Terms and Conditions for buying car tyres

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JBaz

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My wife's car (BMW i3) picked up a puncture and since I've never known a tyre shop be willing to repair one, I went onto the web to get a new tyre fitted.

Wow! I had no idea that even specifying the brand, name and size there were still a huge number of variants. Why a manufacturer would produce the same tyre rated at different speeds is beyond me. Surely making them all for the fastest rated speed would simplify things for everybody?

As I wanted the tyres on each side to match, I checked the current tyres only to find that due to a previous puncture replacement the two rear tyres were slightly different. One is an 89Q and the other is an 85Q. What's more, neither tyre was as specified on the printed sticker inside the door frame (which said 85Q XL), and one of them was factory fitted!

On the web, the variation in price for the same tyre was £94 to over £150 but not all suppliers provided the full spec details. Eventually found an exact match on the Asda Tyres site fitted by my local tyre shop. Just out of interest I called the tyre shop for a quote, which came in at £37 more. When I mentioned the Adsa quote for the same tyre that would be fitted by them, they said it must be "old stock".

Anyway, Asda seemed the best deal so I started the online ordering process and when it asked me to accept their terms and conditions, for once I thought I'd read them, or at least the clauses relating to what Asda are supplying. I was stunned to read the following -

3.4 Asda Tyres reserves the right to change the Goods or any relative specifications (whether such specifications have been submitted by the Customer in the Customer's order or otherwise) and designs at any time, without notice, as a result of changes in the law or at the sole discretion of Asda Tyres.

As I read it, this means that even if I order a specific tyre, Asda can supply anything they like! I'm not sure who would be liable (Asda or the fitting company) if the tyre fitted resulted in an accident. I emailed Asda asking if they considered this a reasonable condition of sale, but I haven't had a reply yet.

To be fair to Asda, I looked at a number of other sites T's & C's and found them to be the same. In fact identical, with just the name changed, so I suspect that they all use the same back-end with just the user interface bespoked to their brand.

Anybody had a similar experience with tyres or other products?
 
Where is the puncture? Plug and patch combo is standard here for tread puncture. Sidewalls damage is generally terminal.

I have used the plug only kits before for small punctures, and have never encountered a failure of those. They used to be the typical fix on tubeless but now the lits have warnings all over them about being temporary only. But they're still the same thing. I'm guessing that's for liability limitation.
 
Agree regards all the options and the large variation in price for the same tyre. Ended up using Asda tyres for new boots all round on the wife's car, they were nearly £100 (30%) cheaper than Halfords direct, and were fitted at halfords the next day no questions asked. Modern business confuses me!
 
3.4 Asda Tyres reserves the right to change the Goods or any relative specifications (whether such specifications have been submitted by the Customer in the Customer's order or otherwise) and designs at any time, without notice, as a result of changes in the law or at the sole discretion of Asda Tyres.
Anybody had a similar experience with tyres or other products?

Having purchased 4 tyres from Halfords recently and have often used Kwikfit I decided to look at their T&C's. There are no similar clauses on their sites.
Brian
 
Not worth fitting expensive tyres because the roads are in such a state they are like cheese graters and with low profile tyres you also have the added risk of rim damage when you hit a pot hole.
 
I have never had a problem getting simple punctures repaired on my tubeless tyres (Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics). Only damage to the sidewalls is irreparable. Garages have yanked out all sorts over the years - nails, screws, random bits off other cars... fill the holes with some gunk, let it dry and pop the tyre back on the rims. I guess there's a limit to how big the hole can be, but I've never hit it.

The different codes are for variations - the same "tyre" can come with rub strips to protect the alloys from curbs, treads which are less noisy, or more fuel efficient, blah blah. They're really all diffferent tyres but the it's easier marketing to call them the same tyre and have a tonne of different codes!!

The opposite of Henry Ford's philosophy.
 
Having purchased 4 tyres from Halfords recently and have often used Kwikfit I decided to look at their T&C's. There are no similar clauses on their sites.
Brian
Thanks. Hadn't thought of them. Their price is good so I just ordered the tyre for fitting on Thursday.
Their T's & C's do have a clause regarding changing specification but it is more reasonable than Asda's.

