I got a flat about a month ago and needed a fix ASAP. I first went to Firestone in Millbrae but they were useless as **** on a bull. They said they were booked for the day and couldn't help. Fine, so I asked them if they can suggest another shop around the area since it's an emergency. The counter person just pointed left to right and mentioned there's some shops on el camino. ugh, specifics man! but he wouldn't name a shop.

Irritated, I drove off the lot and saw America's Tire right across the street. Drove in and told the salesperson that I had a flat. He said it was a free service to fix flat tires IF only it's fixable. For example, like a nail or screw.

20 minutes later, they had my tire fixed and even cleaned my tires and rims... FOR FREE!!!!

 

Wow nice! Didn't know they did that for free!

I'm guessing you didn't buy your tires there right?

 

i'm sure they'll rip me a new one if i bought tires!

the shop in millbrae is new. there's a waiting area where you can watch them fix your car. i'll probably still buy my tires online and have it shipped there for install next time.

 

AT has a pretty well know policy of free flat patches. I've taken two flat tires to them.

I made the mistake of trying to buy tires from them when they couldn't fix the first flat.

 

Be careful with it.

I went in to get the free repair when I still had the wrx. They brought it in and had their "best patch guy" work on my tire. They said the hole was too big and could not be repaired. So they said they'll order me up a new tire at $170... or whatever the amount was.

I honestly got the feeling they were just saying it couldnt be repaired so i would spend money on a new tire. So i hit up a friend who works much further away than the AT was to me. I went to their shop and my friend took a look.

He said it was one of the worst patch ATTEMPTS he's ever seen. He literally peeled the patch off with his fingers... He applied a new patch properly and the tire held air for the remainder of time I owned the car.

 

i agree! that was running through my head when the guy said, "oh it's a free service" all i was thinking was... he's coming back with an excuse that my tire isn't repairable. but they took me into the work area, showed me the hole in the tire and as well as when they were done patching it. decent job. I think i'll buying a new set by this summer or winter. hopefully the later. i want to get into riding my motorcycle too.

 

I've been using AT on/off for at least the last 10 years. They've always had the "free plug/patch" service. (whether you bought the tires from there or not.) While I have had more good experiences than bad.. I just went there yesterday and bought/installed a new set of Michelin PSS from them. Why? Because out the door; they were better than TireRack and Tire Buyer and their customer service is usually great. Web site is up front - check the "get total price" option and it's WYSIWG. You can haggle on certificates and what not but they'll rarely every stray much from the cost. Have purchased the tire certificates from them, and yeah, it was worth it on previous cars. They replace the tire if it can't be repaired. Given its usually $15-$25 a tire, if it happens once it's paid for itself. Have not done cert's on the Subaru for the following..

Negative experience: Got a screw in a sidewall one time. This is classified as unrepairable. All of the tires were roughly at 60%-70% tread life. Due to it being AWD, they refused to do even a two tire replacement, saying the vehicle would be unsafe for operation. I was forced to buy four new tires and ended up going elsewhere.

 

d'oh! 4 new tires?!? i would have just done it myself. buy ONE new tire and take the rim off the car and go to any shop to have it replaced.

 

they also scan and program your ECU with new TPMS sensor ID's if you have multiple sets of tires for free.

takes him like 5 min or less.

 

Nothing but good things to say about America's Tire from me. I've taken advantage of the flat fix before and they knocked it out quickly and professionally and the tire held air perfectly for the remainder of its life. I've purchased a few sets of tires there as well and have also had them mount tires purchased on Tirerack.com. They were the least expensive place I could find to mount/balance the tires at $60 out the door. Not sure if they'd still honor that price as it was a few years ago that I had them installed but it was a hell of a deal IMO. Most tire shops wanted $20-30 per tire to mount/balance.

-Brian

 

I ran over a bolt and AT told me that the hole was too big. Took it to another shop that I knew wouldn't give a **** and they patched it for $15.

I would have replaced all 4. Sucks. But I'm **** about my tires like that.



I was pissed because I had the brand, model, and size tires that I wanted and the guy kept trying to sell me on other crap.

 

How is that negative towards the tire shop? Thats just one of the downsides to owning an AWD car. You should never replace just one or even two tires once they are past the indicated wear.

 

i think he mentioned that all the other tires still had 60-70% thread life... it's kinda of a waste to change those tires out just for AWD comformity, but i understand. luckily i've always had to change all 4 and not just one. my last car, i had a s2000 and one of the rear tires had a flat that i couldn't fix, the shop (not AT), also recommended that i changed both rear tires for comformity, luckily (again) i already had a set of rear dunlops waiting in my storage.

 

gah! you're more ballsy than me! having a hole in the sidewall, i guess depending how huge it was, i would probably buy a replacement right away. a tire can be replaced but a possible blow out and ending in an accident that may cost my life... is irreplaceable. *old man speak*

 

It was almost dead center on the tread and it wasn't a huge hole. I wouldn't drive on it if I was worried about it in any way. That's what the second (and third) set of wheels are for.