NTB - Warranty Disputes

National Tire & Battery (NTB) • Batteries • Tires • Brakes • Damaging wheels and rims • Damaging studs and lug nuts • Damaging customers' cars • Price disputes • One-hour discount • Poor service • Unnecessary repairs • Warranty disputes • Work left undone/done poorly ---- • NJ Fraud Case Settled • Sears Unloads NTB

Laura of Columbia MD writes (8/6/01):
Called on 1 August 2001 to get 2 new tires on my 1991 GEO Prizm. Person answering phone quoted me a price of $61.00 each for 2 Pirelli 400 tires. Then he said he could knock the price down to $51.00 I ageed and went to get the tires put on. I paid $138.28 for work that was done. Upon arriving at home and looking at my receipt I discovered that I had NO warranty on these tires.

I called NTB on Monday morning and spoke with Jason who said it was up to Pirelli whether to have a warranty or not and that basically I was out of luck. Well, I had pulled a report from the internet on tires and I have in front of me an ad for Pirelli P400 tires (which I got) that showed a warranty of 80,000 miles so I'm confused and don't understand not only that he said they don't volunteer information to customers they assume because they are there that they know everything. I'm not happy.

The consequences are that I basically got "screwed". I now have no warranty on my two new tires which means if anything goes wrong I will need new tires again and I will not go back to NTB. After all, why should I since I have no warranty and I would not recommend them to anyone.

Joseph of Rougemont NC (7/13/01):
I purchased a rather expensive (i.e., $150 each) pair of Michelin MXV4 205-60V-15 tires from a National Tire & Battery Store (3030 South Memorial Parkway) while on a trip in Huntsville, Alabama. Recently, one of these tires failed when it developed a bubble in the sidewall.

Today, upon taking the tire to my local NTB dealer, I was informed that, although there is still over 5/32 inches of tread left on this tire and it was otherwise in good shape, I could not receive any trade in allowance for this tire. They claim the tire was damaged hitting a pothole which, under the terms of the manufacturer's warrantly, is not covered because this is "impact damage."

First, we never hit a serious pothole (i.e., one that we remembered or one which either damaged the front end or required the front end to be realigned). Second, these are expensive high performance tires which should not fail under minor impact. However, NTB refuses to provide any allowance for this faulty tire. What are my recourses other than to never purchase any tires from either NTB or Michelin? Is this a problem with the manufacturer (i.e., does Michelin have a history of such defects with this tire) or is this a problem with the tire dealership (NTB) in a failure to provide adequate customer service?

High-performance doesn't always mean high durability. High-speed tires are "stickier" than their more pedestrian cousins and in many cases are more prone to damage and premature wear.

Lillian of Lithonia, GA, writes:
I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla. On November 10, 1999 I opened up an account for $255 and purchased a set of tires with the warranty up to 50,000 miles. My odometer had a reading of 23,359 miles. On April 27, 2000 I had a flat tire. I took my car to NTB to get the tires replaced. The odometer had a reading of 36,775 miles. Both tire were bald and the steel was exposed. NTB advised me that also needed an alignment. I paid them $170.00 for an alignment and two new front tires.

On November 28. 2000 I got a flat tire. My odometer reading was 49,181. Upon further checking I discovered I needed two new front tires. Both were bald and the steel was exposed. I went to The NTB dealer and was advised I needed an alignment and two new tires. They told me the car may have a problem due to an accident I had in March of 1999.

I went to the Toyota dealer and he informed me there was nothing wrong with the wheels. I called the NTB regional office and spoke to someone in Customer Service who had the store manager call me. He advised me to bring my car back. I went back and he agreed to give me a discount on the alignment and the tires. I spent $80.00 on two new front tires. It seems I am paying for tires that are supposed to give me 50,000 and I am having to replace tires every 14,000. In one year I have spent $504.00 on front tires on three occasions.

Deborah of Stone Mountain, GA:
I have bought two full sets of Yokohama tires from Sears NTB within less than two years and about 55,000 miles worth of usage. At least two tires went flat with cracks that were "unrepairable". Also, the first set of tires I bought were practically bald after about 45,000 miles.

Despite Sears NTB 60,000-mile warrenty, they do not honor it. IT IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOMER'S FAULT. I have complained to the NHTSB about what I believe are defective tires and I will complain to the appropriate authorities about SEARS. I spent almost $700 on 8 tires (2 sets) in less that 2 years.