Tyres. Fair offer from manufacturer or not?

210CarMan

Let me apologise at the outset for a long post. I have tried to keep it as concise as possible.

In preparation for a road trip to Portugal by way of Munich in April last year, I fitted four new TyreCo Sport* tyres to my elderly Mercedes estate car on the recommendation of a local supplier. 8000 miles later when the car was being MOT’d I was very surprised to receive an advisory note that the tread on both rear tyres was close to the legal limit. My initial thought was that the rear suspension geometry was not correct, so I took the car to a specialist who pronounced the set-up to be within tolerance and provided me with the readings. The front tyres showed no excessive wear. I very seldom accelerate or corner hard in the car.

I contacted TyreCo who suggested that I had the tyres returned to them for analysis. So I emailed them the geometry printouts and made arrangements to have new tyres fitted to the rears, this time TyreCo Sedate as apparently these have a harder compound.

TyreCo wrote to me a short time after they had received the tyres back and told me that the wear pattern indicated that the rear suspension was not correctly aligned and therefore they could offer me no refund. When I pointed out that the readings showed otherwise, they had a change of heart and offered a ‘goodwill’ payment of 75% of the cost of the replacement rear tyres. They wouldn’t reimburse me for the cost of the alignment check, claiming that this is part of routine vehicle maintenance. Neither would they provide me with a FOC pair of TyreCo Sedate tyres for the front, as I am annoyed that I’ve ended up with mismatched tyres front and rear – something I’ve never had in over 40 years of owning cars.

TyreCo claim that although the rear geometry is within tolerance, the toe-in and camber should be ‘as near zero as possible’. They also say that the recommended fitment for Mercedes is a TyreCo Sedate MO (‘Mercedes Optimised’), something the original supplier did nothing to make me aware of.
The 75% replacement value equates to £202. This is their ‘full and final offer’.

In my opinion:

• The original tyres were not fit for purpose as they only achieved 8000 on a carefully driven vehicle with suspension within manufacturer’s tolerance

• I've been disadvantaged in that I now have mismatched tyres front and rear. I have no idea how long the TyreCo Sports on the front are going to last.

• I had the alignment check only to show that the suspension was set up within tolerance and expect TyreCo to reimburse me for the cost.

The value of my claim, if I was to pursue it, would be £517. The court fees would be £70.00.

I’d welcome any views from Forum members on what they would do in the circumstances. Accept the 75% offer or pursue a higher value claim via the Small Claims Court?

(* Manufacturer’s name withheld for legal reasons, but it’s a major brand)

molerat

The tyre fitters supplied you with the incorrect tyres, what has that got to do with the manufacturer. Your claim is against the fitters, what have they said about recompense ? Seems like the manufacturer has given you a very good offer. The tyres were not recommended for the car and the suspension geometry, although within the car manufacturers specification, was outside the tyre manufacturers specification. Next time get your tyres from somewhere that knows what they are doing. Take the manufacturer, who you have no real claim against, to court if you wish but you may end up paying a personal injury claim when the judge falls off his chair laughing.

arcon5

Seems like a drama over nothing to me. You pay 25% for 8k miles... so 32k miles in theory.

Good offer.

You have no viable claim against the manufacturer.

210CarMan

Thanks very much for the advice so far. I'm really grateful to those that have posted and voted.
The only reason the manfacturer is involved is because the retailer returned the tyres to them for inspection, and they determine what credit is offered. So this route wasn't of my choosing, and I realise that my normal recourse is via the retailer.
I remain annoyed having ended up with mismatched tyres, all the more so because those on the front are truly terrible in the snow.

vikingaero

I too think the offer is fair. My mum had a W124 E320 and I remember changing rear tyres for her every 10k. The car seemed to be heavy on tyres and I think this was down to the heavy and clunky Mercedes accelerator pedal in which it was hard to modulate and move off slowly. You pressed the accelerator pedal and nothing, so you pressed more and there would be more power than you needed to move off smoothly.

Wh05apk

Could it be that although the car's suspension is in spec, for your "road trip" the car was possible heavily laden, affecting the geometry, possibly being driven harder than usual and although early in the year, temperatures could have been higher causing extra wear?

As has been said 25% for 8,000 miles seems a cracking deal, take the money and move on!

neilmcl

210CarMan wrote: »

Thanks very much for the advice so far. I'm really grateful to those that have posted and voted.
The only reason the manfacturer is involved is because the retailer returned the tyres to them for inspection, and they determine what credit is offered. So this route wasn't of my choosing, and I realise that my normal recourse is via the retailer.
I remain annoyed having ended up with mismatched tyres, all the more so because those on the front are truly terrible in the snow.

This is standard practice and yes, you did have a choice.

Take the offer, it's more than fair.

Quinny_2

I agree.

25% for 8000 is a fair assumption of how the manufacturer would have thought the tyre would have performed.

Take it, and try a different brand next time.

shown73

Good offer. The manufacturer has no idea how the car was driven, whether the tyres were correctly inflated, what temperature, etc., etc.
Sounds like a goodwill gesture rather than any admission of liability, and to take it any further would be, frankly, ridiculous. As to different tyres front and rear, as long as they are the same per axle, so what. Have a look in any car park, I'll bet most cars are in the same boat.

Splott

I'm for take the offer as well. I usually get the alignment checked when I have a new set of tyres on anyway so they're right in that respect.