Tyre co. wrecked my IRD – need official proof

[thequeenscheese]

1 - National tyre chains are generally staffed by surly minimum wage teenagers, and the thick kid from your school days who liked to eat crayons is probably the assistant manager. They are "experts" at fitting tyres to wheel rims and nothing more. It is utterly unreasonable to expect them to have an encyclopedic knowledge of every make, model and variant on the roads.

2 - You are not going to find the information you want from Landrover. As mentioned by someone else earlier, you can find a balance of proof in your favour from various aftermarket freelander garages, which will go some way to helping. However, this is a moot point because.....

3 - A year ago? As soon as this occured, you should have sought proper legal advice*, who would probably have told you to have the vehicle inspected by an independant vehicle engineer.

4 - Looking at this from the garages point of view, you knew and had proof that the tyres were the wrong way round, yet you continued to drive the car. That did you no favours.




*Proper legal advice - a lawyer, preferably one experienced in such matters. this would probably have cost you money, but would have been a good investment.
When my teeth hurt, I see a dentist. When my roof leaks, I speak to a builder. When I need legal advice, I speak to a lawyer who knows the facts. Its a simple philosophy that means that when I encounter situations in life that I cant deal with myself, I am guaranteed to get accurate, relevant, timely information rather than a bunch of ramblings from strangers on the internet.

Sorry but yr wrong they are obliged to know what they are doing and fitting as to not damage anyone property they fit tyres to rims but they also remove the rimms and refit them so the should know what is requirdd by every vehicle, they should look up before they do the job if they accept your money they never torgue the nuts but each car will have a different torque setting not a windy gun that will do..!
If I build a wall patio etc and it fails due to me not using an obscure material or method I should be to manufactures specs who's at fault?... exactly me..

 

[EeEk]

Sorry but yr wrong they are obliged to know what they are doing and fitting as to not damage anyone property they fit tyres to rims but they also remove the rimms and refit them so the should know what is requirdd by every vehicle, they should look up before they do the jkb if they do

Id say no...
remove nsf wheel...fit tyre...replace nsf wheel. job done

 

[thequeenscheese]

Dont be ridiclous they fit yres there obliged to know where to fit them

 

[thequeenscheese]

Even tho I dont think the op will win his only chance is luck or they neglable in not knowing there job properly

 

[essexpestcontrol]

Dont be ridiclous they fit yres there obliged to know where to fit them

its irrelevant if they should know or not, when I first purchased two new tyres my fronts needed replacing, I therefore told the tyre fitter (kwik fit) to take fronts off and put the good rears onto the front, then to put the new tyres onto the rear, this he done no problem whilst I stood and watched, he got a £10 tip for his troubles, and I went away happy, a day later after driving it I returned and had new rears put on too, as it drove like a tank, problem solved, great car again,
had I not watched them fit the first lot of tyres to make sure they were fitted how all the books/forums say, it would have been MY FAULT

had I carried on driving that tank for 400 plus miles, it would have been MY FAULT

at no time would I have blamed the tyre fitter or the company he worked for

 

[thequeenscheese]

My point has nothing to do with op's damage but the company fits tyres for a living its their job to know all the information relevant to their job on fairly modern vehicles..

What if the freebie had directional tyres and corner specific tyres? Are they still right to fit any tyre anywhere?
There's a health and safety aspect also..

 

[thequeenscheese]

And as for standing overthem tgeir insurance prob wouldn't allow you on tge shop floor health and saftey again..

 

[fanatic]

So if I read the snippets, the driver did not read the owners manual and the fault appears a year later?

Peeing in the wind comes to mind.

 

[Thor1950]

So if I read the snippets, the driver did not read the owners manual and the fault appears a year later?

Peeing in the wind comes to mind.

Yep grasping for straws, and he got the short one

 

[fanatic]

So the op should read the manual and in defence of tyre co it can be found that op contributed to any failure by failing to read the manual.

 

[essexpestcontrol]

And as for standing overthem tgeir insurance prob wouldn't allow you on tge shop floor health and saftey again..

no, they change tyres whilst you stand outside watching them, its not rocket science

 

[dave21478]

Sorry but yr wrong they are obliged to know what they are doing and fitting as to not damage anyone property they fit tyres to rims but they also remove the rimms and refit them so the should know what is requirdd by every vehicle, they should look up before they do the job if they accept your money they never torgue the nuts but each car will have a different torque setting not a windy gun that will do..!
If I build a wall patio etc and it fails due to me not using an obscure material or method I should be to manufactures specs who's at fault?... exactly me..

