I bought my '06 Lancer last March with 14,00 miles on it from a dealer here in Milwaukee. It came with a 60,000/5 year manufacturers warranty so I was thrilled that I wouldn’t have to worry about making large financial investments to fix anything for a while. Over the following winter I quickly noticed the tires were completely shot (a severe safety hazard). Being in Wisconsin, we’ve got 6 months of winter and after saving to make this initial investment in a new car I found myself facing having to save more to buy 4 new tires after only 25,000 miles. My fiance said it’s unreal that I would need to replace them so quickly, but he too noted the terrible condition they were in (as did the automotive center). It’s as if the dealer put old tires on my car prior to purchase, does this violate their safety check process? Are they required to perform one prior to selling the car? I’ve had several problems with the dealership and I feel like they took advantage of me because I am a girl and don’t know as much about cars in general. I had to spend $600 just to make my car safe again. Any idea if I can hold the dealership responsible for any of this? Really disappointed with them and kind of embarrassed I even went to them.
Some tires that come on cars as “original equipment” are pretty good, but mostly they do not wear very well. I replaced the factory tires on my '03 Civic at 24,000 miles. The next set were Michelin and are still going at 81K miles, but they are due for replacement soon.
Hopefully your new tires will last longer. In Milwaukee you really should consider true “snow” tires for the winter. I bought extra wheels and have mounted snows so all I need to do is bolt on the snows for the winter. This will spread out some of your tire wear, and will be much safer for winter driving. The “all season” tires you have now are not nearly as good as snow tires in snow and ice conditions.
Hopefully your new tires will last longer. In Milwaukee you really should consider true “snow” tires for the winter
Milwaukee doesn’t get enough snow to warrant snow tires. Any good all season tire is fine. We get a lot more snow here in NH and wife never had a problem with all-season tires on her Accords or now her Lexus. If the car was rwd then I’d agree with getting snow tires.
I purchased a good set of Michelin all season tires, the last set were Goodyear and even the techs who installed the new tires said that even the most basic Goodyear tire should last longer than 25k miles.
By the way, thanks for the quick replies! I’m really looking for the answer to the question of ‘can I hold the dealership responsible because of the safety hazzard it caused?’ or, is it a buyer beware/I should’ve known better situation?
I’m writting a letter to them of the issues I’ve experienced with their company/service since purchase (unfulfilled ‘if you buy this car we’ll do this’ agreements among a list of others) and I want to know if it’s something I should include.
I concur on snow tires.
However winter tires have superior traction on ANY winter condition vs a snow or all-season tire. 2" of the right winter slop can be more dangerous than 10" of snow. Winter tires are proven to stop in about 1/2- 2/3 the distance of all-season equipped cars on difficult conditions(sheer ice). They also maintain traction laterally.
So amount of snow is irreverent to the need of winter tires. In the end it is all a choice on personal safety in the winter conditions(limited times) vs the economics.
Tires wear on many aspects including the actual tread design, owner maintenance, driving style and vehicle condition.
During that period did you ever rotate them?
Another key factor is your used vehicle may have been out of proper alignment(possibly from factory) and worn the tires in a rapid fashion.
25k is a bit more rapid than usual even for OEM but what brand/model are installed. Tire life varies greatly on type installed on car.
As UncleTurbo noted, it is very often the case that OE tires do not last very long. They’re often sort of like those ink cartridges that come with a new ink jet printer - they work fine, but don’t have much ink in them.
There is no way that you’re going to get anyone that matters to say that worn tires at 25K is somehow a problem of the dealer’s. It is pretty common and all warranties explicitly exclude normal wear & tear items - like tires. I.e. the 5yr/60K has nothing to do with tires.
You could ask whether or not those specific tires came with any kind of a tread life warranty (which I doubt). Then if you can show that the recommended rotation schedule was followed you might get some kind of a prorated discount on a new set - but you’d find that by the time you were done messing around with it the prorated value wasn’t worth the trouble.
When you picked the car up from the dealer, were they the same tires that were on the car when you took it for a test drive? It is hard to imagine a dealer doing a tire switch, but anything is possible. If they did switch the tires you may have legit complaint. The issue is how can you document the switch at this point?
