Hey guys. This is my very first post and with you're help I'll be back with a new ride. Soon I hope.

Basically, I've been looking to buy an E36 1996-1998 323i saloon/sedan (I'm from the UK). I've seen a very nice example (1998) and will be going back on saturday to check over the car once more and buy it if it checks out. I have checked it out today and driven it and am doing final checks.

My question is this: The car's rear wheels are different. What could be the reasons? The front 2 are pirellis. The rear are goodyear and either pirelli or something else. Is this a sign of someone being cheap or is it a potential sign of misalignment caused by accident damage. The tires show no uneven wear (or none that I could spot) but this could be because the tires are not that old. I couldn't see any evidence of accident damage. The car didn't pull to one side when braking. Acceleration seemed true and straight.

The car has had 2 owners but the last didn't own it for over 2 years. 70k on the clock. Full service history (all but last with BMW stamp) up to 63k. Since I've always wanted a practical rear-wheel drive car, i.e. a bmw, and this will be my first, I want to make sure I cover all bases.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

I never run the same tires in the front as in the back. But that is because I drift and the rears are vaporized long before the fronts. Ask the dude why they are different. There are a million reasons to have different fronts than backs. Take it to a mechanic if it makes you lose sleep. They will tell you if there is anything wrong with the suspension, there are bends in the wheels or anything else. It could be that the guy tracks the car or does auto-x and his fronts wore out before the backs.

There could be a million reasons? Thought so. Was kinda hoping that there may be a couple main ones. Oh well. Although I hope you know that I meant not only are the rears different from the front, the left rear is different from the right rear.

Cheers for the reply. I still have alot to learn.

chance is price... to get matching tyres for the car would have cost him more, that or they dont make that type any more..
mines got 2 makes front/rear as i have staggerd wheel, 225's front, 245's rear

i had to phone 6 tyre shops to find someone to replace 1 tyre that had a hole in the side wall..

the pricks at the (diatsu) dealer where i brought the car wanted to go slap a cheep no name thing on there to make it legal. I said no and pointed out in the book where it says you should have the same type/make per axle with traction control.

I said no and pointed out in the book where it says you should have the same type/make per axle with traction control.

It is true that you should have the same tyres all around to maintain consistency. At least keep the same tires on the same axle. Just swap in some new tires and you will be sure everything is fine on that front. Hopefully everything else on the car is ok, too.

I see no valid reason to have three different makes of tyre on one car. Tell the tightrrr's seller to get new tyres and then have another look at it. If he's too cheap to get proper tyres what else is he skimping on?????