No, I am not wrong, and I have many, many years working in the industry to back up what I say.

Seriously - stop and think about it for a minute....how many different models and model variations are there on UK roads? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Do you honestly expect low wage, semi-trained staff to have a good working knowledge of all of them? Remember what I said earlier, they are NOT mechanics.

There is no universal resource where this sort of information is available either. Do you expect them to stop before each job that comes in and spend 15 minutes trawling google and 10-page threads on owners forums full of often conflicting information? Its just not even remotely close to being feasible.

I will tell you where the information is though - in the owners manual. Its the OWNERS responsibility to read their manual and know what their car requires in order to keep it in safe and reliable condition, not some garage employee who may very well never have even sat in that particular type of car before then.

 

[Kittiecatz3]

Well I for one, being a very new freelander owner, was aware of fitting new tyres to the rear axle. This post has been exceptionally helpful for me and when I get my pay out, I'm investing in 4 new tyres instead of 2!

I feel for the guy who originated this thread, however, my personal opinion is that the 400 mile drive without checking the wheels perhaps is a little naive and will certainly not aid the claim being made. It's been dragging on for a year for a reason, me advice would be to close that chapter of the book and move on to another one. Sorry

 

[thequeenscheese]

No, I am not wrong, and I have many, many years working in the industry to back up what I say.

Seriously - stop and think about it for a minute....how many different models and model variations are there on UK roads? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Do you honestly expect low wage, semi-trained staff to have a good working knowledge of all of them? Remember what I said earlier, they are NOT mechanics.

There is no universal resource where this sort of information is available either. Do you expect them to stop before each job that comes in and spend 15 minutes trawling google and 10-page threads on owners forums full of often conflicting information? Its just not even remotely close to being feasible.

I will tell you where the information is though - in the owners manual. Its the OWNERS responsibility to read their manual and know what their car requires in order to keep it in safe and reliable condition, not some garage employee who may very well never have even sat in that particular type of car before then.

You are wrong its not the simpltons that fit the tyres that need to know every in and out its the system/computer they need to check when someone is booked in and it should say what is recommended by landrover as when any other part as bought for a motor vehicle or are you saying we should all go to the main dealers now for a tyre swap cos there the only ones who know? Were not talking jim down the road here were talking one of the main tyre places, no otber business on the planet would say tbe customer whos bringing it to us to do the job tell us whats correct THAT WHY WE TAKE THEM TO A SPECIALIST BECAUSE THEIR SUPPOSED TO KNOW..
By that logic ill build you a house but you tell me where to put the bricks and lintels because i have no clue? Its a business not a diy, or lets go to the dentist for a filling but this vuy has only ever pulled a teeth out before but hey he didnt know any better...
Cm.'on get real.. Garages have all repair manuals and specs on computer(well decent places anyway) its not much to ask that someone like quickfit would have the same even if they had to compile themselves..

 

[thequeenscheese]

Well I for one, being a very new freelander owner, was aware of fitting new tyres to the rear axle. This post has been exceptionally helpful for me and when I get my pay out, I'm investing in 4 new tyres instead of 2!

I feel for the guy who originated this thread, however, my personal opinion is that the 400 mile drive without checking the wheels perhaps is a little naive and will certainly not aid the claim being made. It's been dragging on for a year for a reason, me advice would be to close that chapter of the book and move on to another one. Sorry

I agree he wont win if it gets to court and tbey send representatives as you say too many other contributing factors..

Im just ttying to educate a few that tbe garage/tyre shop should also know anything that required for every vehicle regards fitting

 

[edessex]

Easy win for the tyre shop here isn't it!

The customer requesting a used tyre with 4mm tread to be fitted along with new tyres of 8mm.

No record of VCU or IDR being checked or replaced.

Being driven for 400 miles with a clearly audible problem.
Then customer plays around with wheels, possibly fitting incorrectly or even fitted a completely different set of wheels.

You should have taken it straight back to the garage, you decided not to.
Learn the lesson and move on.

