Part Worn Tires
Part worn tires create a lot of debate around the internet, and any thread started usually turns into a heated debate between the positives and negatives of part worn tires.
The positive group recommend part worn tire as excellent value, often citing the fact they're "shipped in from the continent where the tread depth laws are different" and swear they're good value for money. The negative group are rather more conservative and question a number of interesting points... Why perfectly good tire were taken off a vehicle? What sort of accident could the car have been involved in (and resulting damage to the tires)? How can you be certain the tire isn't damaged in ways that can't be seen by the naked eye?
Unfortunately neither side ever back down, and there's usually very little research to cite for either side.
Thankfully, this year Birmingham Trading Standards have done a little research for us with some alarming results. Birmingham Trading Standards found that 90% of the part-worn tires tested failed to meet minimum legal requirements, with issues ranging from embedded nails, illegal tread depth, exposed cords, inadequate sidewall markings and one tire which was 17 years old.
Unfortunately Birmingham Trading Standards sample wasn't exhaustive, only buying ten tires and then only sending six of them to TireSafe for further tests. Interestingly, of the six tires sent to TireSafe every tire x-rayed showed signs of impact damage which could result in unstable stress points and a resulting blowout.
While we'd have liked to see a bigger sample set of tires, the most important finding from this research is that 6 out of the 6 part worn tires x-rayed had internal damage that could not be detected by normal inspections or seen by the naked eye. Call us old fashioned, but that's an excellent reason to be extremely cautious when buying part worn tires.
The law says all second hand tires must be permanently marked as part worn, they must have at least 2mm of tread depth around the whole tire and the original tread must be clearly visible in their entirety. Any repairs to the tire must have been carried out in accordance with British Standards BS AU 159.
What's your experiences? Comments below
the logic used here is false, they talk about many not meeting the minimum standards, well whats the financial benefits when its part worn but still has 6mm on it? Only a fool buys a tire thats already down to 2mm!
I've always had new tires (Falken) on my car - a 1999 Mercedes E200. But last week, I decided to buy one used Toyo Proxes for the rear left side. It's mid-2012, which is newer than the Falken it replaced and its depth is at least the same as on the other side.
Yes, I've read the cautions against used tires but my logic are these:
1) It's better than the one I had replaced. Despite the threads still having enough depth, it had suffered a puncture before. What prompted me to immediately replace it was a small hole at the sidewall and a short crack line near it. And then I also saw a shiny object on the thread area - it was an embedded screw. No wonder I had to pump air once a week - it'd come down from 220 to 170.
2) The tires may be "new" when I first bought them. But after 21 months, and despite the threads still having enough depth, they are of the same level as the used tires. "Better the devil you know"...? Maybe. But there's no guarantee they'd remain trouble-free.
It's a risk to buy used tires, but a calculated one. We can greatly reduce the risks by insisting on the well-known brands only, not too old, and inspect the whole tire inch by inch. It also depends on one's driving style. Common sense dictates that you don't engage in spirited driving if you're using NEW economy tires so why would you do so with used ones (albeit better-quality brands)?
Frances Molloy
My son Michael Molloy aged 18, Kerry Ogden aged 23, and the driver Coli Daulby were killed in a crash coming home from Bestival because of a 20 year old second hand tire that the operator Merseypride had fitted just months before. It is still unbelievable to know that this was legal. This was all about saving money and it cost my son his life. The only thing keeping you from the road is the tire. Please, please do not cut corners with your tires. If you can't afford new tires then don't own a vehicle and most certainly don't operate a coach firm with hundreds of thousands of passengers each year.
Losing your child because somebody saved money on the cost of a new tire is unbearable to live with. I am now campaigning to change legislation around this. I will win this fight because nobody can accept there is no age limit on tires. It is just wrong!
There is a number on every tire and the last 4 digits will give you the month and the year of manufacture. Check your tires regularly and go to an expert. Trust me, you never want to be the person having to write this comment. #Oldtireskill #fact
One of Trading Standards minimum legal requirements was sidewall markings. This doesn't mean that the tires were unsafe. Their headline's '90% part worn tire failure' was anything but 'alarming'. Trading Standards distorted the reality and accuracy of their findings by classing safe and unsafe tires as failing their investigation, only adding to existing confusion about tire safety.
You buy part worn tires on any used vehicle, not knowing their history. If you buy part worn, you're doing your bit for the environment as well as saving lots of money. I NEVER buy new tires for my car OR my motorbike.
Had Trading Standards tested the many part worn tires that I have purchased, they would have found no faults!!
I have bought good ones in the past and there are a lot of these sold on ebay, some of the private sales can be a good deal but there are certain companies which sell part worns which are useless, overpriced and old! especially winter tires. Do your research, always ask the age or DOT numbers on the side (these tell you the week and year they were manufactered) and don`t buy anything with less than 6mm (especially winter tires).
our company have sold partly used tires for over 15 years it is stupid to say that they come from "crashed cars" we by 3-5000 every 6 weeks how many "CRASHED CARS IS THAT"
Used cars come with used tires yes, usually budget tires aswell.
