Old Tyres? Kwik Fit

Alisha2008

Hi,


I took my car for an MOT and service to KwikFit last week (first time I go to this chain), the MOT was done first and then the service 2 weeks later. The MOT passed without any problems, but with the service they gave me a call saying the 2 back tyres were very old (not worn out, just old) and needed replacement, suggesting they were unsafe. They also suggested an alignment and some fluid to make the car more fuel efficient, in total £250 more than I had already paid for the service.


However this wasn't even mentioned on the MOT.. so are the tyres really a problem or are they just trying to get more money out of me? I didn't agree to anything as I prefer to change the tyres somewhere else, but now I'm not even sure they need to be replaced...


Is there an easy way of checking if they are safe? And is this the norml in kwikfit, selling cheap services and they trying to scare you to buy other stuff??

tykesi

Alisha2008 wrote: »

Is there an easy way of checking if they are safe? And is this the norml in kwikfit, selling cheap services and they trying to scare you to buy other stuff??

This is exactly what Kwik fit do.

Tyres have a date on the sidewall, it could well be that they're getting on a bit but certainly don't pay the prices KF want to charge. Get it back from them (don't listen if they say they're not allowed to let you drive it away, it has been known) and take it to your trusted tyre place for a second (honest) opinion.

tberry6686

The tyres will degrade with age but they would have to be pretty old to get to the dangerous point. There should be a date of manufacture mark on the tyres, find out how old they are and see if they are within age limits(can't remember what they are).

The fluid to make the car more efficient is just a scam.

As far as the wheel alignment goes, does it track straight ?

It sounds like Kwik fit are just trying to drum up work again.

AdrianC

Alisha2008 wrote: »

The MOT passed without any problems, but with the service they gave me a call saying the 2 back tyres were very old (not worn out, just old) and needed replacement, suggesting they were unsafe.

Entirely feasible.

The MOT only checks for bare minimum legal tread depth and really bad cracking and damage. There's a lot of tyres that really ought to be binned that would pass - not least very old ones, over ten years old or so.

It doesn't mean they aren't pulling a fast one, but they might very well be correct.

They also suggested an alignment and some fluid to make the car more fuel efficient

Kwik-Fit, did you say? What a surprise...

Hitting kerbs and potholes can easily knock wheel alignment out, and increase tyre wear rapidly. If your emissions test was a bit borderline, some cleaner goop might help. But...

I didn't agree to anything as I prefer to change the tyres somewhere else

Tyres are about the only thing I _would_ let KF do, but only after shopping around on price.

but now I'm not even sure they need to be replaced...

Is there an easy way of checking if they are safe?

Absolutely. You do check them regularly, right...? Are they starting to crack, especially where the sidewalls meet the tread, and in between tread blocks? Could they possibly be ten years old or over? If so, there's a date code on one sidewall of each tyre - in an oval, at the end of a code that starts DOT, probably near the rim. If the last two digits are 05 or lower (year), then they should be replaced.

And is this the norml in kwikfit, selling cheap services and they trying to scare you to buy other stuff??

It's what they've built their reputation on...

Joe_Horner

Yes this is normal (see other threads about them).

Despite all the rumours they don't make a habit of failing things that should pass on MOTs because the consequences if they were caught out are too serious. But they will make you believe that your car is a death trap just waiting to kill all the kittens in the world if you go to them for other work.

The age of tyres isn't looked at in the MOT, they have to be so badly cracked that the tester can see the fabric inside them for them to fail. But the general safety advice is that you should replace them if they're more than about 10 years old (from date of manufacture, not fitting).

You can check the date of manufacture by looking at the side-wall. It will have a code like this:



The manufacturing date is shown by the 4 numbers (assuming your tyre was made after the year 2000) at the far right of the picture. In this case, 4208 means that it was made in the 42nd week of 2008. If there are only 3 numbers then it means it was made before 2000 and is well overdue changing!

The rule of thumb is that you shouldn't fittyres older than about 6 years or carry on using them older than 10 years.

That doesn't mean they're about to explode and kill everyone if they're older than that because how they've been treated can have a big effect on their condition as well (eg: garaged tyres will tend to last better because they get less UV exposure but tyres that hardly ever move will last worse because the rubber likes to flex now and then).

The simple rule is, if places like Kwik Fit advise you that something needs doing on your tyres / exhaust / suspension (their core business) then get a second opinion!!!

Alisha2008

Many thanks to all. The tyres are from 2009 (as it's the car, but I don't think they are the original tyres as they look new and the car had 27k miles when I bought it).


I will check the date on them.


I'm not sure I'll go back to Kwik fit for another service, who knows what they will tell me next that will need replacement!