Used Cars: Tires, dodge caliber, preowned car

Question
I live in CT. I just purchased a used 2009 Dodge Caliber. I took the car home today, finding that the tires on this car were horrible. The front tires are down to the ware bar, and the back tires are dry rotted. Is this against the law to let me take this car off the lot being so unsafe?

Answer

car guy

Hi Bobbiejo,

Sorry to hear about your tire problem. Here are the requirements I know about and here are the safety thresholds most dealers operate under.

My understanding is that the national requirement for minimum tire tread is 1/16 of an inch or (2/32...I am almost certain CT has this same law) which is not enough in my opinion. TO pass our standard used car inspection and safety check a tire must have no less than 6/32 of tread available. For a car to be a certified preowned car the requirement jumps up to 11/32 in our service departments. The other question you should ask yourself is why does a 2009 vehicle have no tread left on the tires? (Higher than normal miles is one good answer to that question BTW) Also if there is any uneven tire wear on any of the tires odds are the car hit something like a curb (at least)If you bought the car from a branded dealership I would take it back in and tell them you need some tires, and ask for a copy of the inspection that was done ..."for your records" and see what it says about them. A used car only store may be a more difficult sale just keep repeating that they sold you an unsafe car and tell them you don't want to have to report them to DMV! (Not the AG… but you can throw them in for fun if you want...it's DMV that has all of the power to immediately mess with their happiness. Have some sort of answer ready for why you didn't mention anything when you bought it (it was dark, it was raining etc.) If you bought the car from a private party you are probably SOL. The short answer to your question is yes, a dealer is not permitted to sell any vehicle that isn't safe...unless it's sold for parts and salvage only (yours would not qualify for that) ... period!!!


When you go to see the dealer make sure you talk to somebody whose title is general manager, or dealer principal of the store. I would not go to the sales manager or the salesman or the closer you made the deal with because they do not have the authority to say yes, but only to say no and maybe. Taking the car back will also affect their paycheck and they will be less motivated to go to bat for you no matter what they say. Trust me on this one.

My private e-mail is  roadloans@Gmail.com if you have any follow-up questions feel free to ask them and going direct to this e-mail will get a much faster as I check it constantly throughout the day. Good luck.

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