First thing I do is replace all 4 if I can afford or atleast the front 2 (for FWD), usually with some Toyo T1R's or similar / better. Its a cost I take into account when buying a car, along with an immediate service.
I've actual bought a few carefully chosen part worn tires for mainly trackday driving and so far have been very pleased. I only buy very high quality tires such as Michelin PS2 with no less than 5mm of tread but this has saved me a fortune. All the tires I've bought have been fine for this kind of use.
used car comes with used tires...unless...you buy from a dealer...and insist on 4 new ones.
You never know what risk the previous owner took.
This afternoon I bought 4 bridgestones B250's for my wife who managed to frive the passenger rear threadbare ...... left front was bad too ... I put the spare on the back and drove cautiously to the tirecentre,,,, It was wet... in front of me the BMW 3 spun out of control...jusrt took the roundabout a bit fast ...turned 540 degrees around its axle and slammed into the opposite traffic. While providing first aid i was afterwards warned by a cop about my left front tire.... and i explained where i was heading.... THE BMW was on part worns the owbner told me.... he went for a cheap deal 2 weeks before.... In the initial skid his driverside front blew out.
My life ..that of my children/passengers and MOST of my fellow road users is worth paying double for good quality tires... I'd apreciate it if they would have the same sentiments
People buy part-worn tires all the time and I bought some at the end of last year. They came attached to a used car...
At least when you're buying a car with "part worn tires" you know the tires are still hopefully roadworthy.
Part worn tires off the internet could have been taken off the car for any reason.
As with anything in life you need to weigh up the pro's and con's and come to a decision you're happy with. Us? We'd not risk it.
I have bought used tires in the past and will do again in the future. The last full set of new tires I bought went on a 5 series BMW 235/45/17 they were a budget tire and cost about £65 each, I had these on the car about 12 months by then they had worn unevenly and were very much out of shape. So back to my used tire dealer got a set of Goodyear NCT's with about 5/6mm on each tire @£20 each fantastic. New tires can be useless. But to all that say never use or buy used tires "IF YOU HAVE EVER BOUGHT A USED CAR YOU HAVE BOUGHT USED TYRES" so how do you know what life they have had? you don't
Which is why the first thing I do when buying a used car is replace all the tires...
I've personally bought lots of part worn tires without any problems. The fact is that the majority of theses tires come from the continent where they HAVE to change their tires for the winter. Also in some countries it is illegal to put the old tire back on once it has been taken off even if they've just been on for 8 months. Just think about how many company cars/hire cars there are for instance. I ALWAYS inspect the tires before buying and make sure I get a recent design with lots of tread depth. Try to get matching tires with the same tread depth and always go for premium brands like Continental, Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone etc and you can't go far wrong.
Obviously, if you don't know how to spot a good tire just go and buy new ones for 3-4 times the price!
By the way, you can't hold a scientific study with any credibility with 6 tires and nobody in their right mind would hand over cash for an old threadbare or damaged tire.
Come on guys use your common sense!
if there is anybody shopping for part worn tires, then they look for ones with at least halfway legal tread depth, if a new one is 8-9 mm then buying a set above 6mm should be fine, I did buy two part worn tires ( above 6mm - two years old ) and having this experience with a honest seller I was well informed on the tread depth, date of production - DOT mark on each tire is easy to read, and the overall condition, some sellers even pressure check their partworn tires prior to selling them so they make sure there is no internal damage, some cars just eat tires more than they burn fuel, this is the case with my car, and the x-ray test.... if you hit a pothole on a new tire, I am sure an x-ray read by the Birmingham Trading Standards would make you buy another new one.... maybe we'll get the x-ray vision goggles soon so everyone can inspect their tires on a daily basis... thats a joke, if you can buy new tires and keep using them on your car until they are 2mm deep, then there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to get a partworn set and still be safe
Yes the x-ray findings are interesting. But I'd like a multi-sample test with tires taken from a large number of average motorists tires at half worn (but bought new). And then another selection from a group of advanced motorists. Comparing parn worn to these two groups would yield some interesting and really useful comparisons.
I would personally never buy used tires - I have seen too many people abusing theirs in ways I just wouldn't so its not a dice I want to roll, whatver I may think I am saving.
I cant comment much as this is the first time i have bought part worn tires and to be honest they looked practically new. I CAN say 2 things though.
Firstly price I saved nearly £400 buying part worn tires, both of which as I have said, appeared nearly new. Oh and I did visually inspect the tire to avoid (hopefully) embedded nails, illegal tread depth, exposed cords etc
Secondly, which is more of a question, how often do they x-ray new tires? I mean if you say that the tires have microscopic defects due to having previously being used (not repaired) then the real question surely should be: how soon will those same defects being to appear in my new tires signifying that they should be changed?
So are these findings suggesting that once i have new tires fitted i should have them regularly x-rayed to make sure they have none of the above defects.
If you inspect the tires before you buy them I dont see any reason why not shop for second hand tires used . My advice is never buy this online .... you must see what you buy - and i recomand - to ask the trader to install them on your car and of course balance the wells .
Age and depth is what youre looking for - make sure is just a few years old and you get at least 4 mm depth on it .