Fun one with Halfords auto centre and an MOT
Discussion
Hello! I had the Panda MOT'd today - pass! Hooray for next to nothing motoring and another year of this little belter of a car.
Having had the MOT completed by a local Halfords auto centre, I was expecting a bit more 'caution' to be applied to the advisories and the usual bit of fishing for jobs.
On the list were two rear tyres. No biggie - they've probably done 12k - but when looking a bit closer at the health report they also provide, I was surprised to see that they had measured them at 3mm (22% 'left') and was strongly advised to change them immediately as they posed a "safety risk" (see image below). The real kicker though was that the front measurements were indicating only 84% remaining tread... a shocker given that i'd driven the car a whole 2 miles since the very same centre fitted two brand new front tyres the previous week (kindly providing me with mileage readouts to prove this). When I pointed this out the silliness of all of this to the guy on reception he gave a shrug and a 'that's just what the readings said'.
Would Halfords head office be interested in this? They either have to admit that they sold me two tyres that have a lifespan of 10 miles, or that their MOT centres are lying about the results of safety checks in order to generate more business.
They whole way they use MOTs as a way to scare people who simply aren't aware of the scams these companies are trying to pull off (and the needless waste they create!) makes my blood boil. You shouldn't have to know anything about cars - like the vast majority of the population don't - to not have national businesses try and pull a fast one on you every time you ask them to carry out a legally-binding service. My mum would have left the place with 2x new tyres today if she'd been in this situation and 000's of miles worth of rubber would have been wasted.
"safety risk":
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/g3w7Ud1i[/url]
Having had the MOT completed by a local Halfords auto centre, I was expecting a bit more 'caution' to be applied to the advisories and the usual bit of fishing for jobs.
On the list were two rear tyres. No biggie - they've probably done 12k - but when looking a bit closer at the health report they also provide, I was surprised to see that they had measured them at 3mm (22% 'left') and was strongly advised to change them immediately as they posed a "safety risk" (see image below). The real kicker though was that the front measurements were indicating only 84% remaining tread... a shocker given that i'd driven the car a whole 2 miles since the very same centre fitted two brand new front tyres the previous week (kindly providing me with mileage readouts to prove this). When I pointed this out the silliness of all of this to the guy on reception he gave a shrug and a 'that's just what the readings said'.
Would Halfords head office be interested in this? They either have to admit that they sold me two tyres that have a lifespan of 10 miles, or that their MOT centres are lying about the results of safety checks in order to generate more business.
They whole way they use MOTs as a way to scare people who simply aren't aware of the scams these companies are trying to pull off (and the needless waste they create!) makes my blood boil. You shouldn't have to know anything about cars - like the vast majority of the population don't - to not have national businesses try and pull a fast one on you every time you ask them to carry out a legally-binding service. My mum would have left the place with 2x new tyres today if she'd been in this situation and 000's of miles worth of rubber would have been wasted.
"safety risk":
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/g3w7Ud1i[/url]Vsix and Vtec said:
I believe the tyre measurement expressed is 8mm minus the legal limit of 1.6 and then the remain differential expressed as a percentage. That's roughly correct at 15.6% per mm until you hit the legal limit.
..and the old 8mm tread depth rarely holds true now, they’re often 7mm. The Michelin tyres factory fitted on the ID.3 are 5.7mm new.James6112 said:
Serioust mate , ignore troll Sebring440
They should be interested
Raise it for the nuisance value, ripping off customers
Head office are not going to be interested, other than the fact that you have proven that at least one of their centres is actively looking for the upsell. Honestly why do you think these chains get such a hard time for this kind of thing. It's because head office want more and more, you hit a sales target one month, and then next that target is increased. Leading to upsells like this.They should be interested
Raise it for the nuisance value, ripping off customers
pretty sure that not all tyres start with the same amount of tread, so if the measurement is assuming a starting tread of 8mm, when in fact the starting tread of that particular tyre is 7mm, then the measurement will give a reading of 84% tread remaining.
some trackday tyres famously only come with about 5mm of tread from new. the measurement is just using a fixed starting point as a reference.
i'd move on.
EDIT - also, the fact that the measurement has round numbers suggests the measurement isnt very precise... the actual measurement could be 7.4mm of tread remaining on a tyre that originally had 7.5mm tread, but it was rounded down to 7mm, which when compared to the base value of 8mm, gives the percentage number stated.
or some dogsbody took a quick innaccurate measurement, scribbled 7mm down on his pad, and then when he put it in the computer and it did the maths for him, it spat out a number.
seriously, i'd move on.
some trackday tyres famously only come with about 5mm of tread from new. the measurement is just using a fixed starting point as a reference.
i'd move on.
EDIT - also, the fact that the measurement has round numbers suggests the measurement isnt very precise... the actual measurement could be 7.4mm of tread remaining on a tyre that originally had 7.5mm tread, but it was rounded down to 7mm, which when compared to the base value of 8mm, gives the percentage number stated.
or some dogsbody took a quick innaccurate measurement, scribbled 7mm down on his pad, and then when he put it in the computer and it did the maths for him, it spat out a number.
seriously, i'd move on.
