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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that 2 front tyres on our family car should not cost £550

30 replies

Twelvelegs · 19/10/2008 15:15

I have just hit the front tyre and DH has popped to kwikfit and found that our other tyre is illegal . It's a Renault Espace FGS..... £550.

OP posts:
MaryBS · 19/10/2008 15:16

Sounds a ripoff. Have you tried shopping around, or is it too late?

TexasChainKLAWmassacre · 19/10/2008 15:17

Kwikripoff more like! Shop around!

Pixiefish · 19/10/2008 15:18

Bleeding heck.

I have a SAAB and the tyres for that are £85 each which I think is extortionate.

Is he going for the top of the range ones?

Indith · 19/10/2008 15:20

Huh? What tyres are they trying to sell you? Formula one style? We have a zafira and the last ones we got were around £75 each I believe.

aGalChangedHerName · 19/10/2008 15:21

Ask for a budget tyre? Some tyres are that expensive.

cece · 19/10/2008 15:21

I replaced a front tyre on Thurs on a Mondeo and it cost £71. That was the tyre, fitting and balancing.

DorisIsAPinkDragon · 19/10/2008 15:21

methinks you have been royally ripped off, next time look in the local yellow pages for tyre places, and ring around for prices you only need the numbers around the edge of the tyre to get quotes (and possibly the brand on the rest of the car if yu want them to match) Sounds like you should have got the alloys aswell for that price!

Original poster
Twelvelegs · 19/10/2008 15:24

No we bought our car 'cheap' as it was six months old and from the owner of a dealership and so he had fat low profile tyres, which are lovely and make such a differnce to the drive. Apparently they're as wide as a sports car....I will now be driving like a maniac just to enjoy them......and have to budget for my new shower.
No credit crunch at Kwikfit.

OP posts:
aGalChangedHerName · 19/10/2008 15:27

What size were the tyres? What year is your car?

RustyBear · 19/10/2008 15:29

Which model Espace - so far looking on kwikfits own site the most expensive I've come across are £170 each, but there are a lot of different models

cluckyagain · 19/10/2008 15:39

I recently changed seat alhambra ones - they were expensive 'van tyres' at £115 each. That is the most I've ever paid for tyres - the £550 bill should cover at least 4 tyres and possibly a spare too!!!

ShowOfHands · 19/10/2008 15:41

We've just had a new tyre for £45, fitting and all...

Original poster
Twelvelegs · 19/10/2008 15:45

MMM....these are 18" low profile tyres... I looked on the site too and found £160 ones, but apparently these are standard and ours are not standard!!

OP posts:
LIZS · 19/10/2008 15:50

We had to pay that for a whole set a few months back , after dh totalled one on a pothole and drive . Had to get a replacement hub from Renault then went to KF for a new tyre, hoping it would be cheaper than a dealer, only to discover all needed doing

PumpkinPatty · 19/10/2008 15:54

Blimey that's nearly as much as my entire car is worth

aGalChangedHerName · 19/10/2008 16:20

DH reckons extra load tyres are gonna cost more. Ask for an economy tyre dh says.

MrLSG · 19/10/2008 16:45

Unless you are going to be driving it like a rally driver, there is no point paying for premium tyres such as Michelin, Pirelli etc.

As long as you go with the correct speed rating, then the cheapest tyre a supplier has available will be perfectly adaquate.

I tend to use www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/ to pick a tyre, and then get it fitted at the local National dealer: the price I pay is normally less that the dealer can usually buy it for.

Ripeberry · 19/10/2008 16:57

Get rid of the low profile tyres. They look silly on normal cars.
Just get yourself a decent set of steel wheels with plastic trims and new tyres should cost much less and you should get a nice amount back from selling the alloys .

countingto10 · 19/10/2008 17:12

I have a Citroen C8, just had 2 front tyres replaced. No idea what they cost as brother in the trade but I do know that they had to be special tyres as have to be load bearing for people carrier and cannot be economy. Tyre place didn't have Michelin and could not get hold of them so we had to have Pirelli and they had to be ordered. You have now got me wondering if we owe brother some money as we usually do swaps with him (DH does his a/cs for garage etc).

Walkthedinosaur · 19/10/2008 17:16

I've got an Espace too am getting the two front tyres changed on Friday for about £300 which I thought was expensive, I'm having Uniroyals put on mine.

OrmIrian · 19/10/2008 17:18

I hope you really enjoy those tyres
All 550 quids worth.

Original poster
Twelvelegs · 19/10/2008 17:52

Ripeberry.....and what would that cost???? They're not there out of our choice to look cool!!

OP posts:
kerryk · 19/10/2008 18:23

i am £120 each for my tyres [thud] (megane)

i am hoping i dont have to replace them before i get rid of the car.

Ripeberry · 19/10/2008 19:53

In the long run it will work out cheaper to get steel wheels but it depends how long you are going to keep the car, what with the tax going up in 2010 .
Just got to be prepared for forking out for the rear ones one day as well.
But then i'm not a fan of low profile tyres anyway as they seem so flimsy.
Plenty of wheels available from breakers yards and other sources, just need to look around.

MurderousMarla · 19/10/2008 19:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.