Tire Rack 'rebate' experiances?

I had no idea. Silly me?  I thought Tire rack were stand up corporate citizens.  Now I am not so sure.   "70 buck visa gift card"  screamed the 100 point font.  I had targeted a set of the new Continental 'Extreme Contact DW' for my wee civic so I bought a set.  For the first time in eons I do not receive a a receipt for my purchase, just a 'your purchase is being processed' email then a tracking number.  That is odd I think... (ha ha).

I get the tires and no receipt is attached.  I email tire Rack and they say the are "mailing the receipt".  O.K... WTF is going on?

I email Tire rack and ask why has there not been any mention of the $70 visa rebate card (or what ever you want to call it).  They respond nicely and say that info will be with the receipt once I get it.  Red flags.

Receipt shows up a week later and of course the online continental tire rack $70 deal is expired and there was no way anyone participating in the deal would have received their receipt in the mail in time to hit the dead line.  I get pissed and search for an hour until I find the exactly correct information on how to mail in my rebate information so that I can collect MY 70 bucks.  This process is called an "application" (right) at this point. Clearly Tire Rack helped create this bait and switch scam by mailing me my receipt   s l o w l y.

The rebate outfit is a P.O. box in Texas (seriously Tire Rack?..  you are doing this to a loooong time customer?) and they ask for the original receipt.  I scan it and mail the original knowing full well they are going to ask for the original.  They did that today and now I have a 30 day deadline.  To prove that my 70 bucks is mine?  No one answers the phone at the fake rebate site, the chat does not work, the fields to send 'proof' don't work.  It is Nigeria level scamming with Tire Racks participation.

I suppose I could play this game and waste hours, but I emailed Tire Rack and asked for the $70 directly from them and blah blah blah the script went.

At least 15 years and several thousand dollars in tires from Tire Rack and they punk me with this cheesy scam.  Phuqe Tire Rack forever.

I've not had this sort of experience, but I do find the pre-paid card rebate extraordinarily annoying. I'd much prefer they just put the tires on sale, even at a much reduced discount, rather than having to jump through a bunch of annoying hoops only to get a card that requires more inconvenience to actually use. It is not a customer-friendly arrangement, even when it works as designed.

I've had the complete opposite experience, on at least three different sets of tires.  The first time I printed up my own rebate form and mailed it in, only to have one show up in the mail the next day with a receipt to send in.  They made the process easy for me.  The cards can be a bit annoying, but I think that is part of the point.  Jump through the hoop to save some dough, or they hope you forget to participate.  I use them for bills and then pay the remainder with another source.

In reply to Nitroracer :

This one is different.  It is absolutely designed to not work.  Has Tire Rack taken Private Equity investment (does anyone know...)?

In reply to 02Pilot :

I did research after this all started up and continental have defiantly been on the wrong end of things and repeatedly.  What pisses me off is Tire Rack helped them.  I will never do anything 'rebate' again, and plenty of folks have figured the same thing out.  I noticed Costco proclaiming "Instant rebate" regarding tires a mailer today.  A little more consumer aware and sensitive perhaps?  Costco is my new tire vendor.

my experience with Tire Rack has been nothing short of stellar for the 25 years i've been buying from them.

example:  last summer, i bought a set of General Altimax RT43's for my 525xi.  ordered early Monday AM, received Tuesday.   Wednesday I received a duplicate copy of the invoice as well as a paper copy of the rebate offer that wasn't advertised because it started on Monday.   They didn't have to do that.

older example:  15 years ago, i ordered a set of BFG Comp TA's for my Corvair.  3 of 4 had same build date, and those 3 took excess weight (8 oz, 9 oz, and 12 oz) to balance.  I called TR, told them what was up, and they shipped a set of a different tire same day at no charge, and covered the return shipping of the Comp TA's with no heartburn at all.

i think your experience, while painful to you, is the exception rather than the rule.

AngryCorvair said:

my experience with Tire Rack has been nothing short of stellar ... I think your experience, while painful to you, is the exception rather than the rule.

This.

Tire Rack has historically been good service. However, their prices are no longer the best of the online retailers from my recent purchases. Discount Tire is kicking their butt. I'd like to still buy from them but the price differential is simply too great.

This doesn't seem limited to Tire Rack, I think I'm like 1 for 10 for rebates I've applied for and followed their instructions to the letter.  I just get tired of following up with emails and phone calls and finally let it go.

When I remember to fill out the forms and send them in, I've had no problem with the rebates from Tire Rack.  The last set of tires I bought (Star Specs for my MINI), I got three receipts: one from the counter when I picked them up at the DE warehouse, another that was mailed to me, and a 3rd that was emailed. Of course, that was way back in early spring and I totally forgot about the rebate form that was included with one of them.  I do remember getting it.

Last tires were bought from Discount Tire because of 2 gift cards.  $100 + $60.  It took a while to get them, but it wasn't that hard to submit.   Tire Rack has lost my business over their shipping cost.      

ddavidv said:

Tire Rack has historically been good service. However, their prices are no longer the best of the online retailers from my recent purchases. Discount Tire is kicking their butt. I'd like to still buy from them but the price differential is simply too great.

I've bought my last few sets from Amazon or Ford dealerships. My local Ford dealer in California would price match + military discount. Couldn't beat it.

