Tried to order from mytyres but they want me to pay via bank transfer, and that's NOT going to happen. No way. credit cards offer protection under consumer credit act, and I'm not risking bank transfers for mail/internet order purchases. Their emails looked like phishing scams too.

So, back to square one, as it were. Every time I find something on eBay they're always too far away and the courier costs involved mean that they're no longer a bargain.

Anyone know of any decent breakers in the central belt that would be worth trying to see if they have some 15" 5 stud 112PCD 57.00 ET 47 wheels?

Is it worth ringing round all the local Skoda dealerships to see if there are any that will supply me with rims for winter tyres without breaking the bank? what seemed like a £400 safety exercise seems to be rapidly turning into a £600+ wild goose chase.

Or should I just admit defeat and give up? I'm now utterly sick to the back teeth of trying to sort this out and there seems to be very few in the motor trade want to be civil, let alone attempt to be helpful. (with the notable exepction of the dealership I originally bought the car from, who are, unfortunately 200 miles away in Colne, Lancs)

I'm needing some summer tyres anyway, and had hoped to put this off until Next April, when I was in a better position to fund them.

(Just today I had to get an emergency replacement 225/45 R17 tyre and went to a place in Craigneuk, on the outskirts of Wishaw. showed me a part-worn goodyear for £30. went to get cash and when I came back he'd put a cheap Chinese made Hero on, saying that the Goodyear he'd shown me was knackered. No idea if he was lying or telling the truth, but I suspect I've been had for £30. It's got a kerb-bite out of the sidwall. but it's probably better than what I took off, which had a slow puncture, and was starting to look a bit slick.)

Edited 12 November, 201015 yr by L&Ken

Not sure why they want you to pay by Bank Transfer. I've ordered 2 sets of 4 recently by credit card with no problems?

Me too - used AmEx no problem...

Did they take long to arrive, Dawson?

Edited 12 November, 201015 yr by Superbum

Same thing happened with us. Called then and they claimed they needed photo copy of a bill to prove address. I delayed and they shipped tyres before i ever sent them anything.

If you go down the dealer route try West End Garage, Uphall (not far from J3 on the M8) they do a wheels and tyres combo all for a single price.

As it happens I got my 205/55/R16 Cooper Weathermaster ST3s from them, £88 inc VAT per tyre inc fitting (£352 total as I supplied my own wheels).

Rang them today to price for the wife's Mk1 Leon (I'm that impressed after running them for a week) and they quoted £256 to supply and fit 4 x 195/65 R15s of the same Cooper tyre, again if I supply the wheels (due to the age of the Leon I've seen several sets of the 15" alloys identical to the one's that are on it at the moment for around the £50 mark, and at that why bother searching out steelies! - PCD 100 though so no good for you I'm afraid!). I'm sure they can give you a good price including wheels. 01506 855300

Otherwise Sports Car Breakers (SCB) in Newbridge may be your best bet for used steelies. They quite often have smashed up Mk2 Octavia Taxi's and a rack of wheels so I'd guess with a bit of searching you should find some there (best to go armed with the VAG part no to check it's stamped on the wheels).

Hope this helps,

Niall

Just been on the phone to Graham at West End Garage in Broxburn, at Niall's suggestion. One of the most helpful and friendly and knowledgeable people I've ever dealt with.

He thinks that 15" rims won't fit the L&K, so is quoting for 16" with 205/55 R16s. It's a good bit more expensive than the prices I've been gazing doe-eyed at online, but for minimum hassle-factor and the fact that I'm utterly fed up of chasing my tail over something that should be simple, I'm prepared to pay extra to support the guys who offer a decent service.

Just waiting for a call back on lead-times.

fleabay, seen a few 15" and 16" if you have a search.

Me too - used AmEx no problem...

Did they take long to arrive, Dawson?

I used Amex too.

First set took around 2 weeks to arrive.

Last set (ordered last week) all arrived in under 1 week.

fleabay, seen a few 15" and 16" if you have a search.

yeah, been there, done that, after seven pages of Rockford Tyres' alloys Buy it Nows, I lost the will to live. :p

the problem with fleabay is that every single set I've seen has been within a tenner of brand new rim prices from the dealer by the time P&P is factored in. they're all either on the south coast, Essex or in NI, so collection isn't an option when I'm based near Glasgow. I kind of need them now-ish rather than playing the waiting game for something to come up locally. I don't doubt that fleabay will have a bargain come up locally. but it will probably be in June, knowing my luck. My car was undriveable for a month last year. I can't risk that again, nor the ignominy of seeing RWD BMW 3-series' getting out the street without problems when my wheels were spinning...

