How quickly do tyres wear?

Desmond_Hume

Is it possible - yes. 
Is it likely, based on the description you've given - no.

How old were the tyres? Or when did you have them fitted, is probably a better question for now. 

daveyjp

If one tyre had an irrepairable puncture and the other was perishing and cracking (likely if they are more than 5 years old) I wouldn't fret about the paperwork.

You needed at least one new tyre, you now have two new tyres and are safe for many thousands of miles.  Just keep an eye on the other two and replace when necessary.

photome

Why didn’t you check the depth yourself before he either took them off or before he went away , if you don’t have a depth gauge I would advise getting one , a digital one is around a tenner, a manual one is even cheaper.  

On the face of it it would seem someone has lied to you

why did you need a pair ? What car is it?  How old were the tyres on the car

It’s not always true that cheaper tyres will wear quicker as they could be a harder compound and actually last longer , they just won’t grip as well during their lifetime

chrisw

If one tyre was punctured and the other cracked, I don't see what the fitter would gain by lying. As someone said above, I suspect he's just put a random figure on the forms to effectively make them scrap.

paul_c123

I'll be honest, I've missed issues on tyre sidewalls, especially the inner sidewall, with a check. Once the car's in the air and you can get underneath, its much easier to check and spot issues here. So I'd say on this one, the mechanic was right.

novemberrain80

Desmond_Hume said:

Is it possible - yes. 
Is it likely, based on the description you've given - no.

How old were the tyres? Or when did you have them fitted, is probably a better question for now. 

They were fitted new four years ago and I’ve driven less than 5,000 miles in that time.

novemberrain80

daveyjp said:

If one tyre had an irrepairable puncture and the other was perishing and cracking (likely if they are more than 5 years old) I wouldn't fret about the paperwork.

You needed at least one new tyre, you now have two new tyres and are safe for many thousands of miles.  Just keep an eye on the other two and replace when necessary.

Yeah I get that and totally agree, but it’s just made me feel like maybe I wasn’t told the truth about the puncture/perishing either.

 I just wanted an opinion on whether it’s possible to lose tread like that to reassure me I haven’t just wasted money and been stupid in not asking to see the tyres

novemberrain80

photome said:

Why didn’t you check the depth yourself before he either took them off or before he went away , if you don’t have a depth gauge I would advise getting one , a digital one is around a tenner, a manual one is even cheaper.  

On the face of it it would seem someone has lied to you

why did you need a pair ? What car is it?  How old were the tyres on the car

It’s not always true that cheaper tyres will wear quicker as they could be a harder compound and actually last longer , they just won’t grip as well during their lifetime

I hadn’t measured them because they looked/felt about 5mm still and I knew how little miles I’ve done since my garage measured them, so it hadn’t occured to me they were low at all. When he left, he hadn’t mentioned the tread depth, just said the slow puncture wasn’t repairable and about the perishing he’d spotted on the other tyre. I just believed and trusted him/the company.

novemberrain80

chrisw said:

If one tyre was punctured and the other cracked, I don't see what the fitter would gain by lying. As someone said above, I suspect he's just put a random figure on the forms to effectively make them scrap.

Me neither, which adds to my confusion and makes me doubt what he said about the slow puncture and perishing. Yeah possibly that’s all it is, but that’s why I’m asking if it’s actually possible to lose that much tread depth that quickly. 

born_again

novemberrain80 said:

photome said:

Why didn’t you check the depth yourself before he either took them off or before he went away , if you don’t have a depth gauge I would advise getting one , a digital one is around a tenner, a manual one is even cheaper.  

On the face of it it would seem someone has lied to you

why did you need a pair ? What car is it?  How old were the tyres on the car

It’s not always true that cheaper tyres will wear quicker as they could be a harder compound and actually last longer , they just won’t grip as well during their lifetime

I hadn’t measured them because they looked/felt about 5mm still and I knew how little miles I’ve done since my garage measured them, so it hadn’t occured to me they were low at all. When he left, he hadn’t mentioned the tread depth, just said the slow puncture wasn’t repairable and about the perishing he’d spotted on the other tyre. I just believed and trusted him/the company.

Are you measuring where the tread depth wear indicator is, or just anywhere?
As every so far round there is a 2m/m high strip wear indicator.