Not sure about tires, but atleast here, the seller has to deal with warranties, even if the warranty is made by the manufacturer... so if i buy a Sumsing(TM) ph

Not sure about tires, but atleast here, the seller has to deal with warranties, even if the warranty is made by the manufacturer... so if i buy a Sumsing(TM) phone, I don't have to drive half a country away for them to service it, but I can just drop it at the shop I bought it at and have them deal with it. If something warranty-worthy happened with a tire, I'd just take it to the dealer and have them deal with it.