Unlucky or malicious?

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3 Dec 2005
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458
Hi guys.

More posted on behalf of my dad, he has a 120d M sport that is only a years old but has so far (as of today) had 3 nails in it's tyres in the last 6 months. 2 on the back right and 1 on the back left.

Is this him just being unlucky or is it more likely theres something malicious going on here? Has anyone every experienced or heard of someone getting nails in their tyres this amount? He's not driving anywhere untoward or places others aren't, though it is fair to admit our neighbours to one side are not a fan of us, though I can't see them stooping to this.

Cost of a new runflat is £260. Luckily the car is on the mobility scheme so he isn't shelling out personally but obviously BMW are going to be asking questions for the third tyre replacement in 6 months.

Thoughts?
 
Tbh I went through 3 new tyres on the same wheel with my civic in the space of a year, sometimes you just get unlucky. In saying that I had different types of damage each time.

Your run of the mill idiot wouldn't think a nail in the centre of a Tyre would mean it had t be replaced imo
 
You'll very rarely get a nail in the front tyres because it gets flicked up by the front and goes into the rears, sounds unlucky tbh
 
i dont think someone seeking revenge on you is going to go that far, they'll probably just scratch the paintwork, or slash the tyres, rather than carefully place a nail and hope it penetrates when you drive off.

argually it's easier to key the car as they drive by than get on their hands and knees and place a nail on either side of the wheel, no forgetting that it may not puncture, and tyres can get away with an embeded nail and run for a long time without deflating
 
I managed to get 3 nails in the same tyre over the space of 12 months in 3 completely different parts of the country, sometimes the law of averages just decides to rub it in your face I think.
 
[TW]Fox;24497403 said:
The cost of a new runflat for a 1 Series is nothing like 260 quid.

Probably will be at the garage the car has to go to, being a Mobility scheme vehicle.
 
Sounds like he drives an unlucky route, does he visit building sites etc etc?

Make sure he keeps the nails then he can do a CSI style forensic analysis / fingerprint them ;)
 
As above - I've picked up at least one nail or puncture every month recently. Funny enough they've just started building two new buildings next to my current work and all of the trades park on the road I drive down!
 
From my experience it is £260.

Your experience of what, getting ripped off?

The standard tyre size on the 1 Series M Sport is 215/40/18 front and 245/35/18 rear. It is unlikely to be rolling on 19's as a motability car so the M Sport size is likely the most expensive you'll find.

In the front size, a Potenza RE050A RFT starts at £163, in the rear size the same tyre starts at £179. Add on some more for the cost of locally obtaining such a tyre and you are still nowhere near £260 unless you enjoy getting ripped off and simply pay the first price you are quoted.
 
Surely the reason it has been costing £260 is that a BMW dealer has been changing the tyre, not a surprising mark up for a dealer. When not directly paying for it you are unlikely to negotiate a lower price or go out your way to find a cheaper approved tyre fitter.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Funnily enough there is a new house build just started on the road he usually uses heading out of our area, though they did have to knock down the original house as well so its possible it could be from that.

Guess hes just been quite unlucky.
 
It depends where the car is being driven. For example, at my last employment we were all forever getting nails and bolts through tyres as it was on the premises of a fabrication plant. Now I'm in a normal trading estate I haven't had one in ages!
 
Nails in tyres are pretty uncommon.
Most nails will lie flat on the ground, unless they are large-headed tacks which can rest point-up.
A car passing over a nail which is lying flat may kick it down the road a bit, but to drive it into the tyre, it must be at the correct angle, i.e 90 degrees (or close to) to the surface of the tyre- this is obviously possible, but quite unlikely.
If this keeps happening, I'd say someone is propping nails against your tyres at 45 degrees while the car is parked up. Check under the tyres before you go anywhere!
 
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