New Tyres - Will they change them?

chops018

I rang local tyre fitter today and said I want mid range tryes. They said they had mid range "general" tyres and it would be around €110 each including fit. Dropped the car to them around 4:30pm. Collected it just before 5:30pm before they were to close.

When I got the car back it was some crap brand called "Autogrip". Went to go back but they had closed up. The tyres are crap and actually slid a bit after leaving the place (traction light came on too). Now, I'm not sure it that was due to the colder weather or not.

Thread depth is a massive difference from my old ones to be fair but my old ones were on the way out, so I was thinking of giving them a chance. But to be honest I've googled them now and they do not get good reviews at all so I am thinking of asking them to change them tomorrow.

When I asked for mid range tyres I presumed I would get Hankook or something like that. I know, I know - I should have checked with them the brand when I dropped the car to them.

Main question is, if I go back first thing tomorrow will they change them for a better brand? I'll obviously pay the difference. I don't want to be paying more than €150 a tyre and fit. Surely that would get me Hankook or Continental etc.?

Tyre size is 225/50/r17 btw.

colm_mcm

If they sold you General (which is indeed a mid range tyre) and you got something else then then you were missold.

don’t take any nonsense such as:

”I have them on my own car”

“all the taxi men are buying them”

“They’re made in the same factory as Michelin, look at the tread pattern”

also it sounds like you were bent over on the price too.

not the same size, but I got 225/40R18 Good Years for €120 each. Your tyres are available retail on tyreleader for €80 (not inc fitting) so you were rightly done.

The low end Chinese brands are made from harder more plasticky compound than the tyres you’re used to. The traction control light is coming on because they’ve lost grip. Imagine how good they’ll be when you need to stop quickly.

Birka

Brand new tyres take a while to achieve maximum grip, potentially a few hundred kilometers so they'll probably improve a bit.

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/car/all-about-tyres/tyre-change-fitting/changing-tyres/braking-with-new-tyres

That said, they're not a mid-range tyre and so they were missold.

I think that Colm might be a little harsh in saying that you were 'bent over'. An online price of €80 plus fitting and balancing isn't a million miles away from a walk-in retail price of €110 including fitting, valves (and hopefully balancing).

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118418600#Comment_118418600

Apologies, I read it as €150 each. You can be sure the tyre place is paying less than €80 too.

even so, you’d get branded tyres for that price. Kumho, Vredestein, Toyo, Hankook etc.

I guarantee you these tyres won’t become grippy with a few hundred km on them.

Flinty997

Got caught out before with a set of cheap ditch finders, and the grip never improved. I replaced them in a few months with a decent branded tyre and the difference was night and day.

silver2020

Surely the op did a little research and asked the tyre fitter for different options.?

I know my tyre place well as we get four company vehicles looked after and would never ever just say "stick some mid range tyres on" and head off.

Sorry op, but you have to take most of the blame here.

Btw, reviews seem to be ok and they are a giant manufacturer.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419060#Comment_118419060

Unless I’m reading it wrong, the sold the OP General (the brand) tyres, as opposed to “general/generic/random” tyre?

Car99

I got 225 50 17 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 K117 last week for €120 a corner fitted last week and they feel and grip everybit as good as the continental Premium Contact 6 that I had on it before.

chops018

Hi all. Thanks for the replies so far.

To add to the above - I did call a few places today for quotes. Anywhere I rang I asked for mid range tyres and the cheapest quote I got was €100 plus fittting but that place was further away than the place I went with. The place a bit further away offered Kenda brand tyres.

The others were all coming in at €110 too. Triangle brand was offered in one place for that price. Then also got offered I-Link. The place I got offered I-Link I queried why they cost was €110 as I knew they were a Chinese tyre and they said costs are up €20-30 across the board and a tyre like this u would have got fitted for €70-80 a year ago but it's different now.

As I said I then called a local tyre fitter and asked for Mid Range Tyres and the response was along the lines of oh yeah we have general mid range tyres in that size here, if you can drop it over to us by half 4 we can get it done today, €110 each plus fit. So I dropped it over to them and collected it just before they closed before half 5. My own fault for not checking there and then. But yes, the brand on the tyres says "Autogrip", which I am not happy with. Also as stated I did not feel comfortable driving on them. The grip doesn't seem great. I did read that tyres do need some wearing in. But I think I'd prefer to get a better brand.

