Advice Needed Please

[dodgykeeper]

Hi I am new on here and need some advice.

Bought a Focus (55plate) from a main Ford dealer for 7k has only 24k on the clock. To cut a long story short, the car was sold with a directional new Uniroyal tyre on front and a Michelin asymetrical tyre (original from day 1)on the front, the car pulled to the left and I took it back after a day for it to be adjusted but queried the different tyres on the front (same make on back so that is ok). They said it was ok! Anyway the car still pulls to left and I have asked for it to be looked at again and to have the Michelin tyre replaced with a uniroyal. They are not interested! Say it safe and legal been in workshop so no can do. Im left with a car that pulls to left and now I have to sort it myself. Im a bit cheesed off to say the least. I made them aware of the tyre issue and pulling to the left. Im not sure what to do next. Its about £100 quid to replace tyre and get wheel alignment done but i dont believe I should have to pay.

I did take some independent advice and was told it was very bad practice to have a car being sold with such different types of tyres!

What does anyone think?

Thanks

[jeebowhite]

Hi I am new on here and need some advice.

Bought a Focus (55plate) from a main Ford dealer for 7k has only 24k on the clock. To cut a long story short, the car was sold with a directional new Uniroyal tyre on front and a Michelin asymetrical tyre (original from day 1)on the front, the car pulled to the left and I took it back after a day for it to be adjusted but queried the different tyres on the front (same make on back so that is ok). They said it was ok! Anyway the car still pulls to left and I have asked for it to be looked at again and to have the Michelin tyre replaced with a uniroyal. They are not interested! Say it safe and legal been in workshop so no can do. Im left with a car that pulls to left and now I have to sort it myself. Im a bit cheesed off to say the least. I made them aware of the tyre issue and pulling to the left. Im not sure what to do next. Its about £100 quid to replace tyre and get wheel alignment done but i dont believe I should have to pay.

I did take some independent advice and was told it was very bad practice to have a car being sold with such different types of tyres!

What does anyone think?

Thanks

If the car is "sold as seen" you have no grounds to complain on. If it is just the single tyre on its own causing the drag / pull then the dealer has no requirement to replace it. The reason is because it is a consumable part, and as long as it is within legal limits (1.6mm / 2.0mm for assurance) then the vehicle is considered roadworthy. I suggest you can in fact return the car as not fit for purpose, but it really doesnt seem that you will get all your money back if you were to do that.

My suggestion - buy a pair of second hand tyres if the drag is still present, take the car back to the dealer, and show them the evidence. the drag will be to do with alignment or potentialy a problem with the suspension etc which should be rectified by the dealer. two tyres second hand you could get for £60 and if the company do fix the car, its an expense you can claim back.

[paramaniac]

I always thought that you had to have matching tyres on the front and matching tyres on the back, however the front pair didn't need to match the rear pair.

But this is what I found:

Tyre Mixing

Must NOT have radial tyres on the front wheels and cross ply tyres on the rear wheels, it is also illegal to have a cross ply tyre on one side with a radial on the other.

All steerable axles must be fitted with tyres of the same construction, as must all driven axles that are not steerable. An axle includes two stub axles that form a pair, and an articulated vehicle is treated as two separate vehicles.

[johnH]

ive always heard of the tyres have to be same on the same axel. hence replacing them in pairs...does sound like the seller has skimped out to save money and make more of a profit...i'd be wondering what else they skimped out on, say servicing the vehicle?

you can pick a pair of remoulds 205/55/r16 for £50 fitted. or you can go to a decent tyre place and get new for £65 each. myself paid £129 for two new kumho tyres for the front, alignment and balancing and because my alignment was well out (steering wheel shaked like mad) he asked me to go back to check if nothing untoward is happening.

but i suppose you already know all this but trying to get the dealer to pay for it...my opinion is fat chance...they can claim as someone said, consumables. but i suppose if you point out that there negligance has led to a said fault then i suppose you may have grounds for a little compo.

hope this helps

[paramaniac]

Maybe you could try to argue that you have been sold a product that is not fit for purpose. If the car is pulling to the left, and there are different tyres on the front, you could say that it is unsafe. Who knows what will happen if you have to brake hard in rain with the different tread patterns on the front tyres.

Under the sale of goods act, goods need to be "reasonably fit for purpose".

If the dealer will not have it, then you should be able to get some cheap tyres if you have standard wheels. Try: www.etyres.co.uk

[btmaldon]

It sounds like its a day for bad dealerships.

If the tyre treads are OK, the quick fix may be to swop the front tyres with the back. If it is the tyres causing the pulling, by having the same tyres on the drive wheels should stop it. If it doesn't, then there may be other problems.

[Lars]

Hi I am new on here and need some advice.

Bought a Focus (55plate) from a main Ford dealer for 7k has only 24k on the clock. To cut a long story short, the car was sold with a directional new Uniroyal tyre on front and a Michelin asymetrical tyre (original from day 1)on the front, the car pulled to the left and I took it back after a day for it to be adjusted but queried the different tyres on the front (same make on back so that is ok). They said it was ok! Anyway the car still pulls to left and I have asked for it to be looked at again and to have the Michelin tyre replaced with a uniroyal. They are not interested! Say it safe and legal been in workshop so no can do. Im left with a car that pulls to left and now I have to sort it myself. Im a bit cheesed off to say the least. I made them aware of the tyre issue and pulling to the left. Im not sure what to do next. Its about £100 quid to replace tyre and get wheel alignment done but i dont believe I should have to pay.

I did take some independent advice and was told it was very bad practice to have a car being sold with such different types of tyres!

What does anyone think?

Thanks

I find it odd that they sell the car with different types on front. As far as i know they tires that are steering should be of the same kind....so it's a nono to have such different tires on the front. I don't know what you legally can do, but i think - like someone else surgested - getting a used set of tires and ensure they are balanced. Install them and take it for a spin...if problem is gone it's good. If problem persist you know it's not the tires. Also check the spare to see if that would be same kind as one of the front tires and change it if so...or change around the front and rear tires....this is probably the cheapest way to find out if problem is tire related.

Best of luck.

Lars

[jeebowhite]

Its been a while since dodgykeeper replied - I wonder how he got on!