Discount Tire Review: A Complete Guide

About Discount Tire

Launched by Bruce Halle in 1960, Discount Tire is an independent tire and wheel retailer, which operates in 36 states across the U.S.

Headquartered in Scottsdale Arizona, Discount Tire has grown to become one of the largest tire and wheel distributors nationwide.

It started with a single store in Ann Arbor Michigan, where Bruce was the store’s single employee. By 1990, the company had opened more than 200 stores across the country. By 2002, its footprint had expanded to 500 stores.

And on September 10, 2018, the company opened its 1000th store, which is located in Phoenix Arizona.

Discount Tire’s growth has been attributed to its great customer service, focus on affordable prices as well as its satisfaction guarantee.

How it Works

If you are looking to purchase tires at Discount Tire, you can do so with or without an account. However, setting an account will make it easier for you to review and track your orders, schedule or reschedule an appointment, in case something comes up.

But regardless of whether you opt to create an account or not, Discount Tire has tried as much as possible to make its tire shopping process as straightforward as possible. Here are the steps that you will follow when shopping for tires:

Choose Your Tires

First, you will need to select the tires you want to purchase. You can search for tires by vehicle, by size, either by brand or by type. Shopping by vehicle is probably the easiest and fastest method.

You simply need to enter your vehicle type, year of manufacture, make and model. And once you provide that information, Discount Tire will show you a selection of tires that fit your vehicle.

You will have numerous options to choose from, whether you want high-performance tires, standard passenger tires, or winter tires. Also, you will have the option of choosing tires from your favorite brand.

In case your vehicle is not in the company’s database, you will have the option of selecting tires based on the size that you want. With this approach, Discount Tire has ensured that anyone can shop for tires on their website, regardless of the vehicle they are driving.

If you are not sure which tire is right for your vehicle, Discount Tire can assist you through its proprietary Treadwell program.

Treadwell is a personal tire-buying guide, which provides you with the same level of professional expertise and recommendations that you would get at a Tire Discount store.

It uses various data points such as the neighborhood that you primarily drive in as well as your driving style to recommend the right tires for your specific vehicle.

Schedule an Appointment

After you’ve selected your vehicle’s tires or wheels, you can check how they will look on your vehicle, using Discount Tire’s wheel visualizer.

From there, you will be required to confirm whether the store that Discount Tire has selected is where you will want to have the installation performed.

In case you don’t like that store or you have a preferred store in mind, you can easily change the pre-selected one.

Once you’ve confirmed the store or chosen your preferred store, you will then arrange with the store as to when you want the service done. And in case you are short on time, Discount Tire gives you the option of scheduling an appointment at your convenient time.

From there, Discount Tire’s technicians will fit your vehicle with the wheels or tires that you ordered.

It’s important to note that all online purchases must be installed at the store. So, if you don’t want them installed at the store, then you should reserve them online and then complete the payment at the store. And you can then walk out with your products.

You can schedule an appointment from 8 am to 5:45 pm during weekdays and up to 4:45 pm on Saturday. And you can do so by calling the store, filling an online form, or going physically to the store.

Products and Services

When it comes to tires, you have plenty of options to choose from at Discount Tire. Some of the available tire types include:

All-season Tires

All-season tires are designed to deliver good tread life, a quiet ride as well as reliable all-year performance. And this explains why they are so popular among vehicle owners.

These tires are highly versatile, meaning they will deliver reliable performance when used in a wide range of conditions, terrains, and environments. They are usually built to offer a combination of the benefits that you will get from winter and summer tires.

But considering that these tires are designed to provide reliable performance in a wide range of driving conditions, they will definitely have to compromise some winter and summer performance capabilities.

Therefore, all-season tires will not provide the same level of sharp handling and extreme grip that you will find in a summer tire. On the same note, they are not built to withstand extreme wintery conditions or driving on ice.

If you live in moderate climates and you are looking for tires that will deliver great all-year-round performance, then all-season tires will be a good choice.

Some of the all-season tire brands available at Discount Tire include Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Cooper Tires, Kumho Tire, Michelin, Nexen Tire, Toyo Tires, Pirelli and Yokohama, among others.

Performance Tires

These tires are designed to provide fast responsiveness, sporty handling as well as exceptional grip, in both wet and dry conditions.

They feature unique construction features, tread patterns, as well as unique rubber compounds, which help to deliver enhanced responsiveness, traction and precision.

Performance tires come with a speed rating, which is usually denoted with a letter. For instance, high-performance all-season tires come with a speed rating of 130mph to 149mph.

On the other hand, ultra-high performance tires come with speed ratings of 149mph up to 186mph.

