last year my missus bought a nearly new mini convertible from a bmw dealer.
at the time she took out tyre insurance, the salesman told us it would cover almost any tyre problem exect general wear and tear, and there had to be a minimum of 2-3mm of tread left.

he said it included, kerbing so the sidewall is damaged and needs replacing, puncture, slow puncture, blow out, bulge in the sidewall, vandalism.....

well now 1 tyre has a bubble in the sidewall, cars only done 9k miles
so i rang the tyre insurance people and they said that basically the only thing covered by the insurance policy is if it has a blow out. his words were something like, a total and sudden loss of pressure.

when i told him what the sales man said, he told me that was wrong and i should take it up with the dealer.

thing is the insurance was £300 and i wouldnt have had it if i knew it was only for a blow out.
and now i gotta buy a new bloody expensive tyre.


is there anything i can do? obviously i have no proof of what he said so is it just tough?

 

drill a hole in it?

 

Yup, bust the tyre

 

i was thinking that
BUT when i rang the insurer they took reg details, name.... before asking what was wrong, so thats now on file, and if they didnt pay out then i gotta get a new tyre straight away.


could say i got a blow out 1 night when the office was closed so got it repaired there and then to get home, and couldnt do the neccisary approval as it was after hours.
so can i have my money back

 

Say the bulge caused the blow out, or a different tyre blew out?

 

cant u say the bulge blew out on your way to get the tire replaced

 

Ever heard of coincedence?

My tyre blew out on the way home!! and how the hell can they prove it didn't?



Scouse.

 

£300 for tyre insurance !!!!!!



How much is a new tyre for it £1000????


Sorry but thats some strange insurance to take out and at that price?

 

My god. 300 quid! They saw you coming

While your on here can I untreated you in some sparkplug insurance?

Air filter insurance?

 

did you not read the insurance policy when you got it, the first thing i would have done is check whats actually covered on the document, some salesmen will say anything to get a sale.

 

You need to get a new tyre straight away anyway.

Apart from being dangerous it's also 3 points on the licence for every defective tyre:
What Are the Penalties for Driving With Faulty Tyres?

In the case of any vehicle, with the exception of goods vehicles and vehicles adapted to carry more than eight passengers, for every offence there is a fine at level 4 of the standard scale with discretionary disqualification with 3 penalty points.
Level 4 currently stands at £2,500 and each faulty tyre is considered as a separate offence, which can really add up. Two faulty tyres equals £5,000 and 6 points on your license, and so on.
How Do I Make Sure my Tyres Are up to Scratch?

The law is quite specific when it comes to tyres, but it’s still an offence that catches out many drivers each year. You must not use a motor vehicle or trailer that has any of the following defects:

• Tyres that don’t fit properly or are unsuitable for use of the vehicle
• Tyres that are unsuitable when compared to tyres on the other wheels (for example: In the UK it is illegal, not to mention dangerous, to mix radial ply and cross ply tyres on the same axle or to have radial ply tyres on the front axle and cross ply tyres on the rear axle. Exceptions can be made for emergency situations but should be avoided wherever possible.)
• It has a tyre that is not so inflated as to make it suitable for the use the vehicle is being put to
• It has a tyre that has a cut of more than 25 mm or 10 % of its section width
• It has a lump tear or bulge due to structure failure
• It has a tyre with exposed cord
• The base of the groove or thread pattern is not clearly visible;
• The tread depth falls below the legal minimum tread depth for car and similar tyres in the UK and Europe which is 1.6mm throughout a continuous band comprising the central three quarters of the breadth of tread and round the entire other circumference of the tyre.
• The tyre is not maintained in such a condition as to be fit for the use to which the vehicle or the trailer is being put or has a defect which might cause damage to the surface of the road or to persons in the vehicle or on the road.

 

Oh yes, and the tyre repair place will be expected to retain the tyre for up to 3 weeks for inspection by the insurance, so any idea of putting a drill through it will be spotted - if they actually ever do an inspection.

 

seeing as the tyres are £150 ea, 17" runflats, £300 sounded good when i thought it covered everything.
and that was for 3yrs, so £100 a year for 4 tyres to be insured against any problems.

it might have a blowout later today. lol

 

ha-ha £300 for tyre insurance-
whats the policy say-never mind what the salesman said you cant qoate him can you ? as its verbal,, you had the standard option to opt out as everyone does with insurance,
didnt you read the policy?? -----why not??-so its there fault now!!-he-he

 

drop the pressure down to 10psi then drive on motorway till it pops.

 

drive it down a curb till the curb pops it then claim for new tyre / wheel

 

Tell the salesman that you are going to refer this to the FSA under the 'code of conduct rules'. This will fall under General Insurance and you could explain that the policy was sold to your unfairly and you were mislead into buying the policy. Regardless of the policy schedule you may have grounds to claim. As I am aware the FSA have a backlog of complaints and are upholding a great deal of them at the moment so it's worth a shot!!!

If the salesman is not interested in helping you further then contact the Financial Services Ombudsmen and explain what's happened.

Failing that, why not say he touched you in an unappropriate place and told you not to tell Mummy or Daddy.

 

It counts as misrepresentation. A contract signed following a misrepresentation of it's terms must be rescinded. Small claims will sort you out.

Regards,
Chris