Mercedes: Furious driver who bought car in Sheffield says tyres 'shredded' - and it could happen to anyone
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Jason Newton and his partner Lindsay Harrison bought their second-hand Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupé in January this year from the Europa Sheffield dealership.
They were initially happy with the car but around five months and 4,000 miles later they began to notice excessive wear on the front tyres which they said had been caused when it was driven on full lock, causing it to ‘judder’.
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Hide AdJason said it looked like the tyres were being ‘shredded’ on the surface – and when he searched online he found numerous complaints from unhappy customers who had experienced the same problem.
When he complained to Mercedes, he was told there was a ‘known tyre skipping characteristic’ but that this was not a ‘known manufacturing defect’ and therefore not subject to any warranty.
The company said there were no ‘safety concerns’ relating to the vehicle and it could not offer to pay for the tyres to be replaced but as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ it offered to fit new tyres at cost price.
Jason said Europa Sheffield had since agreed to replace two tyres for free.
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Hide AdBut he remains unimpressed with Mercedes, saying was never informed of the so-called ‘characteristic’, which he said meant the car was ‘not fit for purpose’, and had he been made aware he would not have bought the vehicle.
“I feel other people should know about this ‘characteristic’ before they buy a car with a known fault they haven’t been told about,” he added.
Mercedes-Benz said its customer services team had been in contact with Mr Newton to ‘agree a satisfactory outcome’.
A spokesperson for the firm added: “A small number of customers may have experienced an issue with certain models, generally at cold ambient temperatures while manoeuvring at low speed with steering lock applied. The sensation is of the front tyres apparently ‘skipping’. This is a comfort issue only, and does not affect the safety or performance or integrity of the vehicle.
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Hide Ad“Winter tyres and all-season tyres on 18- or 19-inch wheels improve this characteristic and we would always recommend their use in temperatures which fall below approximately +7 degrees Celsius. The use of 18-inch wheels with summer tyres also improves the characteristic.”