In reply to AngryCorvair :

My dad bought 2 corvairs for $500 each when Ralph Nader devalued consumer confidence.  He was a millwright at Uniroyal Tires in The City of Commerce in the L.A. basin. He replaced the bias ply tires with Michelin X radials called it good and we put lots of miles on those cars.  One was white and one was a nice light blue.

I did a bunch of research on Tire Rack, the outfit that actually handles the 'rebates' BlackHawk  Network Holdings, the whole rebate racket, the secondary tire business generally and it turns up my private equity hackles went up for a reason.  The sad part is the founders of Tire Rack passed away fairly recently and though the percentage of private equity ownership of Tire Rack is not abundantly available to me with civilian level access to financial information, It was somewhere near 49% for a long time and remains high.  How high I do not know but the timing is right for the estate to have been sorted out and ownership shares to have started swapping hands.  So there might well be change inside Tire Rack in regards to financial performance expectations and policy towards customers.  Buying into privately held companies that have little to no debt high levels of customer service and aged owners with kids and family as heirs is a smart private equity play.  Smile wait & gut.   The rebate administrator Blackhawk is as crooked as it gets and they are directly incentivize to screw me, the recipient of a rebate card, as they flat out get to keep the $70 bucks if they can screw me out of it.  They received a fee from Tire Rack on the sale already.  They float the $70 bucks like a carrot on a stick.  BlackHawk were just acquired in full by private equity. With consumer protections regarding financial products being dismantled in the US that is a smart play.

Interestingly Blackhawk filed this with the SEC yesterday:

Pretty much says "we do what we want".  That is a primary perk of Private Equity.  Just how hard they are screwing people is now a secret.

Tire Rack is in the sights of Jeff Bezos and consolidation in the tire industry as tire makers are moving to cut resellers out of the supply chain.  I could have bought the tires i just bought from Tire rack for $92 plus roughly $10 each in shipping and a rip off pain in the ass $70 not a rebate for $88 each shipped.

Tire Rack is now offering free shipping......  Price went up.  Im not nuts.

IMHO Tire Rack is screwed and private equity pressure will build and corrupt so it the is the end of an era for an enthusiast owned and customer service oriented brand that I have really enjoyed over the years. So it goes.

.

spitfirebill said:

Last tires were bought from Discount Tire because of 2 gift cards.  $100 + $60.  It took a while to get them, but it wasn't that hard to submit.   Tire Rack has lost my business over their shipping cost.      

I agree Tire Rack shipping costs seem a bit out of hand.  Fortunately, I discovered I can drive down to the DE warehouse from the office and pick them up in person for substantially less. No sales tax either for DE pick-up IIRC.  If I ever get off my ass and fix the TDI, the transportation costs would be even less as it would essentially cost two gallons of diesel. 

I have used them for shaved tires and a couple sets and the people I have spoke to have been great BUT any follow up paperwork or help with it was useless.  Stopped using them and now I use my local Hogan Tire tire shop. No hassle if they don’t have it they can get it in 1-2 days and there prices are decent.  Yes I am paying a couple dollars more per tire but it gets me personal service and a brick and mortar store I can go to anytime I need something.  

Now that Tire Rack has a warehouse in Denver I get to pay tax on any purchase from them.  At that point I might as well just buy the tires from my local Discount Tire retail shop.  They'll match the price, mount and balance them and take care of me for free rotations, free flat repair, etc, etc.

I've bought from Tire Rack and Discount Tire's eBay store.  Tire Rack was great when I lived in OH, since there was a warehouse somewhere close enough to make shipping reasonable.  Now that I'm back in AR, Tire Rack can't touch Discount Tire's price once shipping is figured in.

It was through Discount, not Tire Rack, but I successfully got a $70 Visa, mail in rebate, for buying a set of Cooper AT3s for the XJ, it took about 3 months, but I got it.

Last few sets of tires I bought were either from Craigslist, or one of the local tire shops.  I always price shop, the online places, but the local shop was within $10-$20, and would mount and balance them for free, and offered free rotations.

Some day, I'll have my own tire changer and balancer.

I've developed a good relationship with my local tire shop, who charges me a bit less than tire rack+delivery when you look at the whole cost (mounted & balanced) vs if you just brought in a tire to them to have mounted and balanced.  You still get rebates through the tire manufacturers, so it works out well.

I'm sure I could really invest a lot of time getting a better deal by cross shopping random sites or picking them up myself or whatever, but I like being able to just order tires and not having to worry about it, even if I end up spending an extra $20 every few years :)

Am I the only one that hasn't had a bad experience?  Had at least two rebates that I remember.

Never done rebates through TR, but have always had good service otherwise.

Done several rebates through DTD.  Still trying to sort out the memorial day sale rebate...  I got my two $100 cards, but not my two $60 cards.

fyi, my last 2 sets of tires ordered from TR (this calendar year) were free shipping.  or....included in the listed price.  and they include the road hazard plan now too.  

i've had issues with the rebates in the past, but i think it's the 3rd party facilitator, not tirerack's doing.  they make them intentionally difficult.  you should let tirerack customer service know they're losing you as a customer.  i bet they come back with some form of goodwill after they look up your purchase history.