Replacing a punctured...

Replacing a punctured tyre can be an unexpected expense тЂ“ but imagine Joseph HamiltonтЂ™s shock when he faced a bill for more than ТЈ800! He had been charged for a full set of rubber on his Porsche Cayman, when only one tyre had been damaged.

Joseph, of Glasgow, recalled: тЂњI bought the car from my local Porsche centre in May last year. When I punctured a rear tyre in August, I was told the factory-fit Continental SportContact2 tyres were no longer in production.тЂќ

WhatтЂ™s more, the dealer said Joseph would have to shell out ТЈ805 for four new Continental SportContact 3s instead, as they had a different тЂ�NтЂ™ rating to the older models, and all four tyres needed to match. Porsche explained it ran a goodwill scheme for customers who had to replace the rubber through no fault of their own. But Joseph didnтЂ™t qualify.

тЂњI was told I wasnтЂ™t eligible because my other three tyres had more than 4mm of tread left, so they were too new to count. Porsche refused to give me a penny off,тЂќ he claimed. We contacted tyre maker Continental to see exactly where Joseph stood. A spokeswoman told us it wasnтЂ™t strictly necessary for Joseph to replace all four tyres. She said: тЂњPorsche has its own set of rules. But in general, as long as the two tyres on the same axle match, thatтЂ™s sufficient.тЂќ

So we called Porsche to find out what was going on. Its representative explained: тЂњAt the time we sold the car to the customer, we had no way of knowing the rubber would be discontinued so soon after.тЂќ Yet he maintained all four tyres should be changed, and refused to show lenience towards Joseph regarding the goodwill scheme.

However, the dealership did offer him a 10 per cent discount, bringing the price to ТЈ720. And as Continental was unable to supply his original spec tyres тЂ“ which are now unavailable in Europe тЂ“ it offered a further 25 per cent off the cost of the replacements. The combined discount took ТЈ300 off his bill, leaving him with a much more palatable ТЈ518 to pay.