What to do? Bolt in a tire

[Tweak155]

I have a 2003 expedition I bought used last April. The tires looked new which was a selling point to me.

Fast forward to today - I ran over a sizable object, looked like a bolt maybe quarter inch in diameter.

I took it to a tire place that does free repairs and they told me the bolt did too much damage and they can't patch it. They won't put the spare on because it's a 2002 tire.

A new tire (same one) installed is $183. I called the dealer I bought the vehicle from to see if there is any warranty on the tire but won't know til tomorrow.

What would you guys do in this situation?

EDIT:

More info post 8

 

[JulesMaximus]

Why don't you put the spare on?

 

[Kroze]

Why don't you put the spare on?

That makes too much sense.

 

[olds]

No chance there's a warranty on a 2002 tire.
And as far as what I would do; I'd use more descriptive thread titles.

 

[mvbighead]

All depends really. If you drive the vehicle a lot, I would consider replacing the two worst tires so long as it isn't full time all wheel drive.

If you seldom drive the vehicle, you might check around tire shops to see if someone has a used tire that fits the dimensions you need and has roughly similar wear. I wouldn't be too keen on doing this though, as I have better things to do with my time, but it could save you some money.

 

[NutBucket]

Why don't you put the spare on?

Would you trust a 10 year old tire that's been constantly exposed to weather?

 

[exdeath]

Would you trust a 10 year old tire that's been constantly exposed to weather?

Just as much as I trust the four tires on my car that are constantly exposed to weather, curbs, and everything else day in and out...

 

[Tweak155]

Sorry guys typed all that from my tablet, just now got to a PC.

Pretty much what happened is I got out of work yesterday to see my rim really close to the ground. I took a risk and drove it about half mile to a gas station and put air in it. Since I had no idea when I ran this thing over (whether it was the day before or just before I got to work, or hell it could have been a lot earlier and I just didn't notice), I thought the best idea was to take it to a tire shop right away without letting it sit over night, just in case it would have left me flat by morning.

I put about 4k miles on it since I got it in April, and my estimate for the use of the vehicle was about 5k/yr so looks like I'm pretty dang close on my estimate. Since I'm only putting about 5k/yr on it I really didn't want to have to buy a brand new tire, but since thinking about it I may just go for it as it will be a selling point for the vehicle just as it was for me.

At least now I can price search the tire and make sure they aren't ripping me off. That was my biggest concern. I was afraid when I saw the bolt sticking out that it ruined the tire, so I figured this would be a possibility, but was still kind of thrown off when he said that's what happened and he told me a new tire OTD price.

 

[Tweak155]

No chance there's a warranty on a 2002 tire.
And as far as what I would do; I'd use more descriptive thread titles.

I'm looking to see if there is accidental warranty on the tire with the bolt. The tire place said if I had bought it through them it would have been covered.

 

[Tweak155]

All depends really. If you drive the vehicle a lot, I would consider replacing the two worst tires so long as it isn't full time all wheel drive.

If you seldom drive the vehicle, you might check around tire shops to see if someone has a used tire that fits the dimensions you need and has roughly similar wear. I wouldn't be too keen on doing this though, as I have better things to do with my time, but it could save you some money.

Yeah I went the cheapo route when I was a teenager and ended up getting a spare that only lasted me 6mo or so, that always stuck with me. I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle like you mentioned.

 

[Tweak155]

I decided to just have them put a new one on. I got them to come down a small amount (down to $170 OTD) but I guess it's better than nothing. I did a price check on the tire and they're giving me the going rate.

Just bad timing for me I guess.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Too late for you to get this, but next time..


Buy two new tires, put the 'old but good' tire on the spare wheel.

I would never buy a used tire, but I'm the resident "only name brand good tires because your life depends on it" fanboy around here.

 

[Tweak155]

Too late for you to get this, but next time..


Buy two new tires, put the 'old but good' tire on the spare wheel.

I would never buy a used tire, but I'm the resident "only name brand good tires because your life depends on it" fanboy around here.

I thought about that, but decided against it. It's obviously a good idea, I just think I don't want to buy a $150 "insurance policy" as the vehicle doesn't see enough use.

If I drove it a lot more, I'd consider otherwise. The chances of this happening twice? This is the first time a tire was not able to be repaired in my ~ 12yrs of driving. Only time will tell if I made a good choice.

I also have AAA so I get free towing within a reasonable range. This makes the decision a little easier.

 

[Naeeldar]

I thought about that, but decided against it. It's obviously a good idea, I just think I don't want to buy a $150 "insurance policy" as the vehicle doesn't see enough use.

If I drove it a lot more, I'd consider otherwise. The chances of this happening twice? This is the first time a tire was not able to be repaired in my ~ 12yrs of driving. Only time will tell if I made a good choice.

I also have AAA so I get free towing within a reasonable range. This makes the decision a little easier.

FYI driving on the flat is probably what caused it to be unrepairable. Not definitely but doing that makes it FAR harder to patch.

 

[Tweak155]

FYI driving on the flat is probably what caused it to be unrepairable. Not definitely but doing that makes it FAR harder to patch.

Good to know... You know I had noticed that morning that it felt like it was pulling to the right a little (tire was passenger side front), so I'm thinking it was the day before is probably when it happened. I quite possibly drove on it for quite a few miles that way.

I didn't think anything of it that morning because the roads here are in real bad shape from this winter. It's all coming together now.

 

[mvbighead]

Too late for you to get this, but next time..


Buy two new tires, put the 'old but good' tire on the spare wheel.

I would never buy a used tire, but I'm the resident "only name brand good tires because your life depends on it" fanboy around here.

I'd be inclined to do it this way myself.

Fortunately for my beater truck that gets driven 3k miles a year or so, I received about 6 like tires with it, so I had it all swapped around when I got it, and have two "spares" for replacements down the road. But if I didn't have that and had to replace a tire, I'd definitely replace two and keep the best leftover one as a spare.