Used Cars: Unsafe Vehicle after buying it, mechanic friend, state safety

Question
Hi,
I bought a used 2004 BMW from a dealership and got in inspected when I took it home and found out all four tires were bald and needed to be replaced. I spent $900 on new tires on a car I just bought, can the dealership pay for it or should they reimburse me?

Thanks,
Renee

Answer
It is federal law that when you purchase a vehicle from a dealership it should have a federal buyers guide in the window.  This is the sticker that has a box checked either "warranty" or "As Is", if it was as is the dealership never planned on replacing the tires in the first place, and if it was warranty they still have no obligation for putting tires on the vehicle. I know this is not the answer you wanted but it is a fact.  I do not know what state you are in but I know the laws in Texas would not require a dealer to put tires on a vehicle unless they kept the vehicle from passing a state safety inspection which must be done on most vehicles before selling them here, with certain exceptions according to miles and year.  There is another possible answer here, the problem may be with where you took your car to get inspected, many shops do not charge much to look over a vehicle and people tend to overlook the fact that these shops are there to make money.  More than once have I had a customer take a vehicle, that we have just had state inspected and dealership inspected with new brakes etc. to their mechanic "friend" that told them it needed brakes and or tires etc. and wanted the dealership to pay for it.  We of course are not going to do that, we have the receipt showing where the work was already done.  So maybe where you took you vehicle to get checked out was a tire shop and they needed to sell tires.  $900 dollars sounds like a fortune for a simple set of tires we average about 450 per set of tires we buy.  In the future it is best to get the vehicle checked before signing on the dotted line, most reputable dealerships will have no problem allowing you a coupe of hours to take it to your mechanic to have it checked out.  You can take solace that you have purchased the tires and should not need any for a long time, if properly rotated, balanced, and inflation is kept up.  The only thing you can do is call the dealership and ask them if they would help you with part of the cost, if they say no, then your only recourse is not to purchase from them again, but keep in mind there may have never been an issue with your tires in the first place.