[Caretaker]

I'll shell out the $15 per tire at Costco to ensure that each of my $135 60,000 mile Michelins stay in good working order for the life of the tire. I too have had punctures, and it costs at least $12 for every plug. If unrepairable, I know I won't be shelling out another $135 for a tire. My "insurance" also gets me free balance and rotation, which runs at least $15 per tire if I do it every 5,000 miles or so. While that service is covered in the cost of the tire purchase at Costco, it allows another person to inspect my tires (always a good thing) and gives me a person to inform me that my tires are not wearing properly and when I need an alignment (a function they don't perform at Costco, so they won't be selling me on a service I don't need.)

[bikeman1]

Well lets face it, its always a matter of playing the odds. If you buy at a costco, walmart, etc, it makes more sense to get a service plan than on the "national" programs as they are going to want to keep their customers happy if they can. Also if you have a pricier tire - replacement is a more expensive proposition. Also if you drive places where you pick up a lot of nails -- it racks up. But many people think that any repairs are covered, and sidewall damages from curbs for example are not covered (sensitive to that one -- my wife is a resolute "braille" parker!).Another fact of warranties and service packages - a lot of (most?) shops won't repair or even re-install a tire that has had the green goo shot into it. Not sure if this is a safety issue or cleanup issue or what.

[Fermi]

The Certificate for Replacement program at Discount Tire is a pretty good deal if you have to utilize it. I have, twice. I bargained them down on the price of the certificates so I paid about $8/tire.Once when a tire got a side puncture that couldn't be repaired and all the tires still had lost of mileage remaining. Probably saved $80.This is the best part: another time when a tire got a second flat, and they were in the last 1/3 of their tread life. Winter was upon us, so I opted to get a whole new set of tires. They not only paid for the equivalent of one new tire, but they also gave me a prorated credit for about 1/3 the value of the other 3 tires, which saved me a ton of money on the new set.