My guess is the tires were not switched. When you picked up the car with 14K miles the tires would have been about 50 to 60% of tread remaining and probably looked pretty good. They just didn’t last. Since you drove the car another 10K miles the tires must have had some life left in them. Were they a hazard from day 1 when you picked up the car? Did you complain about the tires immediately upon getting the car? If no, then I don’t see you have much against the dealer on the tires. Your other issues may be perfectly valid, but not the tires.
What’s A Lancer? The Only Thing That Comes Up On A Search Is a Mitsubishi(?)
You’ll have to excuse me, I’m trying to learn. My closest Mitsubishi dealer is 176 miles away, if that’s what this car is. Wasn’t a Lancer made by / imported by Dodge or Plymouth? I think they made the “Zero” airplane for the other side during WWII.
That’s true. She probably doesn’t need snow tires. However, IMHO, she could benefit from winter tires.
On snow tires. Definately a personal choice. I lived in Traverse City, MI for 5 years and traveled in the UP of Mich on business. Snow fall is a matter of where you live and can vary widely. One thing is a constant. IT IS COLD!
Your new tires are a good choice for longevity. Watch tire pressures, and rotate them every 10K miles and you should expect 50K+ miles from the Michelin’s. One reason Michelin tires last is they use a “hard rubber” compound when they make the tires. Hard rubber, gets even harder in cold, very cold weather. Snow tires are made with softer rubber so they get better traction on dry roads, icy roads, and snowy roads than the Michelin you now have.
I look at snow tires as “insurance”. An accident is expensive (pay the deductable) and a time consuming headache. If snow tires keep me out of the body shop one time they pay for themselves. If you have a job (ie nurse) where you have to report to work in bad weather snows can be important.
I concur on snow tires.
Places like Milwaukee that doesn’t get much snow about 95% of the time you’ll be driving on dry pavement. All-season tires are far superior and far safer on these driving conditions then snow tires. And when you do get the occasional snow storm…the all-season will easily get you around. Sure you can’t go as fast and possibly corner as fast or stop as fast in snow tires…but if you slow down and pay a little more attention there won’t be a problem. In conclusion it’s SAFER for places like NH and Milwaukee to drive on All-Season tires during the winter then it is to drive on snow tires. Now places where my sister and her family live…
http://www.syracuse.com/weather/snow/stories/gramza-tughill.html
Snow tires are necessary.
You mix up snow vs winter tires but I don’t think you will understand the difference.
Yeah, past versions of this car were sold as the Dodge Colt and Eagle Summit.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries manufactured the A5M “Zero” fighter. One of my friend’s grandfather will not let a Mitsubishi in his driveway because he says that he doesn’t want to be that close to anything that was made by the company that shot at him.
Thanks For Enlightening Me!
Many vets from WWII have befriended guys who shot at them. To each his own.
Your driving style contributes a great deal to a tires life span.
Around town driving is much more conducive to tire wear. improper inflation is another one.
There is no conspiracy going on here; the dealer did not install old tires on your car. You’re coming across as paranoid and trying to lay the blame off on someone else for something that could possibly be your fault.
I won’t ask if you drive the car hard (no one does that) but would ask how many times you rotated the tires in that 25,000 miles.
Open the glove box. Remove owners manual. Turn to maintenance section. What does it say about tire rotation? Did you follow that recommendation; or even read the owners manual?
My daughter in law ran the tires off their new Dodge Caliber in less than 25k miles due to hard driving and not rotating the tires and she was also upset and looking for a guilty party.
You should also be aware that you did not buy a “new car”. It had 14,00(?) miles on it so this more than likely makes it a demo or a lease car (and a well used one at that) so this makes it a used car. Alignment out due to a curb strike or collision could also affect tire wear.
Also be aware that tires and batteries are covered under a separate warranty and are not covered by a 5 year/60k miles warranty.
I am curious about the mileage on the car though. 1400 or 14000?
As was noted, and baring some kinda miracle, the warranty doesn’t cover tires.
25k is about normal for the tires that come from the factory.
go to tirerack.com and look for better tires for your vehicle
Actually most OEM tires have their own warranty from the tire manufacturer. You should have some warranty coverage left after only 25,000 miles. Check your glove box for tire warranty info. One thing that you will be asked to prove is that you have kept up with basic maintenance such as tire rotations.