Difficult to tell from that photo. I worked on it a bit, and the tires do appear not good. But that could be an artifact of the photo.
The tires certainly look worn, but I’m not sure I’d call them “bald”
The service writer may have been exaggerating for effect. Simpler than explaining wear bars. Or thread depth in 32nds.
Next time ask to see the tires and have them explain why the tires need to be replaced. There are wear bars in the tread to show when it is imperative to replace the tires. At 40,000 miles, OEM tires probably do need to be replaced. While it could have been early, it wasn’t terribly early. It seems to me the problem is that you encountered an unexpected expense, and that is what bothers you. The price was reasonable, depending on the tires, and the time was not that’s bad for oil and tire replacement. If your Tucson has AWD, you should change all four tires at the same time.
Edit: You can buy a tire tread depth gauge for less than $4 and a decent tire pressure gauge for about $7. If you use the pressure gauge every couple of weeks and the depth gauge every couple of months, you won’t be surprised when you need tires again. Maybe the dealership will put air in your tires for free since you get oil changes and bought your tires there.
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If you simply jot-down the letters and numbers on the tire sidewall, along with the brand and model of the tire–which are VERY prominently displayed on the sidewall–and then post that data here, we can tell you whether you were ripped-off, or not.
You can buy a tread depth device for about $5. Then you can measure the tread yourself. They are even color coded with red below 3/32, yellow below 5/32, and green above 5/32.
It seems that you got a good deal. You paid $700 after a $30 discount for the tires and $60 for the wheel alignment and oil change. They took a loss on the oil change and possibly on the alignment.
You should allow more time for the additional work, if you didn’t have time to wait you could have rescheduled to work for a different day.
It usually takes at least 30 minutes for a job to be dispatched, the vehicle pulled into the shop, inspected and an estimate started. Then 10 minutes for the parts department to provide the tire prices and another 15 minutes for the service adviser to find time to speak to the customer.
After the work is approved the technician will have to wait 20 minutes for the parts department to pull the tires from the warehouse and record the DOT numbers from the tires.
There are a limited number of tire machines in the shop and the tech may have to wait for two other sets of tires to be mounted before his turn with the tire mounting equipment and balancer. The same goes for the alignment rack, he may have to wait 45 minutes for the alignment rack to be available.
These pictures illustrates what the vehicle owners see, only the outside edge of the tire. A thorough examination must be made to judge the condition of the tire. In the blow-up picture Bill provided the tire looks dry rotted, not unusual after 7 years.
Here is a common example of what goes unnoticed by customers and sometimes they reject the advice they they need new tires;
Maybe yes, maybe no.
When my massage therapist needed new tires, she bought the Runway Enduro tires that were being hawked by her Toyota dealership. Those made- in-China tires are garbage, but I haven’t yet had the nerve to point out to her that her Toyota dealership sold garbage tires to her.
Until the OP ventures outside to copy-down the letters, numbers, and words that are embossed on the sidewall of his tires, we will have no idea whether he paid a decent price, was ripped-off, or…perhaps… just paid a bit more than was absolutely necessary, in the name of convenience.
Hopefully the OP was comparing like tires on line, if not he/she would have been able to find an odd brand set of tires for $250.
I could not tell enough about the tire(s) from the pic to determine if they’re good or bad. They do appear to be at or near the wear bars though.
I also agree with Nevada_545’s excellent explanation of why things that appear so simple on the surface can take more time than the customer assumes it does.
However, I’ve worked for a few dealers where it seems the service and parts department are operating in separate universes. This is not only exasperating for the customers but doubly exasperating for the mechanics who are working on flat rate and want the parts NOW; not in an hour, a day or a week.
Hi All,
Please see the uploaded photo of my current set of tires. I believe the markings say:
“Treadwear 440 Traction A Temperature B”
and
“215/65R16 98T M+S” (?)
Hopefully this is enough to help determine if I had a reasonable deal or not.
Thanks again.
We still need the brand and model.
Also look for the four digit date code. It may be on the inside sidewall. That will tell you when the tire was manufactured. Just to be sure the dealer isn’t selling you a several year old tire.
Okay, just ventured out again; here’s what I got:
Ironman Radial RB12
DOT YCMK HPCR 2017
Those look like $90-100 tires. Tire rack doesn’t seem to carry that brand, not a good sign.
The 2017 seems to be the manufacture code, week 20 of year 2017.
The T is probably the speed rating, 118 MPH
Ironman tires are an inexpensive alternative that our used car department installs on some used cars, we never offer them for retail sale.
Those tires can be found on line for $300 a set plus mounting and balancing, I don’t understand how you came up with $725.
You should have asked which tire brands that they offer, you could have got a better tire. We stock Bridgestone, Michelin, Dunlop, Yokohama, Goodyear and Firestone and we are not a tire store.
According to Tire Rack, those are the WRONG size for your Tucson - what does the sticker say that has your tire pressure information? Tire Rack lists 235/60 x 16 as the correct size for your vehicle. Please check, these tires may not have the load capacity you need.
Edit - you’re OK if you have the GLS. I selected the SE.
The 2007 Tucson GLS 2WD uses P215/65R16, Which sub-model is this vehicle?
According to my VIN number (I had to decode it online), I have the Hyudai Tucson GLS 2WD.
