Got a bubble in the sidewall of one of my tires, Continental ContiTouringContact. They do not seem to be well regarded according to many internet reviews. Can be had new for about $79 at Tire Rack, plus shipping. 10k on the tire, no recollection of hitting anything, no wheel damage.

So the question is, am I on my own, or is there some liklihood that MB/Continental will do something for me? Or do you think I would be better off buying four new ones and saving the old ones for an emergency. What tires would you get. 05 C240 4matic. 205/55R16. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

My recolection is that on new cars, tires have their own warranty through the tire manufacturer. I'd certainly contact the tire manufacturer and tell them how disappointed you are, whether or not your tires are still under warranty. Last time I did t his, the tire manufacturer put me into a set of 4 new, upgraded, tires and at very little cost. They want to keep your business down the road.

 

What he said. Plus, the warranty is prorated based on tread wear (unless there's a defect), so check ASAP.

 

How much wear can there be at ten thousand miles? Don't dare drive it any more like this, so it won't get worse before it gets fixed.

What Continental manufactured tire is an upgrade? There is a tire warranty. It does not cover road hazzards. Fair enough, why should they be responsible if I hit something. Problem is, I expect them to just automatically claim that if it is a sidewall bubble, it must be a road hazzard. Never yet saw a tire manufacturer that would not use every trick in the book to squirm out of a warranty. They measure tread depth on the wear indicators, cheating you out of 2/32ths. They use inflated list prices to prorate from, so you easily can end up paying more than if you just bought the tire at the advertized place. And that is only after an argument to get them to accept responsibility in the first place. Goodyear had absolutely no problem writing me off as a customer twenty something years ago, ditto the local tire shop who sold me some junk Uniroyals, and Firestone had no problem writing Ford off over the Explorer tires. It must just be tire manufacturer mentality.

The two tires I have never had any problem with are Michelin and B.F. Goodrich.

 

A sidewall bubble sounds more like a defect. Maybe not, though.

I got a set of Goodyears replaced at 20% of retail because the sidewalls had really small cracks all over. There was no argument. The tires were cracking. I would think the same with a sidewall bubble.

Since it's the manufacturer replacing the tire, I'm sure they'll use the MSRP... which is normally higher than street prices.

I don't know what the speed rating is on your tires, but I wore out a set of Z-rated tires in under 10K miles. I think you have Y-rated which last about 30K, so yours may be about 30% worn.

 

Instead of speculating what the tire manufacturer might do or might not do for you, I hereby want to offer you practical information.

There is a piece of booklet in every new Mercedes Benz, and it is called the "Adjustment Policy" by Continental General Tire Inc.

The Limited Warranty and Adjustment Policy by Continental seems VERY fair to me. It states:

Limited Warranty coverage is for a maximum period of 72 months....
(A) Free Replacement for first 12 months
(B) Pro Rata Replacement thereafter...will receive a replacement pro rata credit toward the purchase

For Service Assistance or Information: call 800-847-3349.

It would be the best if you can get A. But if you are beyond 12 months, tell them it had happened months ago and you did not inform them because you were not sure it was a problem.

 

You need to explain what the "limited" warranty is if you want to be as helpful as you think you are being. C240AWD is concerned about the limited part... or didn't you notice?

He knows he needs to go to Continental to get warranty coverage... or didn't you notice?

 

Folks....I am tired of piehole Lugnut.

Admins, Moderators, and members....please read the posts above carefully and see who is providing practical/technical help and who is nit-picking.

Apparently Lug is not an idiot, he has vast technical knowedge. However, it appears to me that he has a nasty habit of nit-picking and launching personal attacks to almost every response or topic.

I am sure if I run into him on the streets, he is nice enough to buy me lunch and all. But here, he is creating more noise over signal. He could be a better help here if would just kindly reduce noise.

I could just privately send this memo to Admins. But hack....I have the guts to say what I said here because I think what I write here has merit.

 

I did read that Fly. But it was late Saturday when it all cropped up, and all are closed on Sunday, so in the meantime I was hoping to see if anyone else had the experience and how it turned out. It is always nice to stack the deck in your favor when you can. I am ten months into this car, so a hundred percent replacement would seem to be indicated. Remaining tread is 9/32ths. I would guess new is 11/32ths, but who knows. Never thought to measure then. I think these are H rated tires, but do not recall what that is. I read somewhere that they were supposed to be good for sixty thousand miles, but often wore out before thirty, much to the consternation of those expecting more. The donut is a real pain. Wish I had a full size spare, even if only on a steel rim. Ebay here I come, get your wheels ready. Stay tuned for tomorrow. As far as where to go, sometimes the dealers are also tire dealers. I do not yet know the answer to that in my case. So far, this dealer seems to want to take care of me. No problem though if he tells me to take it to the tire store, there is one real close by.

 

Funny. I was thinking the same about your post. A personal attack. Your repeated arrogant posts smell of primates and I'm tired of it, my monkeyman. So, now we're even.

Read C240AWD's posts before and after your smart-aleck post. He knows he has a tire warranty by the tire manufacturer and needs to go to Continental. Why did you feel the need to come on and talk to him like you're his mommy or something? What did you think you added to this discussion? You provided no technical info at all. The only practical info you provided was already mentioned by C240AWD, so you were no help on that point either. All you did was post an 800 number. He wants info on tires, not a national phone number that is of no use. They would refer him to the tire store he already planned to go to before your first post.

This is a discussion forum and we were having a discussion. It's not up to you to decide that a discussion should come to a stop. Refer to your comment "Instead of speculating..." C240AWD should stop this discussion and do what you want him to do.

With a two-fer coupon I would buy you lunch.

C240AWD - H-rated tires will last longer than Y-rated, so you're on the right track there. Another thing I would add is check the tire where the bulge is. Is there a mark where the tire guys could say you hit something or somehow caused the damage? If there's no mark at all, you have a strong argument for a defective tire.