Tyre dealer: "We have five types of tyres for you: original tyres, fake tyres, repaired tyres, used tyres and over-stocked tyres. Which one of these do you want to buy?"

Customer: "I want the cheapest."

This is the normal dialogue between tyre dealers and customers at any shop in the tyre market.

A snap survey by Gulf News revealed that not only are tyre dealers responsible for selling low quality tyres, but motorists are equally to blame for opting for inferior quality tyres just to save money. Drivers, in fact, encourage the sale of low quality tyres by insisting on paying the lowest price.

"We have all kinds of tyres, but the majority of people ask for cheap tyres despite the fact that we give them the option of buing good quality ones," said Mohammed Sharif who has been dealing in tyres for several years.

"We tell them about the variety of tyres available and first of all we give them the price for the high quality original tyres, but the majority of customers ask for cheaper rates and also ask for used tyres," he said. Fake and used tyres are available because they are in big demand.

Another tyre dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there were mainly five qualities of tyre available.

"First comes the original brand tyres, secondly the fake tyres with brand names on them, thirdly the used tyres, fourthly the repaired tyres and lastly the old stock tyres," he said.

The most dangerous types of tyre are the repaired tyres, fake tyres and old stock tyres.

"The old, used and fake tyres are imported from various countries and are not only used in the UAE, but also re-exported to other countries," he said.

Dealer Agha Ali Ahmed said that there were more than 100 tyre shops in the Sharjah Industrial Area alone and almost all of them sold types of tyre which put the life of the buyer at risk.

"People end up spending more money on such tyres because they have to replace them early and also have to face, sometimes, serious accidents that can also prove fatal," he said.

Mohammed Rizwan, who went to a tyre shop in the Sharjah Industrial Area to buy new tyres for his car, said that he was deceived by the dealer.

"I asked for brand new tyres and negotiated the price. Later I thought they needed balancing and aligning but the mechanic at the wheel-balancing workshop told me that although the tyres were branded, they were "lifeless" and had no strength because they were at least 10 years old."

Rizwan went to the tyre dealer to complain, but in vain because he had paid much less the price of new tyres.

Ahmed Salloum recalled that once he bought four brand new tyres for his car from a tyre dealer at the Sharjah Industrial Area for Dh450, but, he had had to change the tyres after only two months when one burst while he was on his way to the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.

"When I went back to complain to the dealer, he told me that the tyre burst because there was something wrong with the road alignment in my car," said Salloum.

Ahmed Nasser, Service Manager at the Liberty Automobiles Co in Sharjah, said people should always buy good quality original tyres from authorised agents.

He said that cars should be fitted with tyres according to the specification given by the car manufacturer. Customers should always check the date the tyre was manufactured before buying it.

"Tyre pressure should be checked regularly, but it should be checked when the tyres are not hot. Don't drive with under-inflated tyres because that causes great damage to the tyres and can result in an accident," Nasser said.

"If the car hits humps or bad patches, or is driven on rough roads, it should be taken for wheel-balancing and alignment to a reliable workshop equipped with modern computerised machines to ensure quality work and safe driving.

"Regularly check the tyre tread for cracks or any inflated patches. You should immediately get the tyre changed if any of these signs are detected."