Car Service/Inspection - Things That Make You Go "Hmmmmm"

[Deactivated] on 07/12/2022 - 14:49
Last edited 07/12/2022 - 15:54

Just sharing an experience. No question per se.

I had to drop our second car off for its first service this morning.

No material problems or surprises, but when my wife came home with the car I quickly flicked through the paperwork.

Tyre tread depth readings were apparently 6mm all around.

That's 25% tyre wear (manufacturer spec for the new tyres is 8mm) after six months and 284km of use. If the reading was accurate (clearly it's not) and the tread use continues in a linear trend we'd be up for new tyres after just 1000km 🤣

Possibly a dodgy service/workshop. Possibly a broken tyre gauge. Possibly just human error.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk…and final post on OzB.

Automotive Tyre

closed Comments

  • Switchblade88 on 07/12/2022 - 14:53
    +1

    What are your own depth measurements now? Did you check the depth six months ago?

    I'd wager that 6mm is the 'yeah, they're all fine, don't bother checking' to the apprentice

    • [Deactivated] on 07/12/2022 - 15:09

      What are your own depth measurements now?

      I cannot tell you. I don't own a tyre tread gauge.

      Did you check the depth six months ago?

      When I bought it? No. That's not something I would typically do on a new vehicle with 1.8km on the odometer.

      I'd wager that 6mm is the 'yeah, they're all fine, don't bother checking' to the apprentice

      Sounds like a thing.

      • Switchblade88 on 07/12/2022 - 15:15
        +3

        I don't own a tyre tread gauge

        Stick a ruler in and eyeball it, it won't be any less accurate than your mechanic!

  • MS Paint on 07/12/2022 - 15:02
    +1

    It was eyeballed.

    Eyeballing = +/- 2mm

    after six months and 284km of use

    That's actually really bad for a car. Are they all short trips also? Engines parts and seals are designed to be driven and lubricated.

    • mapax on 07/12/2022 - 15:04
      +2

      Trusty old eyecrometer

  • AndyC1 on 07/12/2022 - 15:19

    Even when the stellarship says you need new tyres go to a proper tyre place and ask them how long before you need to get new tyres and how much are they.

    Never go off what the stellarship says as they will say you need new tyres and what the mean is "you will probably need new tyres between now and by the time the next service is due and we want you to spend the money with us now rather than in 4 or 5 months when you will need to get the new types". I have been told twice over the years I need new tyres and I asked how many KM's are left before they become a problem and the person said they would need to speak with tech who did the work and they did and said between 3K and 5K, which was about 5 months. I kept an eye on the tyres and after 4 months went to a tyre place and they said to come back in another two months and also gave me a price (as expected it was $40 bucks more in 2 months).

    • kerfuffle on 07/12/2022 - 15:36
      +2

      What's a stellarship?

      • Crow K on 07/12/2022 - 15:44

        A mispronounced/typed 'stealership'.

      • sharka on 07/12/2022 - 15:47

        A dealership that steals from you

        • kerfuffle on 07/12/2022 - 15:48

          That's a stealership, not a stellarship.

      • MS Paint on 07/12/2022 - 15:50

        U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

        Was a stellarship

  • apple2016 on 07/12/2022 - 15:23

    Tyre tread depth readings were apparently 6mm all around.

    Get a tyre thread depth gauge and check yourself. Service centers often do this to upsell tyres!

    • JimB on 07/12/2022 - 15:39

      Just use the built in tyre tread wear indicator.

      No need for any fancy equipment.

      • apple2016 on 07/12/2022 - 16:25

        yes to know when to replace your tyres you can use it. but this does not give you a tyre thread depth reading!
        Also a "fancy" tyre thread depth gauge is usually < $10

        • JimB on 07/12/2022 - 16:47

          Maybe necessary if you run a workshop to report to owners but not for me who services my own car.

          It may be useful to some to know whether it's 3mm or 4mm but it's irrelevant to me.

          If built in tyre tread wear indicator are close to being worn, I'll simply replace the tyre rather than pulling out another gadget.

          You can also use a 20 cent coin to measure 3mm tread depth.

  • jv on 07/12/2022 - 15:24
    +2

    we'd be up for new tyres after just 1000km

    Sounds right…
    Your car probably came with Starter tyres.

    • pegaxs on 07/12/2022 - 16:26

      As silly as this sounds, it's actually a thing. To cut down on the cost of putting a new vehicle together, they will often get tyres that are already manufactured low on tread. This has a two fold effect in that the tyres are much cheaper to purchase AND they get to their wear limit faster, thus enabling the stealership to hit you up for a set of tyres 20,000 or more km earlier than anticipated.

      A few years ago, I had a Ducati Scramber, brand new from a customer in to do some custom work to it. I noticed that the tyres already looked worn out on a brand new bike (10~15km). I had some identical tyres in for another guy's bike (Pirelli MT90) and they were almost double the thickness in the tread. The ones I had in the shop were made in Italy, where the ones on the Scramber were made in Brazil. Royal Enfield do the same thing with their Continental GT tyres.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 07/12/2022 - 15:24

    SCA have one

    Some Digital Vernier Calipers like this will do it.

  • JimB on 07/12/2022 - 15:38

    If it's 6mm that's ok.

    If they said its 3mm and it's time to change, well that's another story.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/12/2022 - 15:56

    Does the manufacturer of the tyre say 8mm total and the service centre said 6mm until they're unroadworthy (total wear 0.5mm)?

  • SF3 on 07/12/2022 - 16:00

    when my wife came home with the car

    Tell your wife to not drift the car anymore.

  • pegaxs on 07/12/2022 - 16:00

    Or it's just a generic value in their system.

    and final post on OzB.

    cya.

  • onetwothreefour on 07/12/2022 - 16:00
    +2

    Hang on, you bought a brand new car so you can drive 284km in six months?

    • [Deactivated] on 07/12/2022 - 16:13

      Yeah. We bought it pre-emptively because we were looking at buying a house quite some distance from public transport. We were looking down the barrel of 800km per week just in commuting.

      We ended up buying close to a major train station and it's sat in the garage (unless loaned to neighbours/family) since we settled on the house. Definitely some buyer's regret on buying a car.

      • onetwothreefour on 07/12/2022 - 16:27

        Oops sell it then mate, then the tyres will be someone else's problem. :)

        • [Deactivated] on 07/12/2022 - 16:27

          Hahahaha!

  • mapax on 07/12/2022 - 16:49

    Did I miss something? Why did OzDJ_ disable themself?

    • kerfuffle on 07/12/2022 - 16:50

      Probably because they realised they were a troll.

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