I recently purchased a 2022 Renault Megane Trophy from a dealer as a demo/used car that had 9000km on it. When I inspected the car it had the original Bridgestone Potenza tyres fitted front and back.
When I returned to pick up the car a few days later the dealer had replaced the front tyres with a cheap set of Chinese made tyres that have many bad reviews on line. When I questioned the dealer they claimed that they were trying to look after me and that they replace any tyres that don’t have a minimum of 3mm of tread left.
My question is are they able to do this ? I would have happily paid the difference between the cheap set and a good quality brand if they had of mentioned it to me. It’s soured my experience with this dealer or is this common place these days?
This situation raises a few questions. The first of which is how a car with just 9000km showing needs new front tyres. I know the Megane is a powerful front-wheel-drive car and will, therefore, be potentially very hard on front tyres, but 9000km? Surely it must have been driven hard in its previous life to chew through a set of tyres in such a short distance. I’m smelling a car that has been used for track days and, therefore, driven hard.
The other thing is that a performance car like this will absolutely live or die on the quality of the tyres under it. Putting cheap tyres on it will seriously compromise its performance and even potentially its safety in an emergency.
But it’s not too late to make things right. Tell the dealer that you’re prepared to pay the difference between the cheap tyres and the Potenzas the car should have and see if they’ll play ball. I know it would have been nice if this had all been explained to you before you signed on the dotted line, but some dealers (like some business people in any industry) will do everything they can to save themselves a few bucks. In this case, though, the result is a potentially compromised car in your driveway.
If the dealer won’t play, and you still want to buy the car, take it straight to a tyre shop and have a performance tyre fitted. But don’t forget that some of the Chinese tyres on the market now are far from as bad as people think. While you’re at the tyre shop, ask for a professional opinion on the tyres the car was supplied with.
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