Also I've been looking at this for about a month now and I'm fed up. Apart from managing to get some good insights and recommendations here, I reckon I've spent 40+ hrs on a variety of different tyre resellers, review sites and comparison sites. Sourcing wheels and tyres shouldn't be this much effort.

so my efforts can be summed up thus:

my most local main dealer didn't seem to be that interested in offering advice or much in the way of service.

mytyres clearly think I'm attempting a fraudulent transaction and want a bank transfer instead of allowing me to protect myself via a credit card.

camskill never seem to have any stock. ever. it's all very well advertising cheap prices, but without any stock it's meaningless. Furthermore it just annoys everybody.

tyres-pneuos-online have good tyre prices, but by the time I've sourced rims separately and got the tyres fitted, it's not going to be much cheaper than letting West End in Broxburn supply and fit the complete package. AND they'll store the set that's off the car, meaning I don't have to find somewhere to keep 4 wheels on a permanent basis.

Blackcircles don't seem to have much selection of tyres at the moment. Again add on the fitting charge and the prices don't seem much better than West End Garage...

I expect that come April/May when I need new summer tyres for my Alloys that some of these online companies will actually prove to be a better bet. However my first online tyre buying experience has not been a positive one. It's no wonder people still go to KwikFit etc, because, despite their faults, and high prices, you go in and you come back out again with new tyres, in less than an hour.

Tried to order from mytyres but they want me to pay via bank transfer, and that's NOT going to happen. No way. credit cards offer protection under consumer credit act, and I'm not risking bank transfers for mail/internet order purchases. Their emails looked like phishing scams too.

So, back to square one, as it were. Every time I find something on eBay they're always too far away and the courier costs involved mean that they're no longer a bargain.

Anyone know of any decent breakers in the central belt that would be worth trying to see if they have some 15" 5 stud 112PCD 57.00 ET 47 wheels?

Is it worth ringing round all the local Skoda dealerships to see if there are any that will supply me with rims for winter tyres without breaking the bank? what seemed like a £400 safety exercise seems to be rapidly turning into a £600+ wild goose chase.

Or should I just admit defeat and give up? I'm now utterly sick to the back teeth of trying to sort this out and there seems to be very few in the motor trade want to be civil, let alone attempt to be helpful. (with the notable exepction of the dealership I originally bought the car from, who are, unfortunately 200 miles away in Colne, Lancs)

I'm needing some summer tyres anyway, and had hoped to put this off until Next April, when I was in a better position to fund them.

(Just today I had to get an emergency replacement 225/45 R17 tyre and went to a place in Craigneuk, on the outskirts of Wishaw. showed me a part-worn goodyear for £30. went to get cash and when I came back he'd put a cheap Chinese made Hero on, saying that the Goodyear he'd shown me was knackered. No idea if he was lying or telling the truth, but I suspect I've been had for £30. It's got a kerb-bite out of the sidwall. but it's probably better than what I took off, which had a slow puncture, and was starting to look a bit slick.)

The Germans say that Goodyear Ultragrip 7 plus are the bees' knees of winter tyres. AutoExpress (27 Oct) rated them top.

I bought 4 from mytyres.com using a credit card for £244.40 inc VAT. They took about 4 days to arrive.

I bought 4 steel wheels from Skoda for £192.76 inc VAT - they took 2 days.

If 15" wheels are standard fit on a basic Octavia, surely they'll fit an L & K? (I admit I shall be checking tomorrow....). Its only the VRS which has bigger brakes isn't it?

dill

The Germans say that Goodyear Ultragrip 7 plus are the bees' knees of winter tyres. AutoExpress (27 Oct) rated them top.

I bought 4 from mytyres.com using a credit card for £244.40 inc VAT. They took about 4 days to arrive.

I bought 4 steel wheels from Skoda for £192.76 inc VAT - they took 2 days.

If 15" wheels are standard fit on a basic Octavia, surely they'll fit an L & K? (I admit I shall be checking tomorrow....). Its only the VRS which has bigger brakes isn't it?

dill

YES...15" will fit

BUT not on a vRS as you state

Have a look here!

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p4712.m570.l1313&_nkw=VW+TRANSPORTER+STEEL+WHEELS+6X16+FOR+T4+AN+CADDY+5X112&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Have a look here!

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p4712.m570.l1313&_nkw=VW+TRANSPORTER+STEEL+WHEELS+6X16+FOR+T4+AN+CADDY+5X112&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Would they fit an Octavia? Rim width is 6J for the Transporter and the Octavia is 6.5J? Not sure if the difference is a big deal though?

Yes. They will fit no problem

My Winter Audi Alloys are the same size

L&Ken,

Completely agree with the hassle factor of this improvement.

I spent Sept/Oct gaining Golf 15" used alloy wheels for my VRS SE off fleabay (£40 bargain) and still don't have tyres yet to fit, currently working through local tyre centre and B.I.T.S. trader dealer to get a set - keeping my fingers crossed for good news next week.

L&Ken,

Completely agree with the hassle factor of this improvement.

