opinions wanted; car sales gone bad

I agree with you only if the tires weren't talked about prior to the sale. In this case it seems the OP did in fact tell the buyer about the tires needing replaced prior to the sale. If this is the case then who cares what was on the car when inspected. If it was talked about then I see nothing wrong.
So why get it inspected if your intention is to talk about it and undo things that make it pass inspection?