Tyres from a breakers yard

junii

I was talking to a guy recently and he was saying that he never bought brand new tyres for his first car. He always picked up decent ones at breakers yards!

Has anyone here done this? Would it be easy to get 4 the same I wonder.

peasant

Remember, tyres are your only contact to the road.

With second hand tyres you never know what you're getting. They might look good on the outside, but they still could have had a big hit at some stage that broke the steel cord.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

fletch

peasant wrote:

Remember, tyres are your only contact to the road.

With second hand tyres you never know what you're getting. They might look good on the outside, but they still could have had a big hit at some stage that broke the steel cord.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

I'll second that.....if you can't afford a decent set of tyres then you shouldn't have your car in the first place

Fey!

2 things I feel you shouldn't scrimp on: tyres and brakes.

bazz26

I agree with everything everyone else has said here. If you cannot aford tyres for your car then maybe it is time to think about parting with the car imo. Good tyres and brakes can be the difference between you and a wall/tree or ditch.

You can get new tyres at relatively cheap prices these days, they don't have to be a top brand. 13" tyres for a Nissan Sunny would not be that expensive. Try and buy 2 at a time, put the best 2 current tyres on the rear of the car and the 2 new ones on the front. Then when you have the money for 2 more buy them.

Second hand/remould tyres may look ok but the side walls can be weak and this may not be visable to the naked eye. A weak tyre wall can easily result in a blow out, not something you want especially at high speed where you loose control of the car.

junii

Its not that I can't afford them, I just thought that tyres from a breakers would be fine and if they were why fork out for brand new ones but I realise now they wouldn't be fine.


Should I put 165s or 155s on it. When I bought it and its still like this theres 3 155's and a 165 on the back!!?

PauloMN

junii wrote:

Its not that I can't afford them, I just thought that tyres from a breakers would be fine and if they were why fork out for brand new ones but I realise now they wouldn't be fine.


Should I put 165s or 155s on it. When I bought it and its still like this theres 3 155's and a 165 on the back!!?

Put 4 tyres of the same size on it. What are the originals? You should be able to find out either in the manual or online. I can't believe the car was sold to you with different size tyres on it. :eek:

Agree with all the above sentiments. Never skimp on tyres. Never use 2nd hand tyres of which you don't know the history. Never use remoulds (don't think they even sell them anymore). If a tyre is damaged/buldging, replace it.

Also when getting your tyres replaced, get the tracking done. No point putting brand new tyres on the car if the tracking is way off.

As Bazz26 says, tyres of that size - even decent brands - are pretty cheap. It sounds like a Micra or similar, I think €60 to €70 per tyre would get you Dunlops or similar, and maybe a bit less would get you decent budget tyres.

junii

What would be the major diiference between good brand tyres and budget ones?? More mileage?

Dya reckon I might be able to get them for 40 each including fitting.

Isn't tracking making sure the wheels are aligned, how much does it cost to get done say from a private mechanic?

ianobrien

junii wrote:

What would be the major diiference between good brand tyres and budget ones?? More mileage?

Dya reckon I might be able to get them for 40 each including fitting.

Isn't tracking making sure the wheels are aligned, how much does it cost to get done say from a private mechanic?

Get the best tyres you can afford. They are your only contact with the road. Put poor tyres (yes even new!) on the car. Poor tyres will have poor wet weather pereformance with the result that you will take longer to stop, with the obvious results.

Ireland can be a wet place, so get the tyres with the best wet weather performance. In the dry, you'll never get near the tyres limits without loosing your licence.

I always get the best tyres I can, even if I have to save for them (Bridgestones on a Micra, Pirelli Pzero on a Primera) and for 155/70 tyres, avoid Pirelli P3000, as their wet performance is shocking (I found out to my cost)

Eoin

junii wrote:

What would be the major diiference between good brand tyres and budget ones?? More mileage?

Dya reckon I might be able to get them for 40 each including fitting.

Isn't tracking making sure the wheels are aligned, how much does it cost to get done say from a private mechanic?

You'll probably get less mileage from some top end performance tyres, as they will have a softer compound to provide more grip, therefore wearing down quicker.

I don't know if wet / winter weather tyres are necessary, as Ireland isn't actually that wet or cold. All-weather tyres would more than likely do the trick.

Check this site out, it will probably answer every question and more on tyres and wheels. http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

For good value on tyres, check out www.eiretyres.com - they don't organise fitting though, so I'd think a local mechanic would have to fit them. Don't know how much the going rate would be for that.

Torq

bazz26 wrote:

I agree with everything everyone else has said here. If you cannot aford tyres for your car then maybe it is time to think about parting with the car imo. Good tyres and brakes can be the difference between you and a wall/tree or ditch.


Second hand/remould tyres may look ok but the side walls can be weak and this may not be visable to the naked eye. A weak tyre wall can easily result in a blow out, not something you want especially at high speed where you loose control of the car.

Hi Guys,
.....and funnily enough I dissagree!! Why, I hear you ask! It's quite simple. Hands up, how many of you when buying a second hand car replace all the tyres? I don't see many hands in the air.

