Car tyre flat a week after purchase!

eschaton

SLITHER99 wrote: »

You have several options.

1. Go to your local motor factors and buy an electic pump for £30
2. Get RAC or AA membership and request a call out
3. Phone a friend
4. Jack up the car, remove tyre, jack stand it and take the offending tyre to a garage with an air pump
5. Call the dealer. If he's close, he may pop round and sort you out?

And.....

6. Ask the audience.

forgotmyname

Easy to spot the dealers trying to defend themselves from these types of claim.

Totally unacceptable for a buyer to accept a puncture as a normal risk, so soon after buying a car. The dealers should have a 24 hour phone number for such cases.
They should be round within 20 minutes with a bunch of flowers and a box of expensive chocolates as a sorry for selling an obvious deathtrap.

A partial refund or upgrade to a newer/better car should also be offered as the buyer will have now lost all faith in this obvious wreck of a motor.



How can you pass your driving test and not know how a tyre works?

Cant wait until you attempt to change the belt or chain with a screwdriver and a manicure set.
Ever checked the oil, water and washer fluid? Should be a weekly check along with your tyre pressures. Do you know what your tyre pressures should be?

PS. Buy a spare.

photome

SLITHER99 wrote: »

You have several options.

1. Go to your local motor factors and buy an electic pump for £30 Why are folks so lazy these days, a footpump will be about a fiver and do the job just as well
2. Get RAC or AA membership and request a call out
3. Phone a friend
4. Jack up the car, remove tyre, jack stand it and take the offending tyre to a garage with an air pump
5. Call the dealer. If he's close, he may pop round and sort you out?

My option in red

vikingaero

espresso wrote: »

Not good advice if these wheels are fitted with TPMS pressure sensors, which can be ruined by Tyre Weld and then be very costly to replace!

The MINIs don't have the more advanced TPMS sensors. The system they use utilises the ABS sensor to detect rotational/circumference differences between the tyres.

jonj123

vikingaero wrote: »

The MINIs don't have the more advanced TPMS sensors. The system they use utilises the ABS sensor to detect rotational/circumference differences between the tyres.

Thanks. The Tyre Weld thing sounds like the most reasonable option. How do I make sure my wheel does not have the TPMS sensor to ensure I don't ruin the tyre?

vikingaero

MINIs just don't have the more expensive TPMS systems. As a check the valve stem should be the normal rubber/copper type. The TPMS systems are normally chromed alloy stems.

Have you checked in the boot of your MINI to see if you have a compressor and bottle of gunk? Some earlier MINIs had this as standard even with the runflats. If not you can buy the foam tray, MINI branded compressor and bottle of sealant/gunk from the dealership. In 2001 I think I paid £5ish for the tray, £26ish for the branded compressor and £20ish for the gunk.

forgotmyname

Tyre weld will ruin the tyre though. Most garages will see all that gunk in there
and refuse a repair.

Buy a spare wheel instead.

vikingaero

You can't buy a spare for a MINI. The spacesaver spare was only ever available as a cost option in 2001/2/3 and then only for the MINI One. There is no space for a spare full or spacesaver in a MINI Cooper. Something to do with a differing exhaust box.

red_eye

jonj123 wrote: »

Thanks for all the post. Found them quite humerus. On a serious note though, what am I supposed to do now? Should I buy a puncture repair kit and attempt to sort this out myself or should I somehow pump some air into it and take it to my local ATS garage? and if so how?

have you got a driving licence? the ones you get from lego land don't count!
sorry I ask because I got a call out on a car we just sold. the new owner had put petrol in the engine.:rotfl:

you need to pump up the tyre and see what that does, buy this http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_169794_langId_-1_categoryId_255241 after you pumped it up to manufactures recommended pressure (find this in the hand book which would be in the glove compartment or door pocket) leave it for a while if it goes flat then you need to see a tyre shop

googler

red_eye wrote: »

have you got a driving licence? the ones you get from lego land don't count!
sorry I ask because I got a call out on a car we just sold. the new owner had put petrol in the engine.:rotfl:

Do you mean they put petrol directly into the engine, where folks would normally put oil?

Do you mean they hadn't put petrol in the car at all?

Or something else?