What would cause a used car to have 4 mismatched tyres?

lukester

I'm looking to buy used at the moment, and at the weekend went to see a car at a small indie garage. The car, while mostly clean cosmetically, had 4 mismatched tyres, all cheapo chinese ones. I asked the dealer why, and suffice to say that he just added to the already flowing torrent of BS that had been streaming from his mouth with some excuse about punctures and so long as the tyre ratings are the same...yada yada.

Anyway, leaving aside potential safety issues, what would cause a car to have mismatched tyres on the same axle? All I can think of is severe tyre damage to one of them, either from a crash or hitting a kerb at speed.

And 4 mismatched tyres on the car? All I can surmise is a crash. Any other ideas?

dingding

What sort of mileage is on the car.

lukester

About 100,000 kms.

YouTookMyName

4 mismatched brands or 4 mismatched sizes?

lukester

YouTookMyName wrote: »

4 mismatched brands or 4 mismatched sizes?

Brands.

Magic Beans

It may have had a set of alloys and tyres stolen from it and replaced as cheaply as possible from breaker's yard???

TestTransmission

A good way to judge a car and how it's been maintained in my opinion is the make/quality of the tyres been used.In your situation,I'd walk away.

Where To

Part worn?

lukester

TestTransmission wrote: »

A good way to judge a car and how it's been maintained in my opinion is the make/quality of the tyres been used.In your situation,I'd walk away.

I walked away alright. I already had a bad feeling about the car from the most nervy salesman I've ever met. The mismatched cheapo tyres on what was supposed to be a 'premium' brand car added to my misgivings.

Then he told me that the ballpark figure we'd discussed on the phone was wrong, and they were actually looking for 2 grand more than that.

Anyway, I was trying to figure out if there was ever a legitimate reason for having 4 mismatched tyres, or even 2 on the same axle, and couldn't come up with one.

YouTookMyName

TestTransmission wrote: »

A good way to judge a car and how it's been maintained in my opinion is the make/quality of the tyres been used.In your situation,I'd walk away.

I've seen Mercs,Bmw's and non felt spec Audis rolling on Sunnys, Triangles and Fullruns

I've seen Fords,Toyotas and Nissans Rolling on Bridgestones,Goodyears and Michelin.

Tyres wouldn't bother me if i got enough discount on the car to go towards a new set.

TestTransmission

What was the car anyway?

Anan1

lukester wrote: »

I'm looking to buy used at the moment, and at the weekend went to see a car at a small indie garage. The car, while mostly clean cosmetically, had 4 mismatched tyres, all cheapo chinese ones. I asked the dealer why, and suffice to say that he just added to the already flowing torrent of BS that had been streaming from his mouth with some excuse about punctures and so long as the tyre ratings are the same...yada yada.

Anyway, leaving aside potential safety issues, what would cause a car to have mismatched tyres on the same axle? All I can think of is severe tyre damage to one of them, either from a crash or hitting a kerb at speed.

And 4 mismatched tyres on the car? All I can surmise is a crash. Any other ideas?

Poor maintenance. And if you don't want to be dealing with this on a regular basis then do yourself a favour and buy privately. That way you'll have a pretty good idea from the phone call of what the car's like.

johnos1984

Sounds like they got cheapo part worns thrown on before displaying the car.

I've bought a car like that but haven't changed them yet as I'm barely using it and it's going to stand for the winter.

More cheap preparation than cheap maintenance by the owner I'd say

Anan1

YouTookMyName wrote: »

I've seen Mercs,Bmw's and non felt spec Audis rolling on Sunnys, Triangles and Fullruns

I've seen Fords,Toyotas and Nissans Rolling on Bridgestones,Goodyears and Michelin.

Tyres wouldn't bother me if i got enough discount on the car to go towards a new set.

As Test Transmission said, it's not just about the tyres themselves (and make/model is largely irrelevant). Tyres are a good indicator of the general approach to maintaining the car.

lukester

YouTookMyName wrote: »

Tyres wouldn't bother me if i got enough discount on the car to go towards a new set.

