Closeout Tires - A Cautionary Tale

[hal9e3]

Last fall I sprung for some 235/40-17 Goodyear F1 Asymmetric's from Tire Rack at a stupid cheap price - $77 each + shpg. Great tires - loads of stick. However, last weekend I noticed I had a nail in one very close to the sidewall. I went to Discount Tire to see if they would fix it, and sure enough they wouldn't (bought wheels from them and had them mount the tires). I called Tire Rack to see if there was anything to be done. Short answer - no. The tires are no longer available. Even if I had purchased the road hazard warranty it would have only paid for one tire. Since the remaining tires are worn down to about 7/32" I will either have to a) find a brand new tire somewhere and shave it; b) find a used tire w/ at least that much tread left and possibly have to shave it; or c) buy 4 more tires. The Tire Rack guy even told me they discourage AWD car owners from purchasing closeout tires because of this possible scenario. I didn't get that memo because I bought them online, mainly so I could avoid the 'those tires won't fit your car' sermon you get from TR if you stray even slightly from their recommended sizes. Anyway, the moral of this story is either don't buy a set of closeout tires or buy one or more spares. $77 + shpg and however much it would cost to shave it and I wouldn't be in this situation.