picked up a nail in one of my tires on the a4 
tire guy says it can't be fixed because of it's location

good news is i have road hazard replacement on the tires,
but he also said he can't replace just one because the other 3 tires have 20K on them
...he wants me to buy 4 new tires!
i just got these last winter...

is this a scam or what?

You could get just two tires but then you'd be limited with the rotations (i.e. rotating just the two front w/each other and just the two back w/each other - as opposed to a full rotate that I try to do every other rotation:  left front gets swapped w/right rear, etc.). 

But I'm just a girl and that's all I know.   

Damn nails.   

There is a possibility to damage the center differential of an all wheel drive car by running dissimilar diameter tires. They will tell you to not even replace two at a time as in both front tires but not the rear tires. Places like TireRack can actually shave tires down to the correct diameter to match you existing tires.

So the real answer is that it depends on how much wear the other three have gone through. At 20,000 miles the tires are most likely half way through their life cycle (assuming that they are all season). Since you most likely have road hazard warranties on all 4, I would push the place to replace all 4 tires.

Quote from: pennyrobber on February 11, 2012, 08:57:01 AM
I would push the place to replace all 4 tires.

I don't think there's much pushing on Tini's end.     

Quote from: TiNi on February 11, 2012, 08:24:52 AM
...he wants me to buy 4 new tires!
i just got these last winter...
is this a scam or what?

Borderline scam, AWD likes having tires of equal traction and circumference.  As the tire wears the circumference gets smaller.  This throws off ABS and traction control too, since the smaller tire turns faster.  You have an A4, correct?  If so, you have a Torsen differential so there will be no mechanical damage like can happen on other systems.  Different specs for different cars.  Tread depth is the deciding factor. Most Audis allow a maximum difference of of 1/8'' tread depth between tires.  Your owner's manual should say something about this.  Another option is to have the new tire shaved down to the depth of the other three.  If no one local can do this, Tire Rack   http://www.tirerak.com   can provide you with a shaved tire for an additional charge.

Get 4 new tires and sent the bill to IZ   

i think the scam started when they sold me road hazard warranty if you can't replace one tire 

thanks for the info howie! good to know tirerack can do that!

btw... the tires are yokohama enVigor's (all season)

Someone beat me to the punch, but Tire Rack can help you out. You have to pay for shipping, but the cost is nominal.

Quote from: TiNi on February 11, 2012, 09:51:05 AM
i think the scam started when they sold me road hazard warranty if you can't replace one tire 

thanks for the info howie! good to know tirerack can do that!

btw... the tires are yokohama enVigor's (all season)

And by all means, ask what good the hazard warranty is.  It would probably help your cause tremendously if you paraphrased everything Howie said to impress the bejesus of your semi-scamming tire guy

oh look what do you know there is a screw in the sidewall of all the other tyres 

Quote from: J5 on February 11, 2012, 11:56:45 AM
oh look what do you know there is a screw in the sidewall of all the other tyres 

haha i've gotta admit i thought of that! 

Quote from: Dan on February 11, 2012, 11:01:41 AM
And by all means, ask what good the hazard warranty is.  It would probably help your cause tremendously if you paraphrased everything Howie said to impress the bejesus of your semi-scamming tire guy

i'll make a cheat sheet on my palm 

Quote from: Stella StayPuft on February 11, 2012, 09:06:39 AM
I don't think there's much pushing on Tini's end.     

Did she take it on a track day?

hoodlums slashed my tires

Quote from: Dan on February 11, 2012, 11:01:41 AM
And by all means, ask what good the hazard warranty is. 

The question should be why it was purchased, not what good it is. 

1) COMPLAIN REALLY LOUD when they shop is full of other customers about the worth of the road hazard warranty. try and get the tire shop to give you a prorated price on ALL the replacements.

2) if that fails, try and get them to refund you the useless road hazard warranty. again, be VERY LOUD about it when their store is full of other customers.

3) then i would go with Howie's suggestion.