Have I been ripped off by KwikFit?

[ElijahEVMan]

My M3 LR from September 2020 has now done 17.5k miles but I happened to notice the other day that there is uneven wear on both fronts with the inside edges completely bald.

I dropped into KwikFit just to get them to check all the types and they concluded that the fronts were illegal and the back was on the wear indicators so also needed changing immediately.

They quoted me £650 for 4 near tyres fully fitted. These were to replace like for like with the Michelin Pro Sport 4 Acoustic. I decided to go for it as I was seeing online quotes from Black Circles for £208 each.

Firstly I am shocked at having to change 4 tyres at only 17.5k miles!! I drive mostly around town these days and I only occasionally have the temptation to be heavy footed!

Does that sound like a reasonable price? I also paid £45 to have the front tracking corrected. KwikFit initially stated I would have to take the car to Tesla to have the tracking adjusted due to camera alignment having to be recalibrated by Tesla. A quick phone to Tesla confirmed that isn't the case!

 

[Vidyutyaan]

Sounds like a good price for OEM replacement Michelins!
Our rear tyres needed replacing at 19k miles but the fronts are still going strong at 28k. If the tracking was out for the fronts then I think you probably got a reasonable deal

 

[muster39]

Unfortunately if the tracking is out then this can lead to uneven wear and earlier than expected tyre replacement. Given the state of roads these days and the number of potholes, it would be surprising if the tracking was not out of alignment.

 

[ElijahEVMan]

Unfortunately if the tracking is out then this can lead to uneven wear and earlier than expected tyre replacement. Given the state of roads these days and the number of potholes, it would be surprising if the tracking was not out of alignment.

Yes that is very true! I have also curbed the fronts a couple of times too

 

[WllXM]

£650 for all 4 tyres, Michelin, fitted, seems like an acceptable price to me.
You could probably have had a slightly cheaper deal by ordering new tyres when you first noticed the uneven wear instead of being stuck at the shop with illegal tires but not by a lot.
I guess you'll be left wondering if the car was delivered to you out of alignement or if indeed you did it yourself with a curb or a pothole...

 

[ElijahEVMan]

£650 for all 4 tyres, Michelin, fitted, seems like an acceptable price to me.
You could probably have had a slightly cheaper deal by ordering new tyres when you first noticed the uneven wear instead of being stuck at the shop with illegal tires but not by a lot.
I guess you'll be left wondering if the car was delivered to you out of alignement or if indeed you did it yourself with a curb or a pothole...

Yes thats a good point actually. Must have been like it for some time considering how badly warn they were on that inside edge! However too late to do anything about it now and will just have to keep a closer eye out for this from now on.

 

[Doudeau]

I agree that it’s not a bad price at all. I had to buy one in January after a puncture and, for one of those Michelins, Kwik-fit were basically as cheap as anyone at that time and it was £190.

 

[Forty_Two]

Firstly I am shocked at having to change 4 tyres at only 17.5k miles!! I drive mostly around town these days and I only occasionally have the temptation to be heavy footed!

Looking at those tyres they look like they have quite a decent depth on them (apart from the inside edge) and I am wondering how many miles you would have got out of them if the tyres had worn evenly?

 

[MrBadger]

Apart from tracking etc, another thing that causes wear on inside edge of tyre is straddling speed bumps. It’s not great for ride comfort, but actually riding one wheel over a speed bump will reduce the wear.

 

[fancealot]

funnily enough i've had my front tyres replaced because of inner wear, going to schedule a tracking check at the SC soon!

 

[ElijahEVMan]

Looking at those tyres they look like they have quite a decent depth on them (apart from the inside edge) and I am wondering how many miles you would have got out of them if the tyres had worn evenly?

Yes that was my thought too. Given the car is all wheel drive, I was surprised that the rears had warn as much as that in so little time. However, I mentioned that to Tesla and they confirmed that the car engages only the rear motor for the majority of the time, especially when driving around town.

 

[pheo]

Anyone got any viewpoint on if the Michelins are worth it when it comes to replacements? They seem to have a heavy premium on them bs others

 

[GRiLLA]

I have a LR now at 24K miles, original tyres, but they are perhaps 1mm off needing replacing on the rears. Plenty of acceleration so I'm not sure what makes the difference between 17K and 24K

 

[DenkiJidousha]

Mine too, Tesla Model 3 SR+ with 24k miles from new, and only noticed due to parking at full lock:

In fact the rears are due too, although harder to see it looks more evenly worn. Anyway, time for a full set of tyres, and this time all season ones.

There was another thread about a Model 3 with excessive uneven wear on the inside of the front tyres - Check your front tyres today!

 

[Jason71]

The rears on my M3 LR were replaced at 13.5K. No uneven wear.

 

[NewbieT]

It’s pretty hard to buy the OEM Michelin Pilot Sport 4 for much less than £200 each. You didn’t get ripped off, you got a steal.

All four of mine changed between 25k-27k. Unevenly worn on the inside. Tracking was well off.

 

[DenkiJidousha]

I did resurrect an old thread so prices will have changed. Looks like you got more miles out of your tyres than me, but again uneven wear on the fronts. Seems could be quite common?

 

[Sean.]

I did resurrect an old thread so prices will have changed. Looks like you got more miles out of your tyres than me, but again uneven wear on the fronts. Seems could be quite common?

Bigger tyres on mine, but the last set of summer Michelin Latitude Sport 3's I bought were around £1K fitted. So even accounting for inflation the OP & @DenkiJidousha sub £700 fitted for Mich rubber on an M3 I think is good going.

I would say find yourself a decent indy tyre shop, that has a Hunter Hawk-Eye alignment rig and get the camber, caster and toe alignment properly set when you get the new tyres fitted and again at least halfway through the mileage you got on your last set of tyres.

 

[MrT3]

I also paid £45 to have the front tracking corrected. KwikFit initially stated I would have to take the car to Tesla to have the tracking adjusted due to camera alignment having to be recalibrated by Tesla. A quick phone to Tesla confirmed that isn't the case!

Just the toe-in alignment? You wear looks more like a camber alignment issue. I would get a full geometry check done.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Amazing the variation on here. I just got all 4 changed on my Model 3 LR at 25k miles. Almost perfectly even wear, less than 1mm difference between outer and inner.

Did get the full tracking done afterwards anyway and there were a few adjustments but nothing too drastic.

That said I wasn't completely confident in the guy doing the tracking so need to watch the new set like a hawk incase he's made it worse.