Are part worn tyres really a death trap?

ARGINITE

Bough a spare wheel for my car, it came without a tyre. I was intending on buying a part worn tyre to put on the rim, but after looking on line there seems to be a lot of articles regarding on how dangerous part worn tyres can be.

So are part worn tyres really a death trap?

GTDolanator

i got practically brand new goodyears for the van,much better than the cheapo rubbish that were on it before

Kenny Logins

Almost every car has part-worn tyres.

Mr Simpson

Bad part worn tyres = Death trap
Good, Tested Part worns = fine

Simples

gbee

In and of itself, part worn tyres are not inherently dangerous.

However, what the purchaser does not know is why they are part worn. True, there are people who like to keep a very good thread under their vehicle and will change tyres well before legally obliged to do so.

However, I'd suggest that most experienced some problem to make them part with their tyres in the first place.

As problems [apart from attributes] will tend to show earlier, put on the tyre and run it expecting it to blow, if it survives getting hot and cold with no bulges, cracks, excessive noise or erratic driving issues, well it's probably just a part worn tyre.

OldmanMondeo

I would have been on the side of buying new over part worn, not knowing the history of the tyre etc, but finances and worn tyres had me in the situation where I needed to strongly consider part worn. I ended up getting PW and I would again. Just check the tyre over before you buy and you should be ok. I got 2 good PW tyres for less than the price of 1 new cheap new one.

lifer_sean

gbee wrote: »

However, what the purchaser does not know is why they are part worn. True, there are people who like to keep a very good thread under their vehicle and will change tyres well before legally obliged to do so.

However, I'd suggest that most experienced some problem to make them part with their tyres in the first place.

Most of the part-worn tyres being sold here are imported from continental Europe, where there is a legal requirement to run winter tyres for certain months of the year. If you don't have a second set of wheels for the car, you need to take off perfectly good tyres to change from summer to winter tyres and vica versa. If you can't or don't want to store them, then they get sold on to wholesalers and ultimately end up in your local tyre depot.

Davy

Tyreland are now advertising part worns that have been checked x-ray and are insured.

2pack

but don't most part worn tyres come from Germany as they can be no longer be used on their roads as are worn below the legal allowed limit so it seems they pose a certain risk.
I Actually know of a guy who is selling and fitting part worn tyres from Germany, he's not registered as doing it part time but was wondering if you got one of these on and few hours later it blew out and god forbid caused an accident who is at fault...

corkgsxr

Nothing wrong with most. Just have a look at the tire. Check age. Make sure they match tires on each axle

colm_mcm

2pack wrote: »

but don't most part worn tyres come from Germany as they can be no longer be used on their roads as are worn below the legal allowed limit so it seems they pose a certain risk.

Legal depth in Germany is 3mm. Anything I've seen for sale has had loads more than that. Even though our limit is 1.6mm you'd want be changing tyres well before you reach that.

allthedoyles

If buying one tyre , make sure it is similar to the other ones on your vehicle .

Like , have you summer or winter tyres , and keep the tyre pattern the same as your other tyres

corkgsxr

2pack wrote: »

but don't most part worn tyres come from Germany as they can be no longer be used on their roads as are worn below the legal allowed limit so it seems they pose a certain risk.

No winter tires are less effective below 4mm so I think they have to change them then. Still fine tires though.

And much better than cheap new ones

ARGINITE

allthedoyles wrote: »

Like , have you summer or winter tyres , and keep the tyre pattern the same as your other tyres

I have Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta on the car and it's proving difficult to find to find another part worn one, I was going to stick another similar quality part worn tyre on the spare wheel.

Should this be ok?

keithclancy

More of a gamble than a death trap

Matt Simis

Partworn tyres are as much a death trap as "partworn" cars..

2pack

another guy i know has a car with 185 65 16 tyres as standard but has got good set of part worn tyres 205 55 16 and has fitted these..would that be ok for insurance reasons and all that if he had a accident as he has went up couple of sizes etc

JohnBoy26

2pack wrote: »

another guy i know has a car with 185 65 16 tyres as standard but has got good set of part worn tyres 205 55 16 and has fitted these..would that be ok for insurance reasons and all that if he had a accident as he has went up couple of sizes etc

It won't make one bit of diffrence to insurance what size the tyre is. As long as they fit the wheel, the thread is above the legal limit and they're E marked they should be grand.

Seanieke

When you buy a second hand car the tyres, to you, are part worn!

OldmanMondeo

With regard to thread depth, mine where nearly new. I checked the tyre walls for visable damage both inside and out. The brother inlaw needed a set, so he got some as well, his were 99% perfect, very little wear on the thread. I got mine around September and there is not a bother on them now.

Zascar

Just to say I got some part worns the otehr day for my car. They are actually puncture repaired and they have pretty much full tread on them. I got 4x Kumo 205/45/17's for €230 including fitting and balancing from Auto Depot. Not