Discount Tire has a wide range of performance tires to choose from, depending on your vehicle’s recommended tire speed rating. They include:

• Yokohama AVID Ascend GT
• Goodyear Eaglesport
• Pirelli P Zero
• Bridgestone Blizzak WS90
• Continental Extreme Contact
• Michelin Primacy Tour
• Yokohama YK740 GTX

Winter Tires

When temperatures drop, rubber tends to harden. As a result, your tires may lose grip if you are driving in extremely cold conditions. And this is where winter tires come in.

Winter tires feature a higher natural rubber content, which helps to keep them supple. Even when you are driving in freezing temperatures, your winter tires will remain pliable and flexible, thus giving your vehicle the traction it needs to drive through those conditions.

Apart from their higher natural rubber content, winter tires also feature tiny grooves, which bite into ice, snow or sludge, thus dispersing water at a faster rate than conventional tires while ensuring more traction and better braking.

If you live in an area that experiences extreme winter conditions, or heavy snowing, then you will need these tires.

Winter tires feature two symbols; a snowflake on a mountain and M+S. The snowflake symbol means the tires have passed the minimum performance required on snow while the M+S symbol means the tires can perform well on mud and snow.

Some of the available winter tires at Discount Tire include Michelin X-ICE X13, Bridgestone Blizzak WS90, Pirelli Scorpion Winter, and Continental Viking Contact 7.

You should expect to spend approximately $180 to $195 if you are purchasing winter tires at Discount Tire.

Summer Tires

As their name suggests, summer tires are specifically manufactured to deliver optimum performance in warm climates and summer conditions. They will provide reliable traction and road grip when it’s baking hot.

Their tread patterns feature straighter, shallower grooves, compared to what you will come across on all-season tires. They also feature continuous, solid ribs, which ensure a bigger surface area contact with the road.

While summer tires can handle a wide range of conditions, they are not ideal for areas that experience harsh winters or extremely cold climates.

They are built using a harder rubber compound than that found in winter tires, which means it will become harder when temperatures start falling below 70C.

The Bridgestone Potenza S001, NITTO Invo and Yokohama Advan Sport are some of the available summer tires at Discount Tire.

Tire and Wheel Services

Apart from selling wheels, tires and various vehicle accessories, Discount Tire also offers several tire and wheel services. These services are offered in all their outlets countrywide. These services include:

Air Pressure Checks

All Discount Tire’s store locations are equipped to diagnose and fix issues involving low tire pressure. You simply need to visit any of the locations and request this service.

Discount Tire offers this service to every person who visits their stores, regardless of where you purchased your tires. And you don’t need to schedule an appointment.

Flat Tire Repair

Discount Tire also offers tire repair, as part of their services. When you take your tires for repair, Discount Tire’s technicians will first inspect the extent of the damage, against set guidelines.

After the inspection, the technicians will then walk you through the available options. If your tire is repairable, then Discount Tire’s technicians will undertake the necessary repairs.

And if the tire is damaged beyond repair, then the technicians will help you to choose a replacement tire that aligns best with your needs.

Discount Tire’s technicians will only repair tires that meet the guidelines and standards set by the United States Tire Manufacturer Association (USTMA).

Tire Rotation and Balancing

Routine tire rotations and proper tire balancing can help to extend your tires’ life. If you purchased your tires at Discount Tire, then you can have your tires rotated and

Wheel Repairs

If your wheels are not looking their best or they are already showing signs of wear and tear, Discount Tire can help. Most wheel repairs are undertaken within 24 to 48 hours. However, this service is only available at select locations.

Pricing

Discount Tire’ pricing is on the lower end, compared to other tire shops. For instance, if you are purchasing tires for a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro LS, you will pay $213 per tire or $852 for four tires for Michelin Primacy Tour A/S at Discount Tire.

If you were to purchase the same type of tire at Costco, then you will spend approximately $238 or $952 for 4 tires.

For a set of four tires, you will save approximately $100 if you purchase your tires from Discount Tire, compared to buying them from Costco.

Discount Tire’s pricing includes the following:

Installation

The $852 that you pay when you purchase tires at Discount Tire for your Chevrolet Camaro will include installation at one of its stores countrywide.

According to the information posted on its website, Discount Tire charges $21 per tire for installation and maintenance.

Free Lifetime Rotations

When you purchase tires from Discount Tire, you will also get free lifetime rotation and balancing. Discount Tire is among the few Tire Stores that offer this service at no additional cost.

Disposal Fees

When you replace your vehicle’s tires, you will need to dispose of the old ones. However, Discount Tire can take care of the disposal process for you, at a small additional fee.

Discount Tire’s disposal fee is approximately $30, which translates to $120 for a set of four tires.

