Bit miffed

[Big Gordy]

I took delivery of a 2017 GLC coupe on 1st February from a dealer in Blackpool. I viewed the car online, bought it and it was delivered to my door in Scotland. I paid almost £30,000 for it. I love the car but I did say to the salesman I hope it has good tyres as I’ve been caught out before with I car I bought had 1 odd tyre on it, from a Mercedes dealer.
My issue is I’ve only done 2100 miles since I bought it as I am retired now and it needs two front tyres.
Opinions please, am I right to be upset or should I just stump up for tyres and say nothing.

 

[mancman]

if the tyres had minimum 3mm tread they wouldn’t have changed them, but at probably 400 to 500 quid for the 2 I would definitely be phoning the dealer for some contribution.

 

[Blobcat]

Problem with the RHD 4-matics is that they scrub the front tyres badly, leading to crabbing. Mercedes fix is all season tyres which can chew up badly on the inside edge.

 

[mioba]

You took delivery of the car in feb, drove 2100 miles and now almost 4 months later are unhappy that the tyres need changing.......

I am at a loss with why you flag this now and expect any contribution from merc.

 

[Big Gordy]

I have already ordered the tyres. I am only asking for opinions guys. I’ve been in touch with the dealer with a courteous email. Either way.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Sorry to say I don’t think the dealer will be interested in footing the bill to change them. It’s a wear and tear item the only leverage you had was to ask at the time of the sale for the tyre tread measurement and negotiate a discount on that. I bought a 14 plate BMW 3 years ago with 5k miles on it and even though the tyres had 7mm of tread on them the they had gone hard so had to be binned - the dealer showed no interest whatsoever so if you get a response even a negative one you are doing well.

 

[Crispian]

Have you had to put fuel in it also?

 

[peterws1957]

If it came from a certain dealer in Blackpool, I'd be thankful it came with four tyres. I harp on about it, I know, but I still find it difficult to believe that people send tens of thousands to a company for a car they haven't seen. Especially a company in Blackpool.

 

[s5tuart]

I had my supplying dealer stump up for four new tyres when I discovered that the Pirelli's on mine were perishing and cracking, mainly on the inside.
if it's from a MB dealer then I would expect the car to be roadworthy for the full years warranty, depending on mileage of course.

 

[Ron240]

As Malcolm said you should have asked for the tread depth remaining on all 4 tyres, then double checked when the car arrived.
It seems like you did neither, so unfortunately I dont think you have any come back on this occasion.
I understand the recent trend for buying cars online, but I would never buy a car that I hadn't seen and looked over at the dealers premises first.
I am assuming your car was surely delivered on a trailer and not driven the 200 miles or so. The latter would be absolutely horrific to me!

Tyre wear in general can vary massively depending on many factors. One of my recent cars wore its front tyres evenly at the minimum rate of 1mm per 1000 miles when driven gently.

 

[Big Gordy]

Have you had to put fuel in it also?

Tad sarcastic lol

 

[Big Gordy]

As Malcolm said you should have asked for the tread depth remaining on all 4 tyres, then double checked when the car arrived.
It seems like you did neither, so unfortunately I dont think you have any come back on this occasion.
I understand the recent trend for buying cars online, but I would never buy a car that I hadn't seen and looked over at the dealers premises first.
I am assuming your car was surely delivered on a trailer and not driven the 200 miles or so. The latter would be absolutely horrific to me!

Tyre wear in general can vary massively depending on many factors. One of my recent cars wore its front tyres evenly at the minimum rate of 1mm per 1000 miles when driven gently.

Delivery on trailer

 

[Ron240]

You are happy with the car otherwise so I think you just need to put this one down to experience.
It will be interesting to hear the response you get from the dealer.

 

[Big Gordy]

As Malcolm said you should have asked for the tread depth remaining on all 4 tyres, then double checked when the car arrived.
It seems like you did neither, so unfortunately I dont think you have any come back on this occasion.
I understand the recent trend for buying cars online, but I would never buy a car that I hadn't seen and looked over at the dealers premises first.
I am assuming your car was surely delivered on a trailer and not driven the 200 miles or so. The latter would be absolutely horrific to me!

Tyre wear in general can vary massively depending on many factors. One of my recent cars wore its front tyres evenly at the minimum rate of 1mm per 1000 miles when driven gently.

Delivery

You are happy with the car otherwise so I think you just need to put this one down to experience.
It will be interesting to hear the response you get from the dealer.

So far they are ignoring me pal. Which is annoying me more than the tyres lol. My new ones are in my garage waiting to be fitted over the weekend £220 delivered for two

 

[Ron240]

So far they are ignoring me pal. Which is annoying me more than the tyres lol. My new ones are in my garage waiting to be fitted over the weekend £220 delivered for two

Unfortunately this doesnt surprise me, because being so far away they will know they are highly unlikely to get any repeat custom from you so will probably not feel the need to offer any goodwill. It is nice to be nice though and you have after all just given them almost £30k, so they should at the very least send a reply to your email.
Enjoy your car with its nice new tyres.

 

[DSK]

I would also say due to the overall circumstances, this one is on you (and I'm seriously against dealers/con artists/poor ethics). You should have inspected the tyres upon delivery to ensure they were to your satisfaction.

Tyres are a highly consumable item with wear rates impacted by several factors (e.g. pressures, temperatures, age, driving styles, alignment etc). Also due to the time its been since delivery, on such an item you're really on you're own. Further more, one mans definition of good is not the same as another's. Its little to wear tyres on heavy heavy, pokey cars and also factor in how easily stuff gets mis-aligned due to our roads, people's care about pressures, varying driving styles.

For example 'good tyres' on a used car for purchase to me means, 50%+ of useable tread, all 4 tyres matching, of at least a mid-range or premium brand.

 

[s5tuart]

Against popular opinion I'm with @Big Gordy on this and believe that on a car of that cost and remote buying, that the tyres should be replaced at the dealer cost. It's only done 2100 miles since delivery 3 months ago for goodness sake and even adding a couple of track days wouldn't wear the tyres that much.
Having a car delivered isn't the same as having all day at a dealership inspecting the car, and you would certainly have a very grumpy delivery driver having to wait around for one to conduct a thorough inspection.
Online buying might even have its own consumer protection. It's worth checking although in fairness over 3 months is a long time for BG to have noticed.

 

[jp williams]

Delivery

So far they are ignoring me pal. Which is annoying me more than the tyres lol. My new ones are in my garage waiting to be fitted over the weekend £220 delivered for two

Name and shame them on Social Media, but stick to the facts and do not attempt to libel them.