12. Specification of Products and Services
a) All Products supplied will correspond with any specification provided by Us and be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. We may, after the date of the contract, make reasonable changes to the specification of any Products or Services where that is required to ensure compliance with any applicable law or code of practice and/or where those changes do not result in any reduction to the standard, quality or performance of the Products or Services in question or otherwise place you at any disadvantage.
 
I think that the OP's i3 will have been fitted with runflat tyres from new - AFAIAA tubes aren't suitable for a runflat due to the construction (very stiff sidewalls and/or additional internal structures)

While it is possible to get runflat punctures repaired as long as they are in the central 'safe zone', runflats have limits to distance/speed that they can be used while 'flat' as this causes progressive damage to the structures that allow them to be driven on in this condition.

This results in a lot of tyre places refusing to repair as they don't know how far (and at what speed) the tyre has been driven whilst punctured. I have had a couple of repairs to runflats on our X3 - both after visiting the local tip so only a couple of miles from home. When turning up at a local tyre fitters for the repair, I immediately mention when the low pressure warning occurred and how far/fast I've driven- this seems to give them the confidence that the internal structure of the tyre has not been compromised.
 
I suspect the Asda terms simply copy those they use for selling groceries. Asda doesn't want complaints if its driver turns up with a different brand of butter!
 
Here any tire shop will charge you through the nose to mount tires from a third party that would probably negate the savings from online purchases and they would not warranty them. The tires they sell will be guaranteed for flats and road hazards for the life of the tires including roadside service. I have no idea what a private local garage would charge to mount a tire brought in and I doubt they would warrantee them against flats, just their mounting and balance.

The wife's new Audi got a 3" screw right in the middle of the tread a week after she bought it. Put air in the tire and drove it to the dealer. They pulled the tire, plugged it, patched over it inside the tire and then balanced it. I hated the $65 charge but it was a dealer and their rates are higher than other shops. Didn't get the extended warranty that would have covered the flat for free but that was spendy too. 😳

Pete
 
I don't think you are allowed to put a tube in a tubeless tyre (for road use).
I believe it's legal but it's not a good idea and I really wouldn't do it on a car you intend to drive fast or on long journeys. You could also find issues with manufacturers warranty. Tyres designed for tubes are smoother inside with tubeless tyres they rub on the tube and get hot which causes ware
 
Within reason a tyre is just a tyre IMO, don't get sucked into all the marketing to make you think you need a certain type of tyre. I have got punctures fixed in the past they just must be in the centre of tyre not near on wall. I never buy the unbranded one but the mid-range and I never take any notice of matching tyres, speed ratings or summer or winter tyres and I've been happily driving 20K miles a year for the past 20 years with no problems.
 
So long as the tyre is the right size has the right load rating all is good.

You perhaps get more miles out of top draw tyres but I generally go budget from a local independent chap £75 for 235 60 r17 van tyres.

Cheers James
 
My wife's car (BMW i3) picked up a puncture and since I've never known a tyre shop be willing to repair one, I went onto the web to get a new tyre fitted.

Wow! I had no idea that even specifying the brand, name and size there were still a huge number of variants. Why a manufacturer would produce the same tyre rated at different speeds is beyond me. Surely making them all for the fastest rated speed would simplify things for everybody?

As I wanted the tyres on each side to match, I checked the current tyres only to find that due to a previous puncture replacement the two rear tyres were slightly different. One is an 89Q and the other is an 85Q. What's more, neither tyre was as specified on the printed sticker inside the door frame (which said 85Q XL), and one of them was factory fitted!
The 85 vs 89 bit is the load rating (how much weight the tyre can take). Q refers to the max allowed speed (99mph in this instance).

XL means reinforced; and can usually take slightly higher pressures for higher loads.

I believe it's generally not a problem to use a tyre with a higher load rating (89 instead of 85), but it would probably be sensible to match the load rating on a single axle.

Generally I've used Black Circles for getting new tyres, and their website will search by the car's registration; so although you'll be faced with all the possible wheel size options for your car, it shouldn't be too bad to find the right tyre.
 
To stay 'legal' and make sure the car behaves as expected, I always check the car handbook to find the correct size/load/speed rating for the car. I don't want to give the insurance company any reason to refuse a claim if there was an accident and something isn't right.
 
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