Environmental Fee

Most states charge an environment conservation fee whenever you purchase new tires. The environmental fee is approximately $2.5 per tire or $10 for a set of four tires.

If you live in a state that charges this fee, then Discount Tire will include it when calculating your pricing.

Free Lifetime Rotations

Tire rotation and balancing costs approximately $20 and should be done after every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. Assuming that your tires last for 50,000 miles, then you will have spent approximately $200 on rotations.

But when you purchase your tires from Discount Tire, you will not incur additional costs for tire rotation and balancing, since it offers these services for free.

Taxes

Discount Tire’s pricing also includes required fees or taxes. For instance, out of the $852 you are paying for your tires, approximately $70 will go towards state fees and taxes if you live in Illinois.

Discount Tire also offers price matching. According to the information posted on its website, Discount Tire is ready to beat the competition’s lower price. The price-matching link is always posted next to all the products that you are purchasing on Discount Tire.

Payment Methods

Discount Tire offers a wide range of payment methods, designed to make it easy for its customers to purchase the wheels or tires that they need.

Some of the available payment methods include personal checks, debit cards, charge cards and cash. Discount Tire also accepts Traveler’s checks and Postal Money Orders.

If you are shopping for wheels or tires through a personal check, Discount Tire will ask you to provide your home phone number and your identification card for your protection.

Discount Tire accepts a wide range of credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover Network, and American Express.

You can also opt for the company’s financing options, which are offered via the Discount Tire credit card.

Discounts and Offers

Shopping for tires doesn’t come cheap. Fortunately, Discount Tire offers its customers several ways of saving money on tire purchases. Some of the available ways of saving with Discount Tire include:

Military Discount

Discount Tire offers a 10% military discount, as an appreciation to those people serving in the U.S armed forces.

To get this discount, you will follow the normal procedure of buying tires from Discount Tire.

Once you’ve purchased your tires, you will then produce your military ID during your appointment. The shop where the tires or wheels are being installed will then give you a discount, which will then be credited to the credit card you used to purchase the tires.

Discount Tire’s military discount is not available in all locations. Furthermore, you can only get a discount of up to $50. Also, you cannot combine the military discount with other offers and promotions.

Deals and Rebates

Discount Tire also offers several deals and rebates, which are regularly posted on its promotions page.

If the tires you are purchasing come with a rebate, then you will need to download a form, which will provide you with more details about the offer.

Filled rebate forms can be mailed or electronically submitted. If the rebate is to be mailed, you should pay close attention to its return deadline.

After filling and submitting a rebate form, you will get a prepaid card in your email, loaded with the offer.

Coupon Websites

There are numerous coupon websites, which can allow you to redeem Discount Tire’s coupons. You can Discount Tire coupons at Groupons, Retail Me Not, Slick Deals, Business Insider and Coupon Cabin, just to name a few.  

Shipping

Discount Tire offers shipping and delivery to all its customers. Shipping duration will depend on your location. So, if you want the fastest shipping possible, then you should choose a Discount Tire warehouse that’s closest to your location.

Currently, Discount Tire is providing free ground shipping for the 48 contiguous states, as long as the wheels or tires are in stock.

If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, then you can choose whether you want your orders to be shipped through standard ground, second-day air or next-day air. You can also choose alternative shipping options like USPS parcel priority and USPS parcel post.

Discount Tire also ships wheels and tires to members of the U.S Armed forces or government employees based overseas. Overseas shipments are handled via the United States Postal Service.

Shipping within the 48 contiguous states takes approximately 2 to four business days. The actual duration will depend on the distribution center that Discount Tire is shipping from.

If it’s a special order item, then you can expect the shipping process to take approximately 7 to 10 business days.

You can easily check the status of your order by calling its sales specialists. In case you receive a partial order, you should call or email Discount Tire so that it can resolve the issue.

Installation

After purchasing your tires from Discount Tire, you can have them installed at one of its partner installers.

While the installation fee is approximately $20 per tire, the actual amount will depend on the installer that you’ve chosen.

So, before you choose a certain tire center, you should first call them ahead of time to enquire about their installation fee.

Warranty and Return Policy

Almost all the tires that Discount Tire sells come with manufacturer warranties. Also known as material and workmanship warranties, their coverage is normally limited to a certain wear condition or use period.

Some of the standard manufacturer warranties that you will get when you purchase tires from Discount Tire include:

Workmanship and Materials Warranty

Similar to other consumer goods, tires also come with workmanship and materials warranties, to protect you from defects arising from the materials used or the manufacturing process.

Almost all the tires that you will purchase from Discount Tire come with this warranty. Under this warranty, the manufacturer will replace your tire, if it experiences a manufacturing or workmanship defect within the first 12 months, 2/32 of tread wear or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Tire Tread Warranty

Also called mileage warranty, this warranty will cover your tires for a period of 4, 5, or 6 years from the purchase date if they wear out before attaining a certain tread depth.

