Yesterday I pulled into a Whole Foods parking lot, and as I pulled into the parking space, I heard a loud pop, when I tried to leave later on, it was immediately apparent that one of the tires was flat. I went back and looked, and there was the remains of a broken bottle. The strange thing is, now that the tire has been removed and I have examined it, damned if I can find where this penetration took place… Forgive me if this is a little too ignorant. My main question is simply, what can I expect in terms of cost for having this repaired or replaced? I realize that without knowing the location of this tear that may be difficult. For the sake of argument, let’s say it is on the bottom. also, I am trying to decide whether or not I should take this to some private lower-cost body shop, or a nearby Toyota dealership. I also need to get an oil change, and from what I’ve seen it actually may be cheaper at the Toyota dealership.
I’d take it to a tire shop, preferably one you’ve used before, or at least one with good reviews. how many miles on that set of tires? If the damaged tire is not repairable it might be prudent to replace them all. Damn kombucha bottles…
Where did you purchase your tires? Many tire shops have road hazard warranty which covers the repair/replacement cost. Check it.
If it's in the middle of the tread you can probably have it plugged for $20. If the sidewall was cut, you're replacing the tire. If a suitable used tire is available you could get out of it for $60. If you get a new tire, be aware that there are a lot of new value brands on the market. They aren't great. I don't know of any "good" tire in that size for less than about $90 each.
I got into outside-only plug repair due to a finishing nail about an inch from edge of tread. Dealership said unrepairable, which is a fair statement, for inside/outside style plug repair. I outside-only plug repaired it, used the tire another 6~7 years. More-or-less the same scenario about a year later, with a snow tire that got a bolt in the tread, same repair, and after about another 8 years of use, I'll be replacing this fall.
Yup, kombucha, the Parking Lot Panacea. Well I don't quite know how many miles are on the tire - - the car itself only has about 60k on it and I rarely use it these days. Can't recall if this particular popped tire had been previously replaced, I had to do a replacement a few years ago.
It looks like Walmart might have good deals on tires and installations... do you happen to know if that' a reliable option?
Sorry, no clue. The only big box place I’ve used is Costco (they’ve driven me nuts more than once). I’ll probably be using Kal Tire here in the fall, for snow tires. A dedicated tire place with a good reputation, you’ll maybe pay a bit more, but the experience is better, and they often do gratis road hazard.
You can get good tires installed properly at walmart, but again... all the choices below about $90 are going to be noisy junk.
Well, I am a cash-strapped renter so seems like I’d have to go out of my way for that one, but if I had the resources on hand that’d be useful… I’m gonna expect that the tire will need to be replaced, and if they tell me it can be mended then that will merely be a happy surprise
“Noisy” tires? Yuck, don’t want that. Sounds like I can expect something between $100-150. Right now I’m trying to decide if I should try and buy the tire cheaply from somewhere online and bring it in to be installed - or if I should just keep the appointment I made for the Toyota dealership tomorrow morning, which will just solve the problem right away but will almost undoubtedly be costlier than I’d like.
I got this car used at Toyota of Hollywood in 2018, and I now live in Chicago. Car is a 2013 Prius C. So…
Thanks very much. I mean, having a very difficult time telling where the tear occurred. I don’t THINK the sidewall is cut (I’ll re-examine it on my way home in a few hours) so that’s encouraging. I have an appointment at the Toyota dealership tomorrow morning - I also have needed an oil change for a while, so taking this opportunity for that. Just hope they don’t overcharge me for what could potentially be a cheap repair.
I mean, I don’t have experience (or disposable income) when it comes to repairing these things myself. Alas. Dealership may say unrepairable, but perhaps I can try a smaller auto body.
OK!! For the record (if anybody’s watching), I took the car to my local corner auto body. They examined the tire (right away) and determined that, yeah, it’s old and crappy and really would be best replaced. They said a replacement could be in tomorrow and agreed to have it installed and done with for $120. I’m fine with that, and I trust these guys. Good local peeps. I’ll get my oil changed at the dealership, that’s fine, but they would’ve gouged me on the tire replacement, I just know it.
I seem to recall that I inquired with them about this before, and they said that they weren’t able to replace the oil for the Prius C, not that type or something.
Update: The auto body appeared quite busy and said that they weren’t able to actually get my tire, frankly, they seemed to have kind of forgotten about it, and we’re scrambling at the last minute. Told me to come back Monday and he was “pretty sure” he could get it. Not thrilled. Dropped off my old tire there the other day, maybe I should just take it back.