I have a Superb (03 plate) 1.8T that is wearing out the inner tread of the rear tyres at an alarming speed. I do relatively high mileage, but do expext a set of tyres to last more than 4 months! The vehicle has NOT been involved in an accident and I have owned it for over 2 years, with this problem only developing in the last 6months. I have been advised to have a geometry/ four wheel alignment test, but before I fork out £110 I would like to know if this is a common problem. Any ideas please?

worn bushes can also cause this......

Agreed worn bushes or even a worn wheel bearing could cause that (you should hear if the bearing is gone though)

Other than that something must be loose or bent, to check:

chock the front wheel,

place car in gear & release the handbrake,

then jack the car up so the wheel is just off the ground and see if there is any play when you try to wobble the wheel from side to side & top to bottom.

If there is play see if its the bush that is moving or the wheel bearing.

I was quoted £35 for front tracking to be checked done with a four wheel alignment check

There is a problem with the tolerancing of the rear suspension on the B5.5 - a search of the Passat forums should show this up. Fortunately, the tyres on mine are wearing evenly so I've not looked into this in any detail, but I think that the stub axles can either be shimmed to bring them into correct alignment, or stub axles with different camber settings relative to the mounting flange may be available.

Try a good independent with a 4 wheel alignment facility. VAG dealers are very unlikely to get a problem like this right first time, at reasonable cost.

rotodiesel.