Rip off tyre shops- BE WARNED

jeepers101

Thought I'd share a recent experience to serve as a warning to others.

Got a puncture a couple of months ago and took it to the local garage, a very well know service and repair 'specialist'. Was told it was irreparable and a new tyre would be required. Thought nothing of it, paid the man, got a new tyre.

Got another puncture yesterday. Went to the same place and was told the same thing. He said the valve was faulty and the tyre was split. Now in my opinion this tyre was in pretty good condition so I told them not to bother. I then took it to one of the dealer garages in Airside motor park. They told me there was nothing wrong with it and they fixed it FOR FREE.

I don't know if this kind of thing goes on much but maybe next time you're told it can't be fixed it might be wise to take it somewhere else for a second opinion.

lau1247

out of interest, what was fixed if there's nothing wrong with it?

MagicMarker

lau1247 wrote: »

out of interest, what was fixed if there's nothing wrong with it?

Erm... the puncture?

Payton

Same thing happened with my daughter, she got a puncture I removed the wheel and brought it over to a well knows company and told to collect it tomorrow. My daughter wwent over the following day an was told the tyre was "damaged" and a new one was required, so she took the tyre back and went to a local tyre comapny and asked was there any damage done to the tyre and was told no and it would be 10-15 mins. The job was done and a happy customer.

-Corkie-

Well not mentioning any names.;) Advance staff are paid comission on the amount of tyres they sell. I often see any time I call there they would be telling you a tyre with 2.5mm of thread was nearly fcuked. That dont work with me though.

mullingar

-Corkie- wrote: »

Well not mentioning any names.;) Advance staff are paid comission on the amount of tyres they sell. I often see any time I call there they would be telling you a tyre with 2.5mm of thread was nearly fcuked. That dont work with me though.

But a tyre with 2.5mm thread left IS nearly fcuked as there is just 0.9mm legal thread left. 0.9mm is next to nothing

TBH, You are always better off changing at 3.0mm as it is well documented/proven that anything below 3.0mm is extremely poor in the wet vs a car with > 4.0mm thread.

-Corkie-

mullingar wrote: »

But a tyre with 2.5mm thread left IS nearly fcuked as there is just 0.9mm legal thread left. 0.9mm is next to nothing

TBH, You are always better off changing at 3.0mm as it is well documented/proven that anything below 3.0mm is extremely poor in the wet vs a car with > 4.0mm thread.

I know but I have Cavan blood in me..:cool:

mullingar

-Corkie- wrote: »

I know but I have Cavan blood in me..:cool:

We all have our problems!

aflib

name and shame them all

jeepers101

Are we allowed?

Biglad

Naming and shaming in these scenario's is dangerous. One man's decision not to repair a tyre might be based on his opinion that it's not save to do so, and another might have a different opinion and decide that repair is an option. Large companies will often have a safety first policy as they do not want to take the risk of repairing a tyre which then blows out on the motorway with a lawsuit as a result. Of course there will be scenario's where they prefer to sell you a new tyre. From my experience the "local" guy who deals from the back of the filling station can more easily be swayed to put a plug in it.

And eh, 2.5mm, sure...

doleman2010

Im an AXa insurance customer an a bout 6 mionths ago I got an email from them with lots of offers and discounts etc , one was for a tyre outlet offering free puncture repairs.
So having got a punture and changed the wheel dropped into their depot to avail of free puncture repair,only to be informed that it was not repairable and i needed a new tyre!
I politely took my wheel to another place down the road who fixed my punture and they said tyre was perfect.

Nissan doctor

The main difference between the bigger tyre garages and the small back street places is that (most of) the larger companies follow the SIMI and Irish tyre industry procedures for repairing tyres. Tyres are critical safety components and if you have a puncture, they tyre should be removed and fully inspected for internal damage to the sidewall, beads etc. The majority of the time if a tyre has been driven on with low pressure for any amount of time if will have damage to its cords, and the cheap tyres that everyone is buying now are very prone to cracking when low on pressure.
Also according to regs, tyres can only have a maximum of 3 repairs, and repairs can only be carried out once the puncture has not torn through a cord and once it is not within approx 1cm of the start of the sidewall.