Edited by brillomaster on Wednesday 4th October 08:41
BlindedByTheLights said:
And it is advisable to consider replacing tyres at 3mm particularly in winter.
Michelin doesn't think so.https://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/mich...
Mammasaid said:
If you actually read that article it’s alot more complex than just the headline (no surprise).Michelin are confident their tyres work fine at 1.6mm but have proven other tyres lose grip as they get worn.
As an industry standard to cover all tyres, 3mm is a completely sensible depth to recommend replacement.
I think about what the car is used for and who is driving it.
If there's only you driving the car and it's used around town, then wear the tyres out. If other people are driving the car and it's used on more open roads then it needs more caution.
I just replaced all four Michelin CrossClimate tyres on daughter's car at 3mm on the front and probably 4mm on the rear - she lives on a road that's on quite a slope and is exposed, and she does a 30 mile motorway commute on a motorway that's known for having standing water. Anything other than four new tyres was going to be iffy going into winter, and now I can forget about it (for a while).
If there's only you driving the car and it's used around town, then wear the tyres out. If other people are driving the car and it's used on more open roads then it needs more caution.
I just replaced all four Michelin CrossClimate tyres on daughter's car at 3mm on the front and probably 4mm on the rear - she lives on a road that's on quite a slope and is exposed, and she does a 30 mile motorway commute on a motorway that's known for having standing water. Anything other than four new tyres was going to be iffy going into winter, and now I can forget about it (for a while).
brillomaster said:
pretty sure that not all tyres start with the same amount of tread, so if the measurement is assuming a starting tread of 8mm, when in fact the starting tread of that particular tyre is 7mm, then the measurement will give a reading of 84% tread remaining.
Hit the nail on the head there. Either the person inputting the data or their system, most likely the latter, has assumed 8mm from new for tyres which only had 7mm.Some see a scam, others see an error.
Dave Brand said:
brillomaster said:
pretty sure that not all tyres start with the same amount of tread, so if the measurement is assuming a starting tread of 8mm, when in fact the starting tread of that particular tyre is 7mm, then the measurement will give a reading of 84% tread remaining.
Hit the nail on the head there. Either the person inputting the data or their system, most likely the latter, has assumed 8mm from new for tyres which only had 7mm.Some see a scam, others see an error.
I can see how making data easier to interpret is beneficial but the OP is pointing out a clear case where the input data is wrong that leads to an erroneous result and subsequent conclusion.
As for the x% life left argument, a more useful metric would be an estimate miles left but I doubt the latter helps with sales targets. The x% left metric is pretty much irrelevant without knowledge of the wear or consumption rate, if for example there is 20% left on the tyres, for someone who does few miles that could be another year but for a high mileage user it could be a month or less.
This kind of data is only intended for one purpose, to pressure owners into replacing tyres there and then as a panic purchase, exactly the same tactic as double glazing sales and equally despicable.
I think the OP should highlight this, probably through a review as I suspect Halfords would not have this as a top priority.
As for the x% life left argument, a more useful metric would be an estimate miles left but I doubt the latter helps with sales targets. The x% left metric is pretty much irrelevant without knowledge of the wear or consumption rate, if for example there is 20% left on the tyres, for someone who does few miles that could be another year but for a high mileage user it could be a month or less.
This kind of data is only intended for one purpose, to pressure owners into replacing tyres there and then as a panic purchase, exactly the same tactic as double glazing sales and equally despicable.
I think the OP should highlight this, probably through a review as I suspect Halfords would not have this as a top priority.
FMOB said:
As for the x% life left argument, a more useful metric would be an estimate miles left.....
With the best will in the world, that's going to be impossible for a 'garage' to figure out. And it's not helped that tyres do seem to wear faster as they wear down (more than obviously happens due to very minor reduction in circumference).
I suppose 'duty of care' and all that stuff means they've going to err on the side of caution - you can imagine people complaining that they had a blow out / got done for bald tyres yet when the car was serviced / MOT'd 6 mths ago nothing was said.
Sheepshanks said:
FMOB said:
As for the x% life left argument, a more useful metric would be an estimate miles left.....
With the best will in the world, that's going to be impossible for a 'garage' to figure out. And it's not helped that tyres do seem to wear faster as they wear down (more than obviously happens due to very minor reduction in circumference).
I suppose 'duty of care' and all that stuff means they've going to err on the side of caution - you can imagine people complaining that they had a blow out / got done for bald tyres yet when the car was serviced / MOT'd 6 mths ago nothing was said.
FMOB said:
I agree it isn't easy but saying x% left based on incorrect data is just as bad, whatever the data is, it is being used as part of a pressured sales tactic.
I stopped using our local VW dealer partly because they were reporting 4mm tyres as "worn close to the 3mm European legal limit". There's no such thing.Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff