Beaurepaires Tyre Insurance - a warning

Submitted: Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:33
ThreadID: 21330 Views:7893 Replies:8 FollowUps:14
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Fixed myself up with a new set of rubber yesterday at Beaurepaires and was keen to go for their new 4WD tyre warranty which covers cuts, punctures, blowouts, rips etc. I chased up the info on the official website and it seemed like the best thing i have come across as a financial safety measure, especially considering my prior history with tyres. Basically, you break it, they will replace it, but you pay for the kilometers used.

I grabbed a brochure from the local branch store- they had just come in the mail and were still in the express post package. On the cover was a picture of a fat 100 series crawling over rocks with what seem like Highway terrains, looking like similar terrain to what I was in when I ripped the sidewalls out of 3 tyres in 1 day. The cover described was exactly what I needed, and covered a broad range of misfortunes I have encountered, or could easily see myself facing. The requirements were straightforward- get regular rotation, balancing and inspections of your tyres and you'll have a painless replacement if needed.

I then turned to the back page: "Excludes Off-Road use"

WHAT THE HELL?? with the picture of the cruiser on the cover clearly not parked up on his paved driveway, this came as somewhat of a shock. I put this to you: How many times have you had your 4WD's tyre staked by sharp roots or rocks WHILE DRIVING ON ROAD in the suburbs? Im damn thankful I read that exclusion, or theyd be dealing with ableepoff client with a busted tyre shortly. A little misconception goes a long way.
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Reply By: Member - Chrispy (NSW) - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:45

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:45
So.....what did the guy at the counter say about it? I presume you challenged the notion.....
AnswerID: 102961

Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:57

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:57
The manager (a 4WDer himself) hadnt had the opportunity to look at the catalogue. When I asked for a brochure he opened up an express post envelope that had only just come in with the brochures. When I came back to pay for the rubber after the fitting he was surprised when I told him it didnt cover offroad use. He didnt seem to know too much about it
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Reply By: Patrolman Pat - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:49

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:49
I questioned this yesterday, bought new tyres, if it's a designated track (shown on maps etc) it's OK if it's some other area, ie private land, your not covered. I signed up, if I do tyre you can bet I'll tell them it was on a track or a highway somewhere anyway.
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Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:02

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:02
True. With this in mind im starting to think I should have gone with it, but then again, I dont recall seeing anything like that in writing, just that one clause about no offroad. Ive tried to claim before on things in the grey areas of policies and have not been particularly successful. I hope it turns out well for you though- Keep us informed!
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 09:09

Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 09:09
Maybe it should have read, off formed tracks, not OFFROAD, my insurance wont cover offroad but will cover any damage on formed tracks etc just not bushbashing, which is a blight on the community anyway.

hmm wonder if it covers you on your front lawn? thats not a formed track.
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Reply By: slyonnet - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:53

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 18:53
Seems like a massive rip off! Lucky you read all the brochure in detail. How many will actually get caught by not fully reading the conditions?
Is there anywhere you can go to report them for misleading advertising?
I usually tend not to take any extra warranty when buying anything. All they do is take more money out of you in the first place, then force to come and pay more money on a regular basis to maintain the warranty and finally whatever you are likely to break is not covered.

Rgds,

Sly.
AnswerID: 102964

Follow Up By: Patrolman Pat - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:04

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:04
Disagree with that a bit. Free balance at 5000k, balance and rotation every 10 000mks for $45 seems reasonable to me, plus the opportunity to claim for a staked tyre for $16 a tyre seems fair to me. Warranty clearly states on and off road use for staking, blow outs etc. As I said earlier designated tracks are classed as roads from what I was told, and I wll swear blind to them that Iwas on such a track for any claim anyway.
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Follow Up By: slyonnet - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:16

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:16
As long as you get it in writting that sounds fine but Benspoon does not recall seeing that on the brochure. I can't tell cause I have not seen it but if it is only something you got from the mouth of the dealer then remember he will tell you anything to make a few bucks and won't be feeling bad at all when he will tell you it is not the case when you try to make a claim. But hey who would be stupid enough to tell them they blow the tyre trying to climb that big rocky outcrop in the middle of nowhere? I don't understand why they put such statements in their brochues. First they will lose some clients because of it, bleep of some other if they actually enforce that clause and finally they will get the clever ones who will have see it and tell them it happened on a sealed road. It's just making life harder for everyone I reckon.
Sly.
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Follow Up By: Patrolman Pat - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:28

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 19:28
Spot on Sly.
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 23:57

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 23:57
Hmmm, $45 every 10,000 kms? I can't remeber the last time I got the ol' Desert Duellers balanced... Still drives fine and I give the old girl a hiding. I reckon I'd take my chances... But each to their own.
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Reply By: Ralph2 - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 20:33

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 20:33
Yeah, then you still have to pay for the Ks youve used when they replace the stuffed one, and who knows what rate they will charge.
AnswerID: 102983

Follow Up By: Patrolman Pat - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 20:38

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 20:38
"This amount is calculated by multypling the percentage of tread used by the original purchase price of the warranted tyre"

in black and whirte on the paper work.
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Reply By: Muddy 'doe (SA) - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 22:52

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 22:52
That is almost as good as Coopers "Mileage Warranty".