The act of looking at the outside of a tyre, saying its fine and plugging it is irresponsible and very much against industry regulations.

The problem in this country is that no one wants to spend money on their cars so once anyone tells them its ok they don't care, regardless of if its been checked correctly or not.

coylemj

The bigger chains are all run on the basis of aggressive sales, the guys on the ground are under huge pressure to sell tyres so anyone who looks like they can be persuaded by an 'expert' is easy meat for the tactics described above i.e. anyone and especially women are told that the tyre is damaged beyond repair and needs to be replaced.

I was once told by one of these guys that my tread was under the legal limit. I challenged him to quote me the definition of the minimum legal tread, he couldn't. I then asked him to get a tread depth gauge to measure the tread, he didn't have such a device so I took my business elsewhere.

To be fair to the tyre guys though, a few months ago I left my VW Golf into an official VW dealer for a service. When I was away having lunch the service manager rang me to say that the two back tyres were below the legal minimum and needed to be replaced. I told him he was talking BS because I check the tread regularly and the tread wear markers were well below the surface so he just said 'ok' and hung up - chancer!

BostonB

Also people are so used to being ripped off by the motor trade, they don't have much credibility with consumers.

Seth Brundle

aflib wrote: »

name and shame them all

jeepers101 wrote: »

Are we allowed?

If I may remind users of a policy on here. If you mention something negative about a person or a business without first supplying concrete proof then you are highly likely to find yourself banned instantly and possibly being part of a legal action taken out by the libelled party.
So jeepers, the answer is yes, if you have the concrete proof!

Nissan doctor

coylemj wrote: »

The bigger chains are all run on the basis of aggressive sales, the guys on the ground are under huge pressure to sell tyres so anyone who looks like they can be persuaded by an 'expert' is easy meat for the tactics described above i.e. anyone and especially women are told that the tyre is damaged beyond repair and needs to be replaced.

I was once told by one of these guys that my tread was under the legal limit. I challenged him to quote me the definition of the minimum legal tread, he couldn't. I then asked him to get a tread depth gauge to measure the tread, he didn't have such a device so I took my business elsewhere.

To be fair to the tyre guys though, a few months ago I left my VW Golf into an official VW dealer for a service. When I was away having lunch the service manager rang me to say that the two back tyres were below the legal minimum and needed to be replaced. I told him he was talking BS because I check the tread regularly and the tread wear markers were well below the surface so he just said 'ok' and hung up - chancer!

BostonB wrote: »

Also people are so used to being ripped off by the motor trade, they don't have much credibility with consumers.

There are very true points here, but its simple, an honest garage with knowalageable staff will have no problem in showing you exactly what the problem is and why it is an issue. If they won't show you, go elsewhere. No-one is doing you any favours repairing something without checking it properly

BostonB

BostonB wrote: »

Also people are so used to being ripped off by the motor trade, they don't have much credibility with consumers.

In fairness the majority of businesses in the motor trade and are more than reputable and survive on their good reputation, in saying that anyone remotely savvy knows where not to bring their car for tyres, servicing and spray painting. Just because some restaurants serve sh1t food it doesn't mean they all do

BostonB

Unfortunately that hasn't been my experience. A lot of places survive because most people don't know any better. I've had bad experiences in 8 out 10 dealers in terms of them trying to rip me off. As for smaller independent, garages, tyre shops. Some are excellent. But lot of them have been incompetent.

Tyre shops have been flogging very poor/unsuitable tyres for a long time here. hence the increase in people shopping online for tyres. its not just that they are cheap. Its that the shops here don't stock them either. That seems to be improving as shops try to compete with online.

oldyouth

I always get my tyres, puncture repairs, brakes etc from Fast Fit in Wexford. Very helpful and they often don't charge for the minor stuff. If anything extra is required to what I'm originally in for, they take the time to point it out to me without pressure. Nice lads

(not linked in any way)

Cicero

I keep an eye on:

1. the millage the tyres have done to date
2. the quality of the tyre I have purchased and
3. the advice of the garrage

A new set of quality tyres makes you feel like you have a new car...as a result, I tend to err on the side of caution and get them changed sooner rather than later...