I spent Sept/Oct gaining Golf 15" used alloy wheels for my VRS SE off fleabay (£40 bargain) and still don't have tyres yet to fit, currently working through local tyre centre and B.I.T.S. trader dealer to get a set - keeping my fingers crossed for good news next week.

if you've got a vRS, then make doubly sure those 15" rims will fit over the brake discs and calipers BEFORE you end up spending money on tyres that won't be of any use. One thing that Graham at W.E.G. in Broxburn pointed out was that even if the rims do just fit, he's seen instances where the balance weights foul the brake calipers meaning the wheels won't fit once the tyres are on.

Thanks for the tip and already tried to make sure - about 20mm clearance around the brakes as looking from the outside of the car wheel, so no probs with weights.

A couple of things:

Ive used MyTyres twice...Each time Ive paid by Paypal without any problem at all...arrived in 3 days on both occasions..The tyres come from Belgium and are free delivery

ALSO:

Use Camskill...even cheaper and you use a credit card...They come from Carlisle

Delivery Only £2.49 per tyre (UK Mainland)

Good luck

http://www.camskill.co.uk/

Edited 15 November, 201015 yr by ChrisRs

A couple of things:

Ive used MyTyres twice...Each time Ive paid by Paypal without any problem at all...arrived in 3 days on both occasions..The tyres come from Belgium and are free delivery

ALSO:

Use Camskill...even cheaper and you use a credit card...They come from Carlisle

Delivery Only £2.49 per tyre (UK Mainland)

Good luck

http://www.camskill.co.uk/

As I've pointed out above, my experience has been that camskill never seem to have any stock of anything. Frankly, life's far too short and I've wasted a month looking at places like mytyres and camskill. If camskill can't back up their prices with stockholding, then those prices are meaningless. Furthermore they're artificially lowering the street price. Anyone can advertise low low prices yet not carry any stock. We're midway though November now, and I simply cannot be bothered to waste any more time trying to organise it, which is why I've now gone ahead and ordered from the dealer.

That you've ordered successfully from mytyres using paypal reinforces my suspicions regarding their policy - Paypal offers less consumer protection than credit cards, and only marginally more than a bank transfer. Forcing customers to use a payment method which affords them very little protection makes me highly suspicious. Many dodgy tradesmen use this tactic, if consumer rights programmes on TV are to be believed.

That you've ordered successfully from mytyres using paypal reinforces my suspicions regarding their policy - Paypal offers less consumer protection than credit cards, and only marginally more than a bank transfer.

I recently ordered a couple of tyres from mytyres and paid using a credit card. The tyres were delivered less than a week later.

As I've pointed out above, my experience has been that camskill never seem to have any stock of anything. Frankly, life's far too short and I've wasted a month looking at places like mytyres and camskill. If camskill can't back up their prices with stockholding, then those prices are meaningless. Furthermore they're artificially lowering the street price. Anyone can advertise low low prices yet not carry any stock. We're midway though November now, and I simply cannot be bothered to waste any more time trying to organise it, which is why I've now gone ahead and ordered from the dealer.

That you've ordered successfully from mytyres using paypal reinforces my suspicions regarding their policy - Paypal offers less consumer protection than credit cards, and only marginally more than a bank transfer. Forcing customers to use a payment method which affords them very little protection makes me highly suspicious. Many dodgy tradesmen use this tactic, if consumer rights programmes on TV are to be believed.

I repeat...Ive had great service from both Camskill and MyTyres

Camskill has plenty of winter tyres at cheaper prices than MyTyres BUT £2.50 each tyre for P&P

Ive used Paypal for a few years with never a problem.

Good luck with your tyres

Camskill has plenty of winter tyres at cheaper prices than MyTyres BUT £2.50 each tyre for P&P

Unfortunately, no, they don't, most of items in usable sizes on camskill are indefinitely labeled as "NO STOCK" - prices might be competitive but they don't have anything to sell. And let's face it - rubber is never something you buy early, to keep under your desk, or in kitchen cupboard for when you need it. If they don't have something you need now, like All Season or Winter tyres in September/November, you will not need them to have anything ever again:

At this point I should mention the one's I'm buying tomorrow from Kwikfit (of all people!)!

Continental Winter Contact TS830 - which I've just been told in another thread came 2nd in the Autobild 2010 winter tyre test - http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-Auto-Bild-Performance-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

Tyre Size 205/55H16 - £81.65 each

Tyre Size 195/65H15 - £64.40 each

Which I think is outstanding value (they're £100/120+ on other sites)!

For summer tyres I use:

http://www.blackcircles.com/

http://www.tyretraders.com/

Edited 15 November, 201015 yr by MarkSk0da

I bought 8 (4 michelin Alpin A4's and 4 Goodyear vector 4 seasons for SWMBO's car) off mytyres (eiretyres.com irish version of mytyres) on sat no problem, paid by credit card and they are on the way today, used them back in Aug for 2 vred summer tyres and they arrived fairly quickly then too no hastle whatsoever