Tires swap out, do BMW dealership do things like this?

[markbsimon]

My wife bought a used BMW 320 from BMW in Cape Town about a year or so ago. When she chose the car I was with her and we checked the car over all was great except for a scratch on the one side that they promised to polish out.
When we arrived to collect the car a few days later, we were delayed and one of the guys said something about something needing to be changed on the car. We waited but didn't think much of it as I had inspected car and including the wheels and all the tires where very good a few days before.
The excitement was high and we where just to happy to finally get her new ride and drive away. But about three months later one of our friends noted that the one tire was badly worn. I looked and the tire which was was most definitely more worn than all the other tires. I went and had the alignment checked on suggestion of the dealership and it was perfect.

Well it is now months later but we haven't even done 2000km on the car yet and it most obvious that the three other tires are all still perfect but that BMW had swapped out one of our good tires for one that had to have already been very worn the day we collected our car.

Is it the policy of BMW dealerships to swap out good tires for bad like this? And do they not replace tires with new when finding a faulty or flat tire in the second hand stock? Because we are feeling exceptionally done in on this tire!!
This model doesn't even have a spare to swap out with (Bridgstone Turanza ER300 205 x 55 x 16) I presume they are run-flat as there is no spare or spare wheel cavity??)
Does anyone have any influence at the BMW dealership? to let them know of this?
Do BMW dealerships swap out tires like this so that showroom floor stock have the best tires just for show and send you home with others. Because if it is done on purpose it is very bad form!!

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

You don't have much of a leg to stand on, as you should have checked and inspected again on delivery, also you left it too long before putting in a complaint.

 

[Pho3niX90]

Yeah 3 months after there is no way they will help you out.

I have had worn tires after a 1000km, was a dud tire.

SO what I am trying to say is that they wouldn't again anything switching A tire, you just have a dud, just go fit new ones.

 

[markbsimon]

You don't have much of a leg to stand on, as you should have checked and inspected again on delivery, also you left it too long before putting in a complaint.

You are correct from a legal stand point I don't. But morally this sort of behaviour is just not acceptable.

If you have ever been conned you generally always realise it far to late. That is the nature of the act. The person doing the bad deed has all the time to plan and manipulate the situation to their advantage. While you don't stand a chance unless you have experience in the process. Well we did everything we could with our knowledge. We checked the car thoroughly befor signing all that had to be done was roadworthy which it past. But on the day we received it all that was on our mind was excitement and joy we had already past the check the deal out stage and the car had made it through roadworthy. So it must off had good tires for that? No the tire was definitely changed after we had signed for the car and after roadworthy just before we collected it. You cannot ware a tire through to canvas with normal ware in 2000 km

 

[moranor@axis]

are you 100% sure it was not like that when you 1st looked at the car? easy to miss one tire unless you made a point of checking them all...

completely agree it is a dirty trick if they did swap out after

 

[markbsimon]

are you 100% sure it was not like that when you 1st looked at the car? easy to miss one tire unless you made a point of checking them all...

completely agree it is a dirty trick if they did swap out after

I made a point of checking each tire with coin for tread depth. That is why never bother to look again for a few months.
The car would most definately not made it through Roadworthy with a tire that worn either. And no matter what anyone says about faulty tires a tire does not chew through tread that quickly even if it is faulty. This is serious mileage ware and tare. And we haven't done milage with the car since we bought it. It drops kids of at school each morning and goes to the shops once a week.

 

[moranor@axis]

I would complain and let them know you very unhappy about this even if it leads to nothing from their side...

 

[markbsimon]

Yeah 3 months after there is no way they will help you out.

I have had worn tires after a 1000km, was a dud tire.

SO what I am trying to say is that they wouldn't again anything switching A tire, you just have a dud, just go fit new ones.

How can you say they wouldn't gain anything?
They gain a good tire.
...And even if I hadn't checked the tires carefully before we signed, which I did, the car passed roadworthy how would you explain that if it had an almost bald tire on? It wouldn't have passed with the tire I have on the car, and no amount of talk about faulty tires can explain a tire waring bald from very good, which the other tires still are, to bald within three months. My wife probably covered less than 500km in those first three months all at low speed (less than 60km/h) and perfect alignment.

No the only logical conclusion is someone has swapped out that wheel since it was inspected by me on the day we signed for the car and also since the roadworthy was done, and I know that neither my wife or I have swapped out the tires so the only time it could have been done was on the morning we arrived to collect the car and where made to wait while they "replaced something".

If it is their policy to swap tires, even just to get the car through roadworthy, then they are obliged to leave good tires on the car that it cleared roadworthy with by law.
But as you all say correctly I don't have a leg to stand on and you are correct but it does not make it right!
I am also not saying it is their policy to do so, it just might be someone making the decision for his own reasons in their workshop, but eitherway it is wrong!

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I would complain and let them know you very unhappy about this even if it leads to nothing from their side...

I did actually phone them when I noticed the bad tire, just before I had the alignment done.

The manager I spoke to, I presume he was one anyway, said exactly the same thing that I should have inspected the car before driving away.

In fact his first answer was that that bad alignment could have caused it to ware and that I should have it checked. He stated how could they be sure that I hadn't swapped the tire myself, and that is why there is nothing they could do to help me.

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Actually when I first made this post this morning I didn't intend it to become a BMW Dealership bashing, as I was genuinly just going to ask if anyone knows where I can buy a new tire to replace this one and we cannot drive the car like this.

The prices I have been offered are crazy just for a tire and and we are not in a position to afford this expenditure right now as I have place all my time and money into a business venture that has yet to launch commercially. So we are running on a tight monthly budget that just didn't foresee buying new tires for a while.

...but soon after I began writing this post I began thinking about it and the more I thought about it the more I felt that it was plain unfair and just wrong what was done to us! ... and just maybe being shirked off with a "the onice was on you to have checked the car before driving away" just isn't good enough for an established business representing a Brand that I am passionate about!

But seriously if you do know where I can come right with good price or with a contact at BMW willing to look at it with an open mind, please let me know.

 

[Pho3niX90]

They cant gain anything from swapping 1 tire. And if you can prove that it was swapped then your good to go. Are the 2 tires same brand

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

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Please dont take my posts as an attack on you. Just trying to understand everything, if I were in your position I would have been flaming. But I do understand where the dealers are coming from, thwre are lots of guys that try and milk them

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[moranor@axis]

the thing is you do get people that try their luck with dealers they have no way of knowing if your story it true... however if they want to play hard ball i would make sure to go as high up as possible... from your point of view you can see what happened...

get in contact with the dealer principal chances are he does not know about this...