It's not the tyres per se that bothered me. It was the fact that they were all mismatched cheapo jobbies, and what that said about the care that had been taken of the car.

johnos1984 wrote: »

More cheap preparation than cheap maintenance by the owner I'd say

What does that say about the rest of the preparation of the car, and the overall attitude of the garage? I don't want to buy my car from somewhere that takes that approach to preparing a car.

Anan1 wrote: »

Poor maintenance. And if you don't want to be dealing with this on a regular basis then do yourself a favour and buy privately. That way you'll have a pretty good idea from the phone call of what the car's like.

I'm coming round to the idea of buying privately. Either that or buying from main dealers. I'm sick of the smell of cheap aftershave, shifty salesmen and car lots that scream 'we cut corners'.

My only issue buying privately is the lack of comeback. Our last two cars were purchased from large franchised dealers and both had relatively minor issues, one of which proved costly (replacement of suspension components), and were handled under warranty with no quibble.

corktina

i bet if you went to the local supermarket car park and checkd a few cars you find most of them having 2 3 or 4 different brand of tyres, especailly the ones that have done 100k plus What would you expect people to do,? change three good tyres if they have a puncture in the fourth?

Anan1

lukester wrote: »

I'm coming round to the idea of buying privately. Either that or buying from main dealers. I'm sick of the smell of cheap aftershave, shifty salesmen and car lots that scream 'we cut corners'.

My only issue buying privately is the lack of comeback. Our last two cars were purchased from large franchised dealers and both had relatively minor issues, one of which proved costly (replacement of suspension components), and were handled under warranty with no quibble.

The huge advantage of buying privately is that, even if you know nothing about cars, you can tell so much from meeting the owner. Out of interest, around how much are you thinking of spending?

johnos1984

lukester wrote: »

What does that say about the rest of the preparation of the car, and the overall attitude of the garage? I don't want to buy my car from somewhere that takes that approach to preparing a car.

Could be cutting a corner that most people don't check as long as there is thread on the tyre. Most franchises cut this corner too by fitting a full new set of WANLI tyres to most cars. Again most folk are happy if there is thread on them.

You really took this experience at an indie badly and as was said yesterday I'd chalk it down to experience and buy private.

lukester

corktina wrote: »

What would you expect people to do,? change three good tyres if they have a puncture in the fourth?

No, change the punctured one with a matching tyre if possible. Or change it with a decent tyre.

johnos1984 wrote: »

You really took this experience at an indie badly

I did. I was asked over the phone would I 'buy' the car at the agreed price, to which I said I would if everything on it was ok. Then when I had made my way out to the garage and spent an hour looking over it, the salesman told me that they wanted 2k more than the price discussed on the phone.

Wasted 2 hours of my time and cost me 2 taxi rides.

Anan1 wrote: »

Out of interest, around how much are you thinking of spending?

About 10k. Why do you ask?

johnos1984

lukester wrote: »

About 10k. Why do you ask?

If you put your needs and location down people would suggest cars for you and search the car sales sites.

EG: 10k, saloon, diesel blah blah blah you will get lots of suggestions

lukester

johnos1984 wrote: »

If you put your needs and location down people would suggest cars for you and search the car sales sites.

EG: 10k, saloon, diesel blah blah blah you will get lots of suggestions

I don't need suggestions We know exactly what we want.

Anan1

lukester wrote: »

About 10k. Why do you ask?

Also, buying from a main dealer makes (relatively) more sense the more you spend. What are you looking for?

lukester

Anan1 wrote: »

Also, buying from a main dealer makes (relatively) more sense the more you spend. What are you looking for?

True, the last two cars were closer to the 20k mark.

We're looking for a V70, possibly a V50.

lukester

Specifically- petrol V70 or V50, engine size no greater than 2 litre, preferably in SE trim with leather and cruise control.

