Canadian Tire tire warranty (Question for Canadians)

[Jimmy_Russells]

So I found a great deal on some Blizzak WS90’s and ordered a set. Website price of $200 each, I paid 182, plus $128 back in CT money + 4% more back for using CT Mastercard… So that was sweet.

Has anyone bought their premium warranty? The guy was very clear to point out that because these are going on an awd vehicle, if I ever need to replace one tire that is more than 2/32 worn because of damage, they will replace all four tires for the cost of mount/balance/tire levy and buying the warranty again - It was something like $240. This warranty costs $13 per tire. That seems almost unbelievable but I can’t see them outright lying about it.

Anyone with any experience with this?

 

[ecotourist]

I've had batteries replaced several times under Canadian Tire warranties.

In one case I bought a battery with a lifetime warranty and had it replaced 5 or 6 years later. They looked at me a little funny for bringing it to them for a warranty replacement but they're the ones who offered a lifetime warranty. They (quite sensibly) no longer offer a lifetime warranty.

 

[Number_35]

That does sound like a good deal!

No doubt their actuaries have crunched the numbers and have decided it's better overall for CT to offer the warranty than not to. It's $52 in their pocket right now, and presumably they figure not many will have to ever use the warranty.

I agree it's best to replace all four tires on an AWD vehicle at the same time so as to not cause additional wear on the driveline components.

I've had batteries replaced several times under Canadian Tire warranties.

In one case I bought a battery with a lifetime warranty and had it replaced 5 or 6 years later. They looked at me a little funny for bringing it to them for a warranty replacement but they're the ones who offered a lifetime warranty. They (quite sensibly) no longer offer a lifetime warranty.

Around 2001 I bought a rebuilt Bosch alternator for our '85 Mazda 626. I went for the 5-year warranty.

The rebuilt alternator failed after about 3-1/2 years, and CT replaced it.

However, I noticed that by that time they had reduced the warranty to three years. Hmmm, I'm guessing they had to replace a bunch under warranty the alternators were > 3 but < 5 years old ...

 

[nobb]

The problem I find with Canadian Tire's warranty is that at the store level, the staff are poorly trained and/or incentivized to reject claims so it could be hit or miss.

A prime example is when I tried to warranty a month old tire, the tech was trained to measure tread wear RELATIVE to the wear bar instead of the full tread depth. "It's a wear bar, it's for measuring wear." So basically on a one month old tire with <1000 kms on it, they were claiming it had to be prorated as it was 30% worn out. I had to spend an hour arguing with the dude and his manager, to the point of telling them to use that same methodology on a brand new store display tire, and explain to me how that tire was considered 30% worn out. I found when having to deal with their automotive guys, there's always little things like that which surprise me on their absolute lack of critical thinking abilities.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

The problem I find with Canadian Tire's warranty is that at the store level, the staff are poorly trained and/or incentivized to reject claims so it could be hit or miss.

A prime example is when I tried to warranty a month old tire, the tech was trained to measure tread wear RELATIVE to the wear bar instead of the full tread depth. "It's a wear bar, it's for measuring wear." So basically on a one month old tire with

Fair enough. That does seem ridiculous and I tend to agree the front line is not the most knowledgeable.

I guess I will double check that’s the way it works when I get the tires mounted on my separate steel wheels. Their tire warranty page on their website does not mention that… So I am a bit skeptical. However I have read a few threads on various websites where guys have absolutely had all four replaced.

 

[addyguy]

I’m a manager of a Canadian Tire garage.
Yes, the warranty is worth every penny for AWD vehicles.
Tire can’t be repaired, and the other tires are I think more than 2/32nds lower than a new tire, all get warrantied.
And yes, training a knowledge across all CT stores is not as uniform as it should be. But the fiercely independent nature of dealers means you can’t force them to train all staff the exact same way. It will always be a problem at CT.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I’m a manager of a Canadian Tire garage.
Yes, the warranty is worth every penny for AWD vehicles.
Tire can’t be repaired, and the other tires are I think more than 2/32nds lower than a new tire, all get warrantied.
And yes, training a knowledge across all CT stores is not as uniform as it should be. But the fiercely independent nature of dealers means you can’t force them to train all staff the exact same way. It will always be a problem at CT.

Hey thanks for this response. I somehow missed it before.

I got the tires installed on the wheels today and the guy there reiterated what you said, that the warranty will replace all four if they have more than 2/32” wear… So I bought it