Quote from their website: http://www.coopertires.com.au/cooper/warranty.htm
"Every 10,000 kms you need to return to any authorised Cooper dealer to have your tyres balanced aligned and rotated. Participating dealers will endorse the Warranty Card. Every dealer has the right to refuse endorsing your warranty card if a fault is present in your vehicle that is causing erratic or rapid tyre wear."

If you want to make a claim:
"As long as an authorised Cooper dealer has endorsed your warranty card every 10,000 kms and the original warranty card and invoices for the regular services are forwarded to your Cooper state distributor. The Cooper state distributor will then organize through an authorised Cooper dealer to credit you with any shortfall you may be eligible for based on the warranty conditions off your next purchase."

Lots of opportunities to stuff you around there! And if successful it is only paid as a discount off more of the company product.

To top it off:
"The mileage warranty is only applicable to Capital City purchases. When used in the same conditions, Cooper Tires will usually outlast most competitor brands, however, some areas in Australia will cause rapid wear beyond normal use with any brand, that is why the mileage warranty is restricted to Capital Cities"

Cooper really push this Mileage Warranty as a major selling point in their extensive advertising but when you look at the conditions and strings attached I would think it is a complete crock! Does this vague wording mean you can only use your tyres in Capital cities?

I have Cooper A/T's on my Prado and am actually quite happy with them but severly doubt they will reach the 80,000km mark quotes on the Cooper website for this model. At 27,500 they look well more than a third gone so I expect maybe 60,000 out of them. Even if i was able to claim under this supposed "Mileage Warranty" it is only pro rata so any payout would be pretty small after much stuffing around.

I am not knocking the product. I just want people to be aware of the this sort of info before they are dazzled and sucked in by this sort of Marketing Department claptrap.

Cheers
Muddy
AnswerID: 103002

Follow Up By: Morto - Saturday, Apr 09, 2005 at 06:41

Saturday, Apr 09, 2005 at 06:41
I over the years have searched and tried many different brands and finally swallowed my pride and tried Cooper AT's 26 months ago. I have put 60,000km since then 40,000 of which are city kilometres with a V8 Lancruiser. Looking at them now I estimate I would get about another 25 to 30,000km. Handling has been exellent and they appear to love the rough stuff. Tyre pressures are the key.

The bagging I copped from the kids from using something American was incredible but after a lot of trips without tyre changing it seems to have been noticed even by the uneducated. I was lucky the comapny pays for my tyres but I am about to buy a set for my wifes Rodeo with my own money. Is still dont liie buying American but until someone comes up with a better tyre I will stick with it.

Two Dogs
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Reply By: Mad Dog (Australia) - Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 22:57

Friday, Mar 18, 2005 at 22:57
Beats me, I plucked this from the website:

4WD Road Hazard Warranty
Never pay for tyre damage again! For just $16 per tyre at the time of purchase (plus the cost of ongoing maintenance), this new and exclusive warranty will protect any Dunlop, Goodyear, Olympic or Sava 4WD tyre against the type of damage Mother Nature can dish out, on and off the road.
================

So what the diff between "Off-Road use" and "off the road"
AnswerID: 103005

Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 02:42

Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 02:42
That is the exact reason I was keen on the warranty. I was sold by that info, but after reading the back of the policy book/panphlet, its a different story. Maybe its different in the US, but the panphlet reads differently to the website.
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 12:02

Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 12:02
I'm yet to see a tyre warranty that is worth having, as they are all pro-rata and all have conditions, the cost of which is usually worth about 1 tyre. If I damage tyres, I'd rather cop it on the chin - gives some incentive to look after them.

And I like to use good tyres. Currently happy with the MTRs - when they wear down to about 5mm, I'll sell them 2nd hand and buy new again.

Cheers
Phil
AnswerID: 103066

Reply By: GO_OFFROAD - Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 17:54

Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 17:54
We are currently working on a warranty which should see all except competition tyres/vehicles covered, for around 10% of the tyre cost new, replacing the tyre up to about 40% wear, then pro rata on the replacement if more than 40% wear, which will include free rotation/balance for the life of the tyres, and the charge of a wheel alignment only when required during the life of the tyre.

We are assessing this type of package, to keep our good customers happy, and the win for us of course, is we get a happy customer coming back, establishing a good relationship with us, and hopefuly getting his vehicle accessorised, serviced, and trip prepared, to make his holidays hassle free, and allow us to earn an income.

Our main aim with what we do in our business is that everything we do, must benifit the customer, and internally, we work on doing what we do better than our competition, not by a margin, but continually evolving to improve what we do inside the building, so we are automatically better than the competitors, not by watching them.
AnswerID: 103102

Follow Up By: Member - Hugh (WA) - Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 23:33

Saturday, Mar 19, 2005 at 23:33
Go_Offroad,

The warranty terms you outline sound very reasonable.
Is this your for your own business/outlet, or will it be available nationally?

Regards,
Hugh
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Follow Up By: GO_OFFROAD - Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 at 07:39

Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 at 07:39
This will be through our own outlets to begin with, hoping to roll it out through a supply agreement with a chnain we have some ties with after that.
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Follow Up By: Member - Hugh (WA) - Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 at 13:26

Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 at 13:26
Thanks for the reply.

I am sure the folks on this forum would be interested when you have this warranty ready to offer.

From memory, you're Eastern states based - right? As your plans unfold, I'd be happy to know of any affiliation in Perth.

Regards,
Hugh
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