Tyre Damage - who decides how much is too much?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Sun 23 Sep 2007 17:30
Tyre Damage - who decides how much is too much? - Nsar
Just been to local tyre place to get a slow puncture repaired. My car was parked up for two days at the station and I got back very late and v tired and drove off and noticed it was a bit funny so pulled into a petrol station about two miles down the road and filled the tyre with air. It was one of the digital pumps which said I had something like 6lbs in.

Anyway. tyre guy takes the tyre off and shows me some scuffing inside the tyre wall caused by running on next to flat.

I am inclined to err on the side of caution on tyres, even though it looked very little damage to my layman's eye, so I had him put a new one on, but what if I had said no- please repair it and re-fit?

Is he obliged to refuse?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 18:02
Tyre Damage - who decides how much is too much? - bell boy
Of course he is
If he showed you a mark and some rubber dust inside the tyre casing then the sidewalls are indeed damaged and the tyre should never ever be reused
Its so easy these days to look at a tyre that looks pumped up but is indeed flat,power steering dont help of course to let you know and indeed some cars dont even pull with a very flat tyre on only one side
Progress eh phweee...........
PS that man may have saverd yor life :-)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 23 Sep 2007 18:05
Tyre Damage - who decides how much is too much? - spikeyhead {p}
He'll make some profit changing the tyre, but sidewall's are not that heavily reinforced, lack of air pressure means that the sidewall is getting squashed between the road and the rim.

A few miles with 6 PSI and I'd want to change the tyre without an inspection. X-Ray could be used to determine just how damaged the tyre is but would probably cost more than a budget tyre.

I've got no idea if he's actually obliged to refit it if you insist but I suspect that his insurance company wouldn't be happy.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 24 Sep 2007 11:10
Tyre Damage - who decides how much is too much? - Gromit {P}
You'll find that any chain/franchise will instruct their fitters that, if they have any doubt about the condition of the tyre, they should refuse to repair it.

This isn't done just to sell you a new tyre. A fitter is no more able than you are to detect damage "by eye", only he is perhaps better informed than the average customer about the nature and risk posed by the damage done to the tyre. If he repaired the tyre, and then the repair failed, you can be sure 99 customers in every 100 would attempt to sue the tyre seller, so they'll err well on the side of caution.

Any wise independent would be equally cautious, as he's equally open to being sued were the worst to happen.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From choosing the right tyre to what to do when it goes wrong - we have the answers.

Tyre News And Advice