kick the tires

kick the tires

To inspect or test something or someone to ensure that he, she, or it meets the required or expected standard of quality. Primarily heard in US, Canada. You should always kick the tires of anything you plan to buy from someone online, or else you might end up buying a piece of junk! The boss always assigns difficult projects as a way of kicking the tires of new employees. We should hire a few interns to kick the tires on this app before we release it to the public.
See also: kick, tire
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

kick the ˈtyres

(British English) (American English kick the ˈtires) (especially American English) test the quality of something; see if something is suitable for you: We now spend longer kicking the tyres before investing in new companies. ▶ ˈtyrekicker (British English) (American English ˈtirekicker) noun a possible customer who asks a lot of questions about a product but never buys anything: Your sales team can waste a huge amount of time on tyrekickers.
See also: kick, tyre
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • kick the tyres
  • tire
  • tyre
  • kick the wheels
  • chip
  • chips
  • up on (one's) ear
  • run the rule over
  • run the rule over (one)
  • Two Bob
References in periodicals archive
You have three days to "kick the tires," as they say.
The same goes for Amazon or Facebook or any of the Silicon Valley giants that might kick the tires of an entertainment conglom.
Just imagine--a chance to kick the tires on new products, without even leaving your home office.
government employees to visit and "kick the tires," to make sure the funding is being used correctly.
Nearly 600 high school students will gather at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 10 to kick the tires and stand inside the wheel well of a 737 jet while learning about careers in aviation during the sixth annual Alaska Airlines Aviation Day.
It also gives companies that sell logging equipment, such as the Eugene-based Pap Group, a chance to show customers, and potential customers, their newest offerings, let them kick the tires and, hopefully, buy.
This owner's manual lets teens kick the tires as they learn to drive their new-model brains.
As thousands of consumers pour into Detroit's North American International Auto Show this week to kick the tires of new models and concept cars, many will go back to their hometowns and ponder their next big purchase.
Attendees had the opportunity to walk around and kick the tires of a wide-range of Kobelco excavators on display and to take a tour of the company's offices and parts facility.
One of the most talked about programs at the 2012 Healthcare Design Conference was the Patient Experience Simulation Lab and Workshop, where participants got the chance to kick the tires, so to speak, on a live patient space through both virtual and physical models.
Schwab described the investors highlighted in the new campaign as "people who engage, who ask questions, who want to look under the hood and kick the tires, who take ownership of their future."
Our aircraft do break, but if you know that and still head out for preflight with a "kick the tires and light the fires" attitude, you may read about your event in an safety investigation report (SIR).
Do you still get out there and kick the tires on these companies?
The majority of organizations are just starting to kick the tires, ask questions, and try to understand what everything means."
This is why the company has launched Quick Spin--a new trial site that is designed to allow companies to kick the tires of the hosted service before they buy.