Buying part worn tyres

[Petrol Pete]

An article in the UK news recently about part worn tyres reminded me of my own experience of 'out of date' tyres on sale.

My wife's 13 year old run around suffered a un repairable puncture recently and as the spare tyre was new I thought it might be a good idea to use the spare and match it with a brand new replacement and put the other (still well legal) tyre in the boot.

The exact tyre was available brand new on Flea-bay but when we searched reputable tyre fitters it appears that that particular Pirelli had been discontinued more than 6 years ago !

So as far as I can gather the seller must have had a job lot of them languishing in a container somewhere for at least that long. Needless to say I didn't bother with that option.

But the recent story telling us of one business selling part worn tyres with less than 2.6% of them being marked (legal requirement) as part worn and one tyre on sale being 23 years old ! just confirms what I have always thought about the part worn tyre trade....

 

[NDFR]

Why on earth use secondhand tyres?

They are safety critical and not so expensive new.

This is one economy I have never understood.

 

[gunning]

Why on earth use secondhand tyres? They are safety critical and not so expensive new. This is one economy I have never understood.

I got stuck in France due to too much camber on the inner edge and it tore the inside out on my 911. Trying to find 315/30/18 isn't easy but managed to get hold of 2 Michelin pilot sports which had 7mm on them I thought brilliant they'll get me home.

I didn't need to change them until they wore down which was at the same rate as new ones.

They cost me €120 fitted! I don't think you can complain with that! Basically a new tyre for a 1/5 of the price of new. Perfectly safe as I push my car hard. So second hand tyre do have a market for big tyres. But I don't understand people who buy used when they have tiny little wheels. Tyre prices are very reasonable these days.

 

[moonloops]

Why on earth use secondhand tyres?

They are safety critical and not so expensive new.

This is one economy I have never understood.

Because some people buy cars they can't afford to run ??

 

[merc85]

The other view is you buy a second hand car, the tyres are also second hand, do you go straight out and fit new tyres??

 

[moonloops]

The other view is you buy a second hand car, the tyres are also second hand, do you go straight out and fit new tyres??

I have, more than once. If a car has shoddy tyres or a mix of makes I change them same day I buy the car.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Nothing wrong with second hand tyres, if you can get in with someone who imports container loads from Germany seeing as their limit is higher mm to ours, you can get a right bargain

 

[merc85]

I have, more than once. If a car has shoddy tyres or rubbish makes I change them same day I buy the car.

Thats fair enough, Just showing the other point of view. I didnt say about shoddy tyres, I'm talking about a car with 6mm of Conti's alround on them would you do the same?

 

[tcb180]

I was forced to buy one last week for £30 some chinese crap. Had good tread and my arm was only forced because the Merc a week earlier had failed mot on cord exposed due to the camber curse.

That snow was due and my 10 day return was ending. So quick tyre, drive to garage mot sorted.

The tyre is well off the car now though.

 

[wemorgan]

Various legitimate reasons:

Little point fitting brand new tyres if soon to sell the car or return from leasing.
An unrepairable puncture in 1 tyre needs replacing, owner wants a matching tyre of similar wear to tyre on same axle.

But generally new tyres are prefered and I suspect account for the vast number of tyre sales.

The article was mostly about unsafe repairs, which is relevant to many more than those buying second hand tyres.

 

[KennyN]

Why on earth use secondhand tyres?

They are safety critical and not so expensive new.

This is one economy I have never understood.

Sometimes a good part worn is a "safer" choice than sliding around on a set of new budget tyres , as some are downright dangerous in the wet.

Plus not everyone has the available funds at the time that new rubber is required.

I fitted a pair of PW tyres to the wife's car as it was due to be replaced imminently and no point spending 25% of the cars value on two new tyres for someone else to benefit.

Kenny

 

[moonloops]

Thats fair enough, Just showing the other point of view. I didnt say about shoddy tyres, I'm talking about a car with 6mm of Conti's alround on them would you do the same?

No, I wouldn't change as you can assume that the previous owner was happy driving on them. You should always inspect tyres on second hand tyres anyway.

Problem with used tyres is that a lot of them have come off crashed cars.

My mate (not Dave) bought some second hand tyres and the fitters found damage on the inside (3" split) with a barely visible impact mark on the outside. Lastly a quick calculation on cost and tread depth actually showed it to be cheaper to buy new!

 

[pmcgsmurf]

The rears on my old W211 were down to just over 2mm.

Went out and got 2 x 225x55x16 Pirelli P7 brand new yesterday for a little over £160 (owed a favour), new is a no brainer for me.

 

[ph47mf]

I have used part worn for many years and haven't had a single problem. I do live near a very trustworthy tyre guy and I visually inspect it thoroughly before I buy it. I always opt for branded ones with no less than 5-6mm on it and never damage repaired. At £20 a corner I cannot complain.

I got to ask - when you buy a used vehicle, it comes with used tyres which you are not sure of its history also, does it make it unsafe?

 

[C36fan]

I have, more than once. If a car has shoddy tyres or a mix of makes I change them same day I buy the car.

Me too.

 

[developer]

I always opt for branded ones with no less than 5-6mm on it

Surely one tyre guy can't have many of these available

 

[Petrol Pete]

I agree, I put some budget tyres on my (now long gone) X reg Astra as I was doing just a few miles a day to work (some days I walked it was that close). job changed and I started doing long distances and realised how bad they were, bloody thing sliding around and spinning its wheels , it only had about 80 bhp ! when I took it to have all 4 tyres replaced the fitter asked me what I wanted to do with the 4 virtually new budget tyres that he had taken off, I told him he could have them.

Never again, and certainly not on my C55 !!

 

[Petrol Pete]

You are the exception to the rule, obviously knowledgeable and know what you are looking at buying. I think the point of the original news story is that people on a tight budget visit (some) these used tyre places and get ripped off and end up on dangerous tyres.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I've a couple of experiences of this.

Many years ago we bought a used MX5 from Japan, the tyres had plenty of tread so we left them on until the day that I spun it entering a roundabout in our town centre, I've rarely felt such a fool. I can only assume that they were some kind of hard compound suited better to it's home country.

The second was trying to buy some tyres for my old 5 series, it had those honeycomb wheels in a metric size which at the time meant that only Dunlop made ones to fit. My tyre bloke only had 2 new ones so I had to put up with part worn for the other two for a while - they were fine.

 

[dejongj]

That reminds me I have a Continental CrossContact UHP 295/35R21 MO still in the Garage, done about 800 miles. It is a left over as I then got an unrepairable puncture in the other new tyre and guess what...There wasn't a single of these tyres in the country to get. So rather then my car being off the road I had to buy other tyres.

I think there is a market and there is nothing wrong with it.