I'm only seriously considering cars with FSH.

lukester

lukester wrote: »

..........
And 4 mismatched tyres on the car? All I can surmise is a crash. Any other ideas?

Four mismatched tyres on a car and you think crash, that's a new one for me.

lukester

RoverJames wrote: »

Four mismatched tyres on a car and you think crash, that's a new one for me.

Perhaps a touch of over vivid imagination on my part. :pac:

Anan1

Here's a good-looking 2007 V50 1.8 being sold privately. They're asking €12,000, but €10k mightn't be unachievable. The Dolby surround sound is nice! : http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201122202626964

Here's another, bit higher mileage but it does have FSH and four good matching tyres! : http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201114201874709

lukester

Thanks, will take a look at those.

If I can find the right one, I'd really prefer the V70, I like the 2.0T 5 cylinder engine.

Oral Surgeon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ttKJwvFIgw&feature=related

Anan1

lukester wrote: »

Thanks, will take a look at those.

If I can find the right one, I'd really prefer the V70, I like the 2.0T 5 cylinder engine.

There's only one V70 on sale privately in your price range that i'd even bother calling about. Here it is - it might be very good, but a little voice in my head is telling me it may be tatty. : http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201132203858565

Boskowski

corktina wrote: »

i bet if you went to the local supermarket car park and checkd a few cars you find most of them having 2 3 or 4 different brand of tyres, especailly the ones that have done 100k plus What would you expect people to do,? change three good tyres if they have a puncture in the fourth?

You're either having the puncture fixed or else you buy a new set of tyres for the whole axle and not the cheapest fkn thing you can get your hands on to replace just the one. I mean most of the time the one thats still good is not going to waste anyway. You can use it as a spare wheel refresher.

Good practice would be for instance to buy two new ones, move the new set to the axle thats connected to the drive and the old set to the passive axle (if its not that way anyways) and move the one thats been replaced but is still good into the boot as your new spare one.

Its not so much the brand or whatnot its the wear. It's bad to have a worn but 'still grand sure' tyre on one side and a new one on the other.

Its OK to have a different set on the front wheels to the rear wheels but all 4 tyres being different and especially showing different stages of wear reeks of patchwork/'don't give a ****'.

Tyres are your only connection with the road. Thats rather important I would have thought. Its amazing how many people think 'it'll be grand sure'.

lukester

Anan1 wrote: »

There's only one V70 on sale privately in your price range that i'd even bother calling about. Here it is - it might be very good, but a little voice in my head is telling me it may be tatty. : http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201132203858565

Sold already.

YouTookMyName

If the car suited all but the tyres. I'd get an AA report on it.

lukester

YouTookMyName wrote: »

If the car suited all but the tyres. I'd get an AA report on it.

I was considering getting a thorough independent mechanical inspection myself, in spite of the tyres.

Gophur

The V70 2.0T engine is sweet, but be aware they suffered from Throttle Body problems which VOLVO Ireland were not very helpful in fixing. Repair/replacement is in the order of €800-€1,000. Google volvo throttle body problems for more info.

BBC Watchdog programme forced VOLVO UK into acknowledging the problem and replacing all affected parts under warranty.

They are not the most reliable car, but when they are going well, they are great.

Gophur

4 mismatched tyres = shoddy maintenance.

lukester

Gophur wrote: »

The V70 2.0T engine is sweet, but be aware they suffered from Throttle Body problems which VOLVO Ireland were not very helpful in fixing. Repair/replacement is in the order of €800-€1,000. Google volvo throttle body problems for more info.

BBC Watchdog programme forced VOLVO UK into acknowledging the problem and replacing all affected parts under warranty.

They are not the most reliable car, but when they are going well, they are great.

Thanks for the heads up. The ETM issue doesn't appear to affect the years I'd be looking at, i.e. around 2004-2007.

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/etm.shtml

Models Concerned
The models affected are:

1999, 2000, and 2001 model year S60, S70, V70, XC70, C70 and S80 models.
2002 model year V70 non turbo and C70 models.
All S60 and V70 bi fuel models.

On the reliability front, from hanging out in the Volvo forums, the V70 seems to be rated highly by owners, notwithstanding certain mostly minor issues. No more than any of the other model forums I've looked at in the past.

TestTransmission

YouTookMyName wrote: »

I've seen Mercs,Bmw's and non felt spec Audis rolling on Sunnys, Triangles and Fullruns

I've seen Fords,Toyotas and Nissans Rolling on Bridgestones,Goodyears and Michelin.

Tyres wouldn't bother me if i got enough discount on the car to go towards a new set.

I don't get your point,if they've cheaped out on tyres they probably skimped out on maintenance aswell imo.Marques are irrevelant.

mountain

lukester wrote: »

True, the last two cars were closer to the 20k mark.

We're looking for a V70, possibly a V50.

Very big difference in interior space, the V50 is quite small inside.

Turbulent Bill

Mismatched tyres usually (but not necessarily) indicate poor maintenance. I replaced both fronts on mine, followed by both rears about 2 months later, different brands on front and rear due to availability. Within 6 weeks of getting the rears replaced one got a sidewall puncture and had to be replaced, 3rd brand used again due to availability.

As a result there are three different (reputable) tyre brands on the car, with all tyres in excellent condition. Replacing the undamaged rear would have been nuts just to have matching brands on the same axle.

Gophur

lukester wrote: »

......

On the reliability front, from hanging out in the Volvo forums, the V70 seems to be rated highly by owners, notwithstanding certain mostly minor issues. No more than any of the other model forums I've looked at in the past.

I had one.
The car would blow a headlight bulb approximately once every 6 weeks. (It was running with dipped lights on permanently)
I had to replace a brake servo, a throttle body, an A/C pump and a cracked alloy wheel, all in the space of a year.

Nice car but I've steered clear of them since.

Tea 1000

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

Mismatched tyres usually (but not necessarily) indicate poor maintenance. I replaced both fronts on mine, followed by both rears about 2 months later, different brands on front and rear due to availability. Within 6 weeks of getting the rears replaced one got a sidewall puncture and had to be replaced, 3rd brand used again due to availability.

As a result there are three different (reputable) tyre brands on the car, with all tyres in excellent condition. Replacing the undamaged rear would have been nuts just to have matching brands on the same axle.

3 reputable brand tyres on a car can be explained by a story like you, with all tyres in visibly similar condition. But 4 cheapo different brands on a car with no legit reason doesn't really fill me with confidence. Who gets that many punctures?

BostonB

Kinda shows the dealer doesn't care about what hes selling either.

lukester

Gophur wrote: »

I had one.
...
Nice car but I've steered clear of them since.

What year was yours?

Drummerboy08

Gophur wrote: »

4 mismatched tyres = shoddy maintenance.

TestTransmission wrote: »

I don't get your point,if they've cheaped out on tyres they probably skimped out on maintenance aswell imo.Marques are irrevelant.

I don't think that this attitude is quite accurate.

Many Fleet/Rental companies will put economy tyres on their cars. When it comes time to service the car, 9 times out 10 whatever work is required is usually done.

I've two economy tyres on the back of my own car at the minute. I didn't see the need to spend an extra 100 euro + to get a decent brand because that car does little mileage, I wanted to spend that 100 euro elsewhere, and it suited me. In saying that, everything the car has ever needed has been done.

It's much better to judge the car as a whole, as opposed to looking at the tyres and thinking "Na, they're cheap tyres. This car must be a dog".

Good example. An OAP who has a low mileage Corsa/Micra etc sells the car. Chances are the car will have been serviced every year, but because funds are tight/car is doing very low mileage/the requirement isn't there a set of economy tyres are fitted. The car has a FSH, has probably been well looked after, but because there are cheap tyres on it it means the car has been poorly maintained? Rubbish.

If I looked at a car with no service history, in general bad order, didn't drive well and then I noticed the cheap tyres I would consider walking away.