Question is: will they change them? I have not driven far on them at all. Pretty much drove home after I got them done and that was it. Around 2-3kms of driving.

Also @colm_mcm - price wise on the receipt the tyres themselves came in at around €80 each, then it was €10 each for fitting and then they added the taxes (VAT etc.), So hopefully price wise I wasn't done.

HalfAndHalf

OP - Tyres are one thing you shouldn’t try and scrimp on. You might pay a bit more but you’ll get more safety and a lot more kms out of something a bit more expensive.

I’ve got Continental Contisport 5’s on my Kuga, 235/45/19 and other than the fronts I’ve had to replace, both times for a nail, they’ve still got about 10,000 kms on. And that’s after 30,000kms in 3 years.

Got the new front from best drive for €200 fitted. It was a Sport 6 so newer version.

It may seem more of an initial outlay but they’ll last twice as long and keep you safe!

chops018

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419180#Comment_118419180

I agree. That's why I asked for mid range. I thought this would be better than budget but a little cheaper than premium. I will happily pay €20-30 more per tyre in the morning if they changed them for something like Hankook or Continental. But surely it's not that simple changing tyres? I mean it's not like going back to change a t-shirt. The only thing is I got the job done by them just before they closed and I plan to go back to them first thing in the morning and I've only driven on them about 2-3kms. But I do take blame for not checking them there and then.

Do you think they'd agree to me changing them for a better brand?

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419199#Comment_118419199

What I mean is they said General and sold Autogrip. Could have just been a coincidence.

ive rang up for tyres lots of times looking for actual mid range tyres (as in not top tier Continental, Goodyear, Michelin etc) to be offered Wanlis, Triangles etc.

bazz26

Your problem was that you didn't ask for a specific brand of tyre. You just asked them for any tyre from a generic range of tyres based on price which was a license to sell a no name brand with a very healthy mark up for the tyre centre. The majority of people coming through the door of a tyre centre are only focused on price rather than quality so you got treated that way imo.

It's like going into a pub and asking the barman for a mid range drink. They could pour ditch water into a glass and call it mid range.

chops018

Thanks all for the comments. I do agree I am partly to blame for not checking the brand when the job was done and just assuming when they said mid range tyres they'd put on something decent.

My main question again: does anyone think they would change them for a better brand if I go back first thing in the morning? Also, how would you approach asking them - say you asked for mid range and that these clearly aren't and that when I drove home on them the grip did not seem good at all?

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419243#Comment_118419243

If they are a decent place they should have no problem changing them as they have very little driving done on them. Tell them you would prefer a well known brand like Hankook which you expected to be a mid range brand. Don't mention anything about being happy to pay the difference until they mention it. Don't except another unknown brand even if they tell you they are made or owned by one of the well known tyre brands. Know what brand you want this time and stick to your guns around that.

chops018

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419278#Comment_118419278

Ok thanks. I'll try that. I will just say I drove home after the job and their place closed. Which is the truth. Hopefully they change them anyway.

wandererz

Jaypers! This is difficult reading.

Here's Tyreleader's classification of tyre brands so you have an indication when speaking to the tyre company.

Also REMEMBER that you asked for GENERAL "the Brand" and got Autogrip instead.

General is good.

wandererz

Here's a screenshot of my fronts or backs (I got 2 different sizes for front & rear).

Price was the same for each set plus fitting locally.

Overall it was €113 per tyre for Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 5's times 4 (inclusive of the €15 per tyre for fitting), AND i was so chuffed with the price I included the €3 per tyre warranty/replacement. It was still €113 per tyre.

This forum is a great place for research.

Research must be done before, not after.

Anyway, do remember that you ordered the GENERAL tyre BRAND. Not Autogrip!