For your claim to be eligible under this warranty, your tires should have uniform wear. Also, they should be down to their last 2/32 of an inch of tread.

You should note that the actual refund that you will get under this warranty is prorated. For instance, you may purchase Michelin tires from Discount Tire with a mileage warranty of 50,000.

In case they wear out after only covering 30,000 miles, then Michelin will give you a refund for only the 20,000 miles that the tires didn’t deliver. You will also need to show proof that your tires were properly maintained.

However, some special-use tires such as competition tires, trailer tires, mud tires, winter tires, UTV tires and ATV tires don’t come with the standard manufacturer warranty, since the rubber compounds used to make them tend to deteriorate at a faster rate compared to those used in conventional tires.

So, if you are buying any of the special-use tires from Discount Tire, you should check whether they come with a manufacturer warranty before checking out.

Additional Warranties

Apart from the standard manufacturer warranties, Discount Tire also offers several extended warranties, and coverages, designed to offer you additional protection for your vehicle’s tires. Some of the additional warranties that Discount Tire offers include:

Road Hazard Warranty

Discount Tire’s road hazard warranty is offered through the company’s Tire Certificate program.

Under this warranty, if the tires you’ve purchased from Discount Tire fail for any reason, whether it’s a non-repairable road hazard or a factory defect, then the company will refund you the full purchase price.

But for you to get the refund, then the tires need to have a minimum tread of 3/32 of an inch, remaining across the whole tire. Also, the tires should not have been in use for more than 3 years.

If your tire meets the above two conditions, then Discount Tire will give you a full refund of the purchase price.

And if you opt to use the refunded payment to purchase a set of new or comparable tires from Discount Tire, then the company will pay for you the applicable sales tax.

This warranty is more like getting a new set of tires for free, in case something happens to your tires.

If you decide to add this warranty, it will cost you approximately $15 per tire. You can purchase the certificates at the time of buying the tires or within thirty days of your purchase.

Tire damage caused by vandalism, crime, fire or wheel modifications is not covered under this warranty.

Returns and Refunds

If you buy tires or wheels from Discount Tire and you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can simply return them and ask for a refund.

You can return the items at any of the company’s tire stores as long as you have the receipt.

If you decide to exchange the item with another one, then you will be charged for the new item and then your account will be credited for the return later on.

Refunds

For refunds, you will receive your money using the original form of tender that you used to purchase the items.

For instance, if you had bought tires through a credit card, then Discount Tire will refund the amount to your credit card within 14 business days.

Discount Tire handles returns and refunds on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, whether they will allow you to return the items or not will depend on individual circumstances.

Unlike other tire shops, there is no time limit pertaining to returns or exchanges at Discount Tire. Also, Discount Tire will not charge you restocking fees if you return an item unless it was a custom shipment the company had ordered on your behalf.

Discount Tire Financing

Discount Tire also offers financing, which is exclusively reserved to its credit cardholders.

The repayment period will depend on the amount of your purchase. Purchases between $199 and $999 qualify for a 6-month repayment period while purchases of $1,500 or more are eligible for a repayment period of 12 months.

Discount Tire will not charge you any interest if you settle the amount in full within the repayment period.

Customer Service and Digital Accessibility

Discount Tire offers several channels, designed to make it easier for its current and future customers to make inquiries.

First, you can contact the company by calling your regional office. Second, you can get in touch with Discount Tire through various social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Third, Discount Tire also has a mobile app, which is available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

With the mobile app, you can access your Discount Tire account and shop for tires and wheels, locate a Discount Tire store near you, schedule an appointment, finance your purchase via the Discount Tire credit card or pay your Discount Tire credit card bill.

Fourth, you can open a Discount Tire online account via its website, which you can use to manage your online purchases and schedule your appointments.

Simply put, Discount Tire gives you numerous options, which you can use to contact the company, make inquiries, purchase tires, schedule an appointment with an installer or track your order.

Pros

• Free lifetime tire rotation and balancing
• Frequent deals, promotions and discounts
• Great customer service

Cons

• Lengthy refund process

Our Take

Discount Tire is a reliable and reputable tire brand, which has been around for more than 60 years. You will find a vast selection of tires, wheels and other vehicle accessories, at competitive prices.

Its shipping is fast and free, as long as you live in any of the 48 contiguous states. It also offers numerous discounts, deals, and promotions, which can help to maximize your savings on tire purchases.

On the other hand, some customers have complained about its slow refund process. So, whether you opt to purchase your wheels and tires from Discount Tire or not will depend on your location, as well as your personal preferences.