 

[Ian jones]

Firstly I empathise with the op , on his ird , when I got my freelander I did not have a clue how mismatched tyres affect the drivetrain , there was no manual (hand book) with the car , took over a month to get one , I got the car from evans halshaw , who in their sales pitch told me we fitted two new tyres on the front , I thought champion , at the time . Un benown to me and evans halshaw , the budget fronts matched the rear originals that were well down on tread , year on , I put new tyres on the rear as advised , but they did not match the fronts , stratstone land rover sold me and fitted ONE new tyre , no advice given , I knew no better at the time , my point is if a land Rover main dealer does not care how can you expect joe bloggs tyres to one day L Z may wake up and sticky this issue , 4 tyres matching is the way to go for a freelander one

 

[thequeenscheese]

Simple fact is they should make it their business to because it is their business its what they trade in whatever you request for tyre placement and make model etc. They should be equiped to at mjnimum advise you on what should be done / or recomended by manufacturer its that simple.
If it was as simple as these tyres had wrecked the op's ird or anything else and hed done everything as he should swap vcu etc etc they would be liable for either not advising on fit 4 not 2 and putting them on the correct axel, if the op waved the advice thats different but there was no advice, businesses dont what they think is right they do what is right and its upto them to to have the knowledge on exeptiins to the rule..
The stuff in the handbook is there to cover landrover back, you may buy a tyre fitting machine because you can thats why that info is there not for tbe local garage to ask you about..

 

[dave21478]

You are wrong its not the simpltons that fit the tyres that need to know every in and out its the system/computer they need to check when someone is booked in and it should say what is recommended by landrover as when any other part as bought for a motor vehicle or are you saying we should all go to the main dealers now for a tyre swap cos there the only ones who know? Were not talking jim down the road here were talking one of the main tyre places, no otber business on the planet would say tbe customer whos bringing it to us to do the job tell us whats correct THAT WHY WE TAKE THEM TO A SPECIALIST BECAUSE THEIR SUPPOSED TO KNOW..
By that logic ill build you a house but you tell me where to put the bricks and lintels because i have no clue? Its a business not a diy, or lets go to the dentist for a filling but this vuy has only ever pulled a teeth out before but hey he didnt know any better...
Cm.'on get real.. Garages have all repair manuals and specs on computer(well decent places anyway) its not much to ask that someone like quickfit would have the same even if they had to compile themselves..

Jesus wept, are you being deliberately obtuse? What system? I repeat....what system should any garage be checking for information? Serious question - tell me where they will find this information.
Please let me know where every piece of information about every car on the road is available in a simple, searchable database, accessable by any garage in the country. Manufacturers do not provide this sort of information to other garages - its not exactly in their best interests to do so is it?

Do you think that Kwikfit have a little room out the back with huge sheving systems holding thousands of Owners manuals and Haynes manuals? or do you believe that they have a conputer and they just look up www.everythingyoueverwantedtoknowaboutanycareverbuilt.com?

It doesnt exist! this is my whole point, which you seem unable to grasp....any garage simply can not know everything.

 

[Kizzeh]

Jesus wept, are you being deliberately obtuse? What system? I repeat....what system should any garage be checking for information? Serious question - tell me where they will find this information.

Please let me know where every piece of information about every car on the road is available in a simple, searchable database, accessable by any garage in the country. Manufacturers do not provide this sort of information to other garages - its not exactly in their best interests to do so is it?



Do you think that Kwikfit have a little room out the back with huge sheving systems holding thousands of Owners manuals and Haynes manuals? or do you believe that they have a conputer and they just look up www.everythingyoueverwantedtoknowaboutanycareverbuilt.com?



It doesnt exist! this is my whole point, which you seem unable to grasp....any garage simply can not know everything.

Autodata works well for me. Common faults electrical wiring diagrame, book times on repairs blah blah blah

It doesn't say anything about the tyres though which we all know is a major thing.

I feel for you and the predicament your in. A lot of cost both in time and money but these are not "specialists" as such, just people making money out of the quick easy jobs and trying to upsell at every opportunity. Some of the staff are good hard working mechanics but they pay a crap wage which really only interests younger less expericanced lads. most of the time it's the apprentices job to change the tyres to keep them out of the way and they arnt to know about which tyres need to go where.

As a rule I always tell them where I want each new tyre and if they don't get fitted there I change it myself.

As said up here I think there are too many contributing factors to win a court case and I think if you want to go further you should seek professional help.

I understand your reason for this thread was to get a source of information to do with the damage. Have you thought of sending a letter to landrover themselfs?