There are some things that you never purchase online, or almost never, till you do, such as car tyres. While I do get the concept of tyre information websites, I could never understand why someone will buy a tyre online.
It’s just a lot of hassle for the average buyer like me who wouldn’t know a thing about replacing a tyre on their wheels. I mean yes, we can swap the tyre with the spare when there’s a puncture, but changing the tyre on a wheel seems like the thing for a professional auto shop guy.
So, the concept of buying tyres online from an e-commerce shop, simply baffled me until I learned about the buy online, fit offline concept offered by the Apollo Tyres online shop.
How I learned about the Apollo Tyres online shop?
I own a 2017 Skoda Rapid which has Apollo Alnac 4Gs on it. One of my rear tyres recently got damaged in a small mishap on the Delhi-Noida expressway. So, I decided to get a like-for-like replacement for the rear axle, as I have been driving with Apollo Alnacs for several years now, and the tyres are a solid 10/10 for me, both in terms of performance and value for money.
Searching “Skoda Rapid Tyres” on Google turned up the Apollo Tyres website as the very first result.
My only intent was to go in and out of the website to check the pricing before I headed to a tyre shop near me that sold Apollo Tyres. But that did not go as planned.
First, I was spoilt for choice, as Apollo Tyres now also offers their premium European brand Vredestein, in India, as well. But since I did not want different tyres on different axles, I decided to stick with the Alnacs for now. And then just out of curiosity I clicked on the “add-to-cart” option.
Reasons why I bought tyres online from Apollo Tyres
Before I list the reasons, let me just quickly wrap up the buyer’s journey that happened on the website.
Once I clicked on the add-to-cart option, I was prompted to select my city.
After selecting ‘Gurgaon’ another prompt took me to the cart from where I could proceed to “Book an Appointment”.
Once you click on the calendar button, you are taken to a dealers page from where you can select the authorized Apollo Tyres shop nearest to your location.
After selecting the dealer, select a convenient date and time and you are at the checkout.
I chose “checkout as a guest”, filled in my details, and proceeded with the pre-selected payment method as “cash on delivery”.
Once you confirm the order, you get a message confirming your appointment and that’s it.
Now to the reasons why I chose to buy the tyres online.
Novelty
First of all, I had never purchased tyres online before this interaction, so there was a small part of me which simply wanted to try the process out. And the fact that it was a COD procedure just boosted my confidence in the whole process. After all, tyre purchases are a sizable investment.
Ease of use
The Apollo Tyres online shop website is very easy and straightforward to use. It hardly took me a minute to go from the products page to the cart and then to checkout. Which is simply a boon in today’s day and age when websites tend to nag you with numerous prompts and pop-ups before you can view or buy anything.
Buy online, fit offline
Probably the biggest reason why I made the online purchase was the buy online, fit offline model offered by Apollo. As mentioned at the beginning, getting tyres delivered to your home is not the problem with online purchase, fitment is.
Apollo’s assurance of a quality fitment at an authorized dealership not only reassured me but also gave me the confidence that it wasn’t a bad deal at all. In fact, I would be saving the hassle of finding a dealership, then heading over and checking different tyres and finally getting a fitment. Which would probably take more than an hour’s time.
Here, I had booked a like-for-like replacement in a matter of minutes.
Price and warranty
Moreover, since the quote for the tyre came from the official shop of the brand, I know that I am getting the best quote there is for the tyre and the standard 5-year warranty would be applicable (which is not a given when you are purchasing from a third-party e-commerce website).
Getting the fitment done
Needless to say, the tyre fitment experience was great. I got the appointment for the very next day, and it being a Sunday, I was free to drive to the dealership on time. The dealership already had my details and promptly started the tyre replacement while I paid and completed the billing paperwork. It hardly took 20 minutes before I was back on the road, heading home.
Concluding thoughts
Overall, my first online tyre purchase with Apollo Tyres was a resounding success. From the user-friendly website to the seamless buy online, fit offline process, it’s a truly user friendly experience. The convenience, transparency, and assurance of quality fitment at an authorized dealership made a cumbersome task like tyre replacement, hassle-free and enjoyable. The competitive pricing and standard warranty were just the icing on the cake.
If you too are in the market for new tyres, I would highly recommend exploring the Apollo Tyres online shop for your next tyre purchase.