I suppose if someone buys a car without researching tyre prices then such things will happen, its quite amazing how many people haven't a clue what servicing and consumables prices they will face when they sign up fort their new car.

I'd beg to differ about astronomical tyre prices, i think that if bought well tyres are cheaper now than they have ever been (thanks to the internet), example my sons new to him BMW 325 estate sits on 225/45 x 17 runflats, checking Tyreleader shows that Pirelli/Continental and similar quality make runflats can be sourced at £70/80 each.

Bought from the dealer in desperation when the car fails the MOT due to wear, or presumably after damage ref the merc above, i have no doubt prices like those would not apply.

I was today talking to a gentleman who'd just had to buy two new tyres and alloys for his Mercedes C-Class. The tyres are low profile Continentals. Total cost was £1500. The tyres were £450 each! Jaw dropping!

And if he accepted their quote without bargaining, he's a fool.

And if he ordered them without a quote he's a bigger fool.

Seems he has money to burn.

Sorry for being gratuitously outspoken.

My general rule is: never buy tyres through a car dealership - they have (almost always) absolutely no interest in getting the best price, often using a tyre fitter round the corner to do all the work and charging full whack for the privilege.

Obviously if there's going to be a problem getting a car through its MOT due to (say) a damaged-beyond-repair tyre (not badly worn - we owners should've noticed that and done something about it ages ago), then I would ask the dealer if it can be got through the MOT with a temporary fix (enough so you can drive to a reputable tyre dealer), including using the space-saver tyre (not sure if that's legal or not, or if it then has to be retested after the tyre has been properly replaced within X days to prove it has been).

As has been said, there's lots of deals to be had these days.

What's. The mark up oñ tyres? Possible profit on say 4dunlops.

Don't see many tyre places going under

"Well, if you were still recovering from a serious illness from which recovery would never be back to normal, your wife had died earlier this year and your dog, your only connection with your wife, had just died, you'd probably have a different mindset. I know this guy, as stated earlier, he is NOT lazy or dumb."

Trilogy, the OP, has asked me to close this thread.

Clearly it pays to shop around - even better to choose a car where there is at least the option of specifying more sensible wheels and tyres. But there was never any need to be rude about Trilogy's friend, who had things on his mind other than trying to get the best price for his tyres.