So whats the difference in second hand tyres in a breakers and those on the car you've just bought? In fact you can have a good look around some breakers for the tyre you want and if it is still fitted to the car make an assessment on why the car is there. It's common to see almost new tyres on a car that is scrapped for being worn out.
Keep well,
Torq.

P.S. When I buy a second hand car I always replace the pads and discs, anyone else here do that?

junii

I may still consider having a look in a breakers yard.

joeblogg1

Torq wrote:

So whats the difference in second hand tyres in a breakers and those on the car you've just bought?

The big difference is when they are attached to the car you know what shape the car is in. In general when you buy them in a breakers they are no longer attached to the car and the car they came off could be a write off.

I wouldnt touch tyres froma breakers with a bargepole. Even cheap remoulds would in my opinion (while not great) be safer

gyppo

joebloggs is 100% correct imo.

there are very few breakers around now who will let you wander through their premises due to health and safety concerns. Therefore, the chances of seeing the car the tyres came off are slight.

Even if you do see the donor car, and the tyre look ok, how long has the car been off the road before being scrapped. Tyres in contact with damp ground will eventually rot on a car that has being lying up. The first you might know about this is when you have a blowout due to a rotton sidewall.

If you value your own neck, or even the investment in your car, buy a set of decent tyres. They're not that dear as things go.

If you still want to get tyres on the cheap, why not have a look on a silage pit? Another avenue to explore? (end of sarcasm).

chicken_food

I was looking at two new tyres for a 106 and i was quoted 80e each from quickfit for some cheap no names. Then i went onto eiretyres.com and could get 2 very good named brands with tyres having a proven record and tests for 110 incl 15e fitting from sandyford tyres. Who knows what kind of sun damage has occured to tyres in breakers yards,how long theyv been there. Cracks might not appear on side walls untill they are inflated to there proper psi. And even inflating could do more damage as they would've shrunk in size when not in use and not on a car.
Would you drive your car with dodgey brakes?? I know i wouldnt! I always have a spare set of pads in my garage,just in case. So dont risk your life and everyone elses just to save 20,30e!!

jimmycrackcorm

joeblogg1 wrote:

The big difference is when they are attached to the car you know what shape the car is in. In general when you buy them in a breakers they are no longer attached to the car and the car they came off could be a write off.

I wouldnt touch tyres froma breakers with a bargepole. Even cheap remoulds would in my opinion (while not great) be safer

So let me see. you are happy with the tyres on your car. you crash, car goes to breakers. you get same model of car but won't touch those types from your previous car that you were happy using....

I recently got four good alloys and types of a late 05 car in a breakers. I'd laugh at anyone trying to convince me to get new ones instead...

cargrouch

Junii, I was offered brand new no-names for 35 a wheel for my sunny. I've paid almost that for quality mountain bike tyres! 45 a wheel got bridgestones. (or firestones? always get that wrong )

My local breaker will let you wander round, and pull whatever you want off whatever car, but Big Sean is an exception to the norm in many ways. Any tyres from his place have probably been sat in a mixture of diesel/petrol/muck and engine oil. Probably fine for drifting (skanger drifting not actual "pro" drifting) or doing burnouts, but I doubt that's why you bought a sunny;)

Torq

joeblogg1 wrote:

The big difference is when they are attached to the car you know what shape the car is in. In general when you buy them in a breakers they are no longer attached to the car and the car they came off could be a write off.

I wouldnt touch tyres froma breakers with a bargepole. Even cheap remoulds would in my opinion (while not great) be safer

The point I'm making is that tyres on a secondhand car are an equally unknown quantity to those from a breakers. You have no idea of the history of either. A second hand car could even have tyres from a breakers and you would never know.

In response to chicken_food, tyres in a breakers get the same sun exposure as those on your car

Kinsella's at the red cow roundabout will let you wander around and pick your own parts, also most (but not all) breakers have a high turnover so it's unlikely that cars will be lying around for long

Would I buy tyres from a breakers myself? Yep I have done so, and put 13,000 miles on the tyre in question

But back to the question I posed, who when buying a second hand car changes all the tyres? Anyone? Or does everyone here buy only new cars?

keep well,
Torq

Alun

Torq wrote:

But back to the question I posed, who when buying a second hand car changes all the tyres? Anyone? Or does everyone here buy only new cars?

I have done this in the distant past, yes, when I bought older cars with odd mixtures of different makes / tread depths. I'd rather start from scratch with a known situation, than some random hotch potch.

Eoin

Torq wrote:

But back to the question I posed, who when buying a second hand car changes all the tyres?

Yep, I have put 4 new tyres on each 2nd hand car I have bought to date.

KeRbDoG

peasant wrote:

Remember, tyres are your only contact to the road.

With second hand tyres you never know what you're getting. They might look good on the outside, but they still could have had a big hit at some stage that broke the steel cord.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

So if you bought a second hand car would you replace all the tyres because you wouldnt know if the tyres got a big hit at some stage?
Not saying that I would get tyres from a breakers though. If a tyre got a big hit as you say there would be physical damage on the inside or outside of the tyre. Yea could just as the breakers to pop the tyre half way off so yea could inspect the internals of the tyre.