Buyer Beware

[BigChange]

Idly gazing at my car's rear from a lower elevation I noticed that the rear tyre treads were different.  Closer inspection showed that the tyres were the same spec but not matched - Dunlop and Yokahama (front also Yokahama).  Further surprise when tyre shop told me that the Dunlop was the more worn. Car was bought 1 year old used from Lexus and unfortunately I have only noticed this after 5 months.  Don't usually pay too much attention to tyres other than pressures.   When told, the Lexus garage (Canterbury) was as "surprised" as me.

Not what I would expect from a Lexus dealership (or any reputable dealership) and just shows - you can never be too careful and you are never too old to learn!. 

[200h]

when i bought my 1st lexus a CT200h from lexus liverpool i was surprised they sold me the car

with the tyres only having 1.4mm of useable tread,to be honest i didn't check them schoolboy error

, i didnt feel i would have to with buying a lexus from a main dealer,30 days later

i spent £520 on a new set.

 

[rayaans]

Lexus dealers should only be selling cars with more than 5mm on the tyres. 

However, don't see what the OPs gripe is if the spec is the same? Car could easily have had a puncture and tyre been replaced. 

The extra wear could be due to softer compound on the dunlop? Or it could be due to the previous owner putting a part worn tyre on to save money. It's not something Lexus dealers need to check as long as tread is legal

I wouldn't worry about it. My wife's IS has 3 Bridgestone turanza and 1 Bridgestone potenza, I'd assume because it had a puncture.

Honestly though, just check the handout sheet that came with the car to see tyre tread at that time 

[Martin F]

For best performance the tyres on each axle should be matched.

 

 

[rayaans]

7 minutes ago, Martin F said:

For best performance the tyres on each axle should be matched.

 

 

Agreed but it's not something the law requires. Incidentally one may argue that the tyres are all matched anyway based on spec

[PCM]

I changed my tyres anyway when I bought mine...

I like to be driving on a 'known quantity' - the only thing between me and the road!

[Eire Lexus]

The dealer is a business, any dealer I've ever worked at will spend as little as possible on a trade in. The biggest make over will a valet and the person doing this will prob be on or close to minimum wage. They will only service the car if near the service interval interval and will always always do a multi point check. If they find something dangerous they will fix but rarely will they find anything as cars from a top end manufacturers will have a full service history and generally well maintained. The will fix scuffs in bumpers and may do an alloy refurb but no dealer is going to change tyres unless they have to. It is good practice to match tyres but not essential and no law requires this.

[Martin F]

12 hours ago, rayaans said:

Incidentally one may argue that the tyres are all matched anyway based on spec

You could, but you would be wrong

 

 

Edited April 24, 2016 by janey
Edit to be more polite - play nicely please

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, Martin F said:

You could, but you would be wrong

 

 

Might be worth telling the government that so they start failing different brands of tyres on one axle in MOTs

[200h]

i have to agree with rayaans ,as long as the tyre size is correct

the load index & speed rating is equal or of a higher rating

then the tyre is fit for purpose.

i suppose the mot could change to ensure that both tyres on

the same axel have the same wet braking performance.

[wh05apk]

A Chinese "ditch finder " and a top brand will have the same specs but will have totally different handling characteristics,  surely having different tyres will have an impact on handling? 

[rayaans]

24 minutes ago, wh05apk said:

A Chinese "ditch finder " and a top brand will have the same specs but will have totally different handling characteristics,  surely having different tyres will have an impact on handling? 

I doubt it would have enough of an impact tbh. There will still be 3 tyres on the car which would counteract effects of the ditch finder.

However, its got a Dunlop on which is hardly a ditchfinder. In fact I'd assume the Dunlop is actually a better tyre than the Yokohama anyway so they've essentially done OP a huge favour :P

[Martin F]

18 hours ago, rayaans said:

Agreed but it's not something the law requires. Incidentally one may argue that the tyres are all matched anyway based on spec

 

7 hours ago, rayaans said:

Might be worth telling the government that so they start failing different brands of tyres on one axle in MOTs

So are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me?

Having different brand tyres on an axle doesn't necessarily mean the car is unsafe(which is the predominant reasons for an MOT) but it does mean you're unlikely to get the best performance from the car. The spec of a tyre extends a lot further than just the size, speed and load rating. 

Ask yourself why you never see race teams with different OEM tyres on their cars.

 

 

 

 

[rayaans]

37 minutes ago, Martin F said:

 

So are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me?

Having different brand tyres on an axle doesn't necessarily mean the car is unsafe(which is the predominant reasons for an MOT) but it does mean you're unlikely to get the best performance from the car. The spec of a tyre extends a lot further than just the size, speed and load rating. 

Ask yourself why you never see race teams with different OEM tyres on their cars.

 

 

 

 

I was agreeing on the basis of performance that it does reduce performance if tyres are different on each axle. However I don't know how much of an impact it will have on performance.  I guess the only way to test would be to test maximum G round corners on a track. 

Practically speaking though, it probably won't make the car unsafe or noticeably lose any performance on the road

 

[ColinBarber]

Mixing tyres isn't idea but is legal (provided they are the same size) and with the advent of features such as wheel independent ABS and stability control there really isn't a safety issue.

Not sure a generalist statement about Yokohama and Dunlop is useful. Plenty of Yoko tyres outperform Dunlop and vice versa, both are tier 1 manufacturers. Mixing tyres however lowers your performance to the lowest common denominator, if one is, relatively, poor in wet weather and the other poor with cornering you now have a car with both poor wet weather and cornering performance.

 

Lexus used car quality used to be far greater than it is today. Back in 2000 just a few stone chips would mean a full bonnet respray, wheels where almost always refurbished and tyres needed 5mm+ tread on them to pass the independent RAC inspection that Lexus put in place. Today none of that exists and as a buyer you need to negotiate everything yourself.

[200h]

unless you are going to be a total arse i doubt you would notice the difference

between two brands of tyres on the same axel ,and dont forget we are 

lexus drivers we are grownup and drive sensibly ,if this imbalance where

to be say on an Audi or Bmw then the outcome may be different

[rayaans]

The Dunlops are generally better in ratings however especially the Bluresponse and Sport maxx RT.

I'm sure the tyre thing still applies. My dealer said they can only sell cars with more than 5mm. They also said stone chips are filled in in layers and a clear coat is applied and then it's wet sanded. 

This is only my dealer though so it could vary between dealers. 

I know that Lexus chester for example only fill the stone chips in with their pens and leave light scratches as they are apart from cleaning them or filling them. My wife's IS had stonechips on the bonnet which were obviously filled in and tar remover took it off. 2 wheels are bubbling too (refurbed wheels) which will be done under warranty

[BigChange]

Thanks for all the helpful comments regarding my mismatched rear tyres.  While I have no doubt that everything was legal I still think Lexus should have said something.  As a reassurance if nothing else. 

[rayaans]

11 minutes ago, BigChange said:

Thanks for all the helpful comments regarding my mismatched rear tyres.  While I have no doubt that everything was legal I still think Lexus should have said something.  As a reassurance if nothing else. 

Did you not get a handout sheet with a visual report that hasbeen carried out? It would clearly have stated the tyres on the car on there.