Budget Tyres on High-End Cars?? WHY??

[Scott1906]

I was driving down to see the in-laws last weekend and noticed something incredibly strange which, if I'm honest, annoyed me quite a bit. 

In the village in which the other half's parents live, I saw a 2016 R8 (like my own). Now, a beautiful motor like this shows that you must take incredible care of your cars and that you must be incredibly into cars if you're willing to spend that amount of money on one. You'd think, right? 

Well, apparently not. This person was driving an R8 with some awful budget tyres on - called "Autogrip" or something like that. These go for £70-80 at best. ???

I'm sitting here at these traffic lights thinking: if you've got a car like that... why treat it like crap with some god awful budget tyres which are only ever suitable for tiny little city cars? Seriously. An R8 with those sorts of tyres? Budget tyres are not safe at all and last about 3 seconds max before you have to replace them again. What's the point? 

Before purchasing my R8 I knew fine well that I was prepared to splash out as much cash as I needed to ensure every aspect of the vehicle was the best it could be. This investment of money ensures a healthy, long lasting car which should retain more of its value for longer. Now, I know not everyone will have the cash to splash. But seriously? I'd rather get a less expensive car and take proper care of it instead of trying to fool everyone with a flashy car and treating it like crap. 

As a general rule of thumb, when replacing my tyres I ALWAYS stick to Audi original equipment tyres. Currently have Pirelli P Zero I bought from the asda tyres website. Why? Because they're safe, comfortable, will last me YEARS, and most importantly, are MADE by Audi FOR Audi cars. 

Apologies for the ranty nature of this post... Someone please try to convince me why this isn't such a bad thing... If you even can...

[Steve Q]

Like you Scott I'm.not a fan of budget tyres, people forget that the tyres are a key component to keeping a car on the road and bit just an inconvenience for MOT time etc. 

I wonder if the poor owner had bought the car not knowing what tyres it had on. You'd be surprised how often people don't check the tyre manufacturer but ask about tread. It's quite common for dealers to put budget tyres on cars and I've known main dealers to do the same! 

Cheers

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Scott,

Not sure what part of the UK you are located, but over here in S.Wales the rain has pinched the sunshine and it's just plain humid. So it's a day when a good rant makes you feel better! - and I must say I like your style of rant.

Without wanting to appear patronising, I think Steve comments has this boxed up and put to bed, and it would be very difficult for me to disagree with any of points he raises - which of course concurs with most of your views. 

A good rant does you good, as as we say in this part of the UK - fair do s you've got that out of your hair.

As a casual observation Scott I get vibes of ' How dare you put budget tyres on a car that everyone must look after and up to, if they can afford to buy one'?  That's tantamount to letting our side down! 

When I am tempted to have such a rant, our daughter just says 'Chill Dad'. Sound advice, soundly given, and I must say a new set of cheap Autogrips are better than a set of once factory Pirelli Kojaks! 

Great , its just stopped raining.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Scott1906]

3 hours ago, Steve Q said:

Like you Scott I'm.not a fan of budget tyres, people forget that the tyres are a key component to keeping a car on the road and bit just an inconvenience for MOT time etc. 

I wonder if the poor owner had bought the car not knowing what tyres it had on. You'd be surprised how often people don't check the tyre manufacturer but ask about tread. It's quite common for dealers to put budget tyres on cars and I've known main dealers to do the same! 

Cheers

Steve

Hmm I can see what you mean, but you'd think people who own cars as costly as R8s would know at least a bit about tyres, tyre brands, etc... 

And let's not forget that this R8 was a 2016 plate, like my own. Meaning if the dealer is the culprit then the driver must not have looked at their tyres in... Two years?

It's unfortunate that dealers (ESPECIALLY main dealers) would be so careless as to put budget tyres on such a beautiful car 😢

I actually feel inclined to start a movement which spreads awareness about taking proper care of your R8! 

[Scott1906]

37 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello Scott,

Not sure what part of the UK you are located, but over here in S.Wales the rain has pinched the sunshine and it's just plain humid. So it's a day when a good rant makes you feel better! - and I must say I like your style of rant.

Without wanting to appear patronising, I think Steve comments has this boxed up and put to bed, and it would be very difficult for me to disagree with any of points he raises - which of course concurs with most of your views. 

A good rant does you good, as as we say in this part of the UK - fair do s you've got that out of your hair.

As a casual observation Scott I get vibes of ' How dare you put budget tyres on a car that everyone must look after and up to, if they can afford to buy one'?  That's tantamount to letting our side down! 

When I am tempted to have such a rant, our daughter just says 'Chill Dad'. Sound advice, soundly given, and I must say a new set of cheap Autogrips are better than a set of once factory Pirelli Kojaks! 

Great , its just stopped raining.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

Hi Gareth, 

I'm glad you understand! I'm not usually one for a rant but this topic has been in my mind since the weekend, and I guess it just sort of erupted this morning... lol. 

It does however annoy me when you see a wealthy, young driver in an A Class or a BMW who clearly has no idea about cars or driving, has never cared to teach themselves anything more about said topics, and who clearly hasn't earned a penny of the money spent on their car which almost definitely came from the bank of mum & dad. But I guess that's just the unfair nature of life. 

I guess I just assumed that this R8 driver was one of the uneducated types. As I mentioned in my reply to Steve, it was a 2016 plate meaning the driver can't have looked at their tyres since... well, ever really. I do feel bad for the lad if it was the dealer's doing though. 

Anyway, I appreciate the reply! As well as the understanding for my grumpiness haha. 

Cheers,

Scott. 

[Magnet]

 

Well now Scott, you are indeed having a good rant day, and we are tending to move off the mark with a number of assumptions, including owners of such expensive cars should (nay, are duty bound as a condition of ownership) to lavish care on them. Interesting assumption, but sticky wicket ground by suggesting 'I deserve to have one but you don't'. Just to add to your rant, I knew of one R8 that you needed to wipe your feet after coming out of! Mammy bought it? Well maybe. Uneducated? Maybe, but I did know someone who literally had a PhD in nuclear physics, and I would not have wanted to buy his barrow, leave alone his car! 

 Thank the Lord ( am I allowed to say that?) we are all different, and whatever personal standards we have, it's not worth inflicting them on others, so if a set of Autogrips float their boat..... 

I might have missed something, but I'm not sure where the main dealer fitting assumption came into this.

It might be worth keeping away from wealthy Mercedes Benz and BMW owners who don't have a clue about cars - bad for the blood pressure. I have confessed to not suffering from high blood pressure, but I am a carrier! 

Remember, grumpiness is contagious, and today is a day of your life which you will never have again (whether Mammy pays or not!) so it could just be worth a nice hour's drive in the nice car, and relax and watch the mad world go by. 

No more ranting for me today.

Enjoy.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[sshooie]

Simple fact is some people just don't give a !Removed!, or don't know any better, don't let it consume you, concentrate on the things you can change!