On Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:45:41 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

I'd do the basic check round of lights, pressures, fluids etc after
taking delivery of a new to me vehicle anyaway.

Oh, that was done by the dealer..MOT and so on..

My basic distrust of so called "professionals" would still have me
checking the vehical over.

Tyres ARE bad,espcecially the rears..cracking and splitting at the
tread/sidewall interface.

Surprised it got through an MOT like that. But looking at the MOT manual
it makes no mention of "perishing" just "cuts, lumps, bulges, tears,
exposure of the ply or cord, or tread separation".

Pressure is not checked either but:

under-inflation
Note: Under-inflation of a tyre is not in itself a reason for rejection.
However, a brake test might be inadvisable, because of possible damage, or
a headlight test might be affected, if the under-inflation is affecting
alignment

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_410.htm

Will definitely get a new pair soon..whats good?

Define "good", one of the "green" tyres will give you the low rolling
resistance but they cost more. If you aren't doing a really high mileage
then your probably better of getting a bog standard tyre as the small
change in mpg will take a long time to recoup the extra tyre cost.

--
Cheers
Dave.