If everything checked out fine but there were cheap tyres fitted I wouldnt let it put me off an otherwise good car.

BostonB

I think having 4 same tyres, or 2 pairs is one thing. But 4 completely different is a little odd.

EPM

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I don't think that this attitude is quite accurate.

Many Fleet/Rental companies will put economy tyres on their cars. When it comes time to service the car, 9 times out 10 whatever work is required is usually done.

I've two economy tyres on the back of my own car at the minute. I didn't see the need to spend an extra 100 euro + to get a decent brand because that car does little mileage, I wanted to spend that 100 euro elsewhere, and it suited me. In saying that, everything the car has ever needed has been done.

It's much better to judge the car as a whole, as opposed to looking at the tyres and thinking "Na, they're cheap tyres. This car must be a dog".

Good example. An OAP who has a low mileage Corsa/Micra etc sells the car. Chances are the car will have been serviced every year, but because funds are tight/car is doing very low mileage/the requirement isn't there a set of economy tyres are fitted. The car has a FSH, has probably been well looked after, but because there are cheap tyres on it it means the car has been poorly maintained? Rubbish.

If I looked at a car with no service history, in general bad order, didn't drive well and then I noticed the cheap tyres I would consider walking away.

If everything checked out fine but there were cheap tyres fitted I wouldnt let it put me off an otherwise good car.

I completely see where you're coming from here but on a premium car (a new V70 isn't a cheap car) it would surely set alarm bells off, especially if privately owned.

Drummerboy08

EPM wrote: »

I completely see where you're coming from here but on a premium car (a new V70 isn't a cheap car) it would surely set alarm bells off, especially if privately owned.

It's odd, but if the owner/seller can explain it and the rest of the car checks out, then why let it bother you?

If you are really upset about the quality of the tyres, try and get the cost of a decent set of new tyres off the car and replace them.

EPM

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

It's odd, but if the owner/seller can explain it and the rest of the car checks out, then why let it bother you?

If you are really upset about the quality of the tyres, try and get the cost of a decent set of new tyres off the car and replace them.

If they could explain it fine, although I would be extremely thorough on the service history. It could be a case a garage changed the tyres at a service for cheapy ones too but it really doesn't give the impression of an impeccably looked after car.

SouperComputer

If the car appeared to be otherwise well maintained and has some sort of records I'd maybe consider it. Sounds like the dealer was a moron anyway so in this case I recon I'd walk.
As an aside, (and I say this as a V70 owner) since when was a V70 considered a premium car!?!
The V50 is someone's idea of a bad joke IMO, too small to be a lot of use as a wagon estate. Seems like a car that you might quickly have buyers remorse with as soon is you try to make real use of it.

Have you considered importing from the UK?

lukester

On the tyres, I should make it clear, I wouldn't walk away from an otherwise decent car because of tyres alone. But it would raise my suspicion level about the previous level of maintenance. If the seller seemed genuine, and everything else was in order, I'd still consider going ahead with the deal.

SouperComputer wrote: »

As an aside, (and I say this as a V70 owner) since when was a V70 considered a premium car!?!

The V50 is someone's idea of a bad joke IMO, too small to be a lot of use as a wagon estate. Seems like a car that you might quickly have buyers remorse with as soon is you try to make real use of it.

Have you considered importing from the UK?

The V70 isn't a proper premium car, but it's still touted here somewhere between mainstream stuff like Ford and the 'premium' German marques. The car I looked at was the SE model with all the toys and leather, so it jarred a bit to have it on bargain basement mismatched rubber. If there was a non-BS explanation to back it up I'd be less wary, but the whole thing just seemed off.

We've been steadily going off the V50, up close they look pretty small, and they remind me too much of the Focus estate.

Looked at the UK briefly, but the current mess to do with getting a reliable quote from the VRT and lack of free time to go sourcing cars abroad has dampened my enthusiasm. I have imported in the past though.