# Lease return- tire question



## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

visi107 said:


> I didn't say that BMW requires the tires to exactly match when you turn it in. What i am saying is that if you have an all wheel drive car with worn out tires and you want to change two of the 4 tires(lets say two are 3/32 and two are 4/32) then tire places Discount tire and the likes will not do it. They will not do it because you will end up with a different rolling radius which differ too much(two will be brand new and two will be 4/32) and you can damage the car. They will tell you, that all 4 tires need to be changed and all 4 tires need to be changed to the same model tire.
> 
> Now let's say the OP knows a friend who works at a tire shop who agrees to do it (only change two tires) because who cares, the car is gonna be turned in anyway(assuming he has an xdrive model). Then yeah as far as BMW lease return goes it might be fine. But if I was buying a CPO BMW x drive model, i would want all 4 tires to be the same and with the same tread life. Otherwise i wouldn't trust that the car was taken care of properly as transmission problems can occur.
> 
> What Alpine300ZHP also said was '*You can still have different fronts vs rears on xdrive models*.' which is not really correct. All wheel drive cars should have matching tires.


This is just utter crap promulgated by tire salesmen.... Run the math on the impact of tread depth on revs per mile. You will find that tread depth is not a major factor

AND bmw has not published a spec...they'll happily replace only a single tire when they lay under their tire warranty..but declare it is 'unsafe' or 'recommended' when to only replace one when you are paying.

As Nimong pointed out there is no spec on lease returns. Furthermore there is no published spec by bmw, just boogeyman crap on tirerack and copied elsewhere.

Mismatched tires WILL cause issues, but variation in tread depth-100% versus 40,50% is fine.


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## bmrfam (Oct 15, 2006)

ard said:


> Run the math on the impact of tread depth on revs per mile. You will find that tread depth is not a major factor


Add to this that they deliver staggered wheel xdrive vehicles like our X5 50i straight from the factory. They come with slightly different diameters as it is impossible to exactly match tires with different cross sections and sidewall heights which is the case with our 275/40-20 and 315/35-20 tires. The ratio is close but one set is slightly larger than the other and would be similar to different tread depths on identical sized tires.

Tire Rack instructs the masses just like speed limits.  Neither were designed for these cars specifically in mind.


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## The BoatMan (Apr 2, 2002)

EatonZ26 said:


> On the same note, can the excess wear and tear protection that I purchased at the start of my lease be used to cover worn tires?


Yes. Lease Protection (excess wear and tear) covers worn tires at lease termination. i.e. it wont cover worn tires mid way thru the lease.

Not to be confused with the wheel and tire protection which will not cover worn tires at lease termination.


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## des16 (Jul 24, 2005)

*staggered wheels*

I have read this this thread and remain a little confused. I have a 4 series with the staggered wheel set up and performance tires. The lease is up soon, and some specific questions related to the staggered setup are:

1. How can I find a list of specific tires that are acceptable?

2. I understand that the tires on the same axle have to be the same, but do all 4 or my tires need to be the same?

3. If the two rears are between 4 and 5 32nd, can the tread on the fronts be any depth, as long as greater than 4/32nd? I know I will need to replace the fronts, but the rears should be fine in terms of tread.


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## southcoastguy (Jan 3, 2017)

Uhhh, has anyone read their lease?


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## smed melo (Jul 3, 2017)

visi107 said:


> The information i provided was valid and correct. I also provided the website from tire rack saying the same exact thing. You are the one who doesn't want to believe it.


is it ok to turn in car with 3 tires?


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## MJBrown62 (Jun 15, 2016)

des16 said:


> I have read this this thread and remain a little confused. I have a 4 series with the staggered wheel set up and performance tires. The lease is up soon, and some specific questions related to the staggered setup are:
> 
> 1. How can I find a list of specific tires that are acceptable?
> 
> ...


Tread depth is measure for each tire and each has to be over the minimum. All 4 don't have to have matching tread depth.

All four do have to be OEM spec and the same brand. Can't mismatch brands.

Best way to find out what is OK is to call a BMW parts department and ask what brands they carry for your model.


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## des16 (Jul 24, 2005)

*Yes*



southcoastguy said:


> Uhhh, has anyone read their lease?


Thank you for the suggestion to read the lease, but, I have already done so and consequently, I posted my query. The least defines excessive wear and use as: "(i) tires with tread depth of less than 1/8" remaining at the shallowest point and /or tires that are not all of the same grade, quantity or quality as those delivered with the Vehicle." I am ignorant of how "grade" and "quality" are defined by BMW, and likewise, have no idea what the lease means when it refers to "quantity," other than presumably meaning four tires.


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## dkreidel (Aug 24, 2005)

You'll find lots of conflicting experiences on this board, but one universal truth is if your car came with runflats it needs to be turned in with runflats.

Brand new Hankook Ventus VX were unacceptable on a car that did not require runflats; the tire police proclaimed the 'kooks inferior to the Delta Sierra Pirellis my car came with.


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