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419516#Comment_118419516

OP didn't ask for General brand tyres - seller said they had mid range "general" tyres.

wandererz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419519#Comment_118419519

Yup. OP needs to ask for replacement of the Autogrip for what was promised:

"General" tyres

chops018

I'll go back in the morning anyway and ask for them to change them. My main point will be I asked for mid range tyres which these clearly are not and I don't feel comfortable with them. I don't know if I want to say I asked for "general" tyres as to be honest I didn't even know that they were a brand and when I rang they said they had "general mid range tyres" so I assumed they meant they had some general brands of mid range tyres there and thought I'd get Hankook or something like that. I didn't check them till I got back home but the reason for that was that I took the car keys back around half 5 when they were closing up so just took the keys and left. It was all in a hurry really when I collected it so I should have took my time and also I should have double confirmed the brand when I dropped the car off so I do agree with the comments saying I am part to blame. Also when I dropped in the keys a guy met me at reception and he then gave my keys to a tyre fitter and he said to him to put on "mid range tyres" so again I assumed I'd get something half decent. I wasn't expecting Bridgestone but also wasn't expecting what I got!

wandererz

You asked for mid range tyres. They said they had "General mid range tyres".

These are not General, these are Autogrip, a cheap Chinese brand.

That's the way Judge Kaplan would read it.

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419530#Comment_118419530

The word general does not have to mean the brand. Context is important and reading the op's posts the word "general" seems to be the literal meaning rather than a brand.

I'd be surprised if they changed them without some form of penalty for even small wear and also fitting.

As for price increases from last year - freight costs have skyrocketed. A 40' container costing €2500 to ship in 2019 is now costing €15,000-€18,000

chops018

Thanks all for the replies. Just finished dealing with them. They will change them for Hankook tyres. But they will have to charge €300 more for the tyres and fit. He said reason being is he cannot sell the others as new tyres now. He said he will sell them but they will take a hit of €20-30 a tyre. I pushed for him to take more off and he seemingly rang the owner and explained and was told they can't do any better.

So I suppose me not checking the brand there and then has cost me a few Bob more than I should have paid to get a mid range to premium tyre.

I'm a bit annoyed overall but as but I'm just gonna try to chalk it down and move on with the Hankooks.

chops018

XsApollo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419518#Comment_118419518

What car are those tyres for?

different sizes front and back I am presuming a Beamer?

ratracer

Is it two or four tyres you are replacing?

Even if it’s four, you’ve paid €110 each for them, he takes €30 off each, so you’ve paid €80 and now he wants another €75 per tyre, so €155 per tyre which you didn’t want to pay in the first place anyway?

I think you’re getting rode a second time here, and that just after having a quick look at Advance pitstop prices.

RunningFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419798#Comment_118419798

If I were you and they are charging full whack for new Hancooks I'd take my business elsewhere. A different garage might even give you more for the scrubbed tyres..

chops018

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419905#Comment_118419905

I'm after agreeing to it now and they are currently changing them. So I may just chalk it down and take the hit. I'm obviously raging but as I said I may just chalk it down.

But like, surely if I went to another tyre fitters and said to them oh I got these tyres a few days ago but I hate them would you take them as a trade in and give me a premium brand, they'd still he knocking 30-40 off per tyre and I'd still be in a similar situation?

chops018

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419901#Comment_118419901

Yes. €110 originally, per tyre, and I suppose you're right, paying about €150-160 a tyre now for the Hankooks. I agree I'm not coming out of this well but he was reluctant to take them back at all he kept saying he can't sell them on as new tyres now and they are losing about €30 a tyre on them so this is the best they can do. I know they will most likely resell them as new anyway.

Sure, I'm after agreeing to it now so I may just move on and chalk it down. I didn't know what to be saying either to be honest as they aren't faulty, I just kept saying the grip is terrible and they aren't mid range. He disagreed and said they were and they would get better if broken in etc.

Funnily enough, my partner's father used to run a tyre place years ago. Rang him this morning and told him all about it. He said he used to sell Autogrip but they were budget tyres. He also said he would have been reluctant to take them back too and reckons this was probably the best I'd get unless I tried to sell them on myself, which I don't really want to do ha.

TheW1zard

110 x 4 for the Autogrip, and he wants 300 more = 740euro?

185 a tyre?