Hi there
I had two new front tyres fitted in January at the time of the MOT. I asked the garage to check the tracking and steering at the same time as the steering wheel was pointing to 10 o'clock when the wheels were straight. They did, so I put the new lighter feeling on the steering down to better tyres.
Then over the past couple of weeks it seemed as though the steering had grown a mind of its own, almost as if it wanted to carry on turning by itself - like driving on ice. So I took it back to the garage last week and asked them to check the steering etc. They said it was due to the suspension bushes which they replaced, and they also checked the front wheels which they said (and I have the invoice to prove this) were "okay".
However, yesterday on my way back home the front nearside tyre popped. When I got it off, it was down to the canvas on the inside edge. I mean you can see the wire, it's in a real state. The other one well on the way to being the same, there is no tread at all on the inside edge. Both still look like new on the outside edges. The nice man who helped me change the tyre took one look at the front wheels and said the tracking was visibly out.
So my query is this - what comeback do I have with this when I take the Polo back to the garage? Tyres don't wear out in 6 weeks, do they? I do about 1500 miles a month, and I'm not exactly Lewis Hamilton. Surely they should have noticed the state of the tyres?
Many thanks,
Edited by Pugugly on 16/03/2009 at 17:01
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You know, TheatreGirl, no car should wear its tyres down to the reinforcing wires in, what, 3000 miles.
For some reason, the front wheel alignment is seriously out of, well, alignment.
This may relate to the tracking but there are many other factors that could lead to this, including faulty installation of suspension bushes.
You must go back to the garage and discuss this with them. If you don't know a lot about cars, try to take someone who is knowledgeable along with you. Failing that, try to take a biggish fella with you. I'm not saying men always know more about cars, just that garage proprietors might pay more attention to a big man complaining.
If you have no luck at the garage, you should speak to trading standards as they may have other complaints against this garage.
If you live anywhere near to Sunderland, I'm big and know about cars and could help. Otherwise, I simply wish you luck!
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The "driving on ice" feeling is quite normal for the first few miles on new rubber. It should go away though as the treads "scrub in". It sounds as if your car has excessive toe out, to wear the inner edges off. I too scrapped a pair of new tyres in about the same miles as yourself when the tracking was set badly out.
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Im sorry but your garage has tried to kill you its that simple. The original alignment is irrelevent. Your garage carried significant work just one week and maybe 350-400 miles ago according to your post. No car that could damage a tyre that quick would be drivable. If your tyre had "popped" at speed you would have lost control and quite probable crashed with terrible consequences. I would talk to the garage with that in mind.
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While the garage seems to be the issue here - its important to monitor tyres yourself too. I often park on full lock so that I can observe the full tread circumference at the front and my eyes are always on the rears as I walk towards the car.
Surprising what you pick up visually, just from an overview like this - deep seated stones, nails and screws... had you been doing this, the wear trend would have been visible before the vehicle became a risk.
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