hey...

I'm at the end of a 42 month lease and the tires on the vehicle are close (but probably under) to the minimum allowable tread depth. I have two months left and I'm not sure what to do about the tires situation. Do I put new tires on? Can I put any tire on as long as it's the same size? Do I just return the car with the original tires and take the penalty? I do not intend to continue leasing. They are 18" tires. Thanks!

1/6/2009 2:45:14 PM

First you need to find out what the penalty will be.

Used tires are cheap, but it's a question of whether you can find them.

1/6/2009 3:03:08 PM

Do I just ask the leasing company? (Nissan) or the dealer that we went through about the tire penalty? I can get the tires fairly reasonably (approx. $100.00 per tire). They won't be Goodyear tires like what came on the car, does that matter as long as they are the same size?

1/6/2009 3:05:55 PM

you can get goodyear-brand tires for less than $100/each...shoot, for less than $100/each installed

whether they need to be the same model of tire, that's the question

1/6/2009 3:48:10 PM

I'll tell you the answer to this question if you put your old picture gallery back up.

1/6/2009 9:35:12 PM

get a set of used tires that are just above min. i did that and was not penalized.

1/7/2009 9:29:43 AM

Do they have to be the same brand/type? I mean, who do I know that if I find another set and spend $$$ on them that they aren't going to just say.. "sorry, these aren't of the same quality?"

1/21/2009 10:35:10 AM

yeah man, if you don't want them to question you, they should probably be the same brand/type.

though a friend who only replaced the fronts and rotated the others to the back had no problems when he turned his back in.

but why don't you just call and ask? seems like a waste of time to ask here.

1/21/2009 10:44:41 AM

Well, because the obvious answer that I'll get from some minimum wage phone answerer is going to be pretty much worst case scenario for me. I figured that asking here would get some replies from people who've gone through the process before.

1/21/2009 11:23:05 AM

All I know is that the appraiser that checks your car isn't necessarily a Nissan employee. They're likely contracted by Nissan and other car companies.

The dealer isn't the one who checks your car - they have no monetary interest in the car, unless they want to buy it for your payoff value and resell it (in most cases unlikely).

I'd risk leaving the old ones on, personally.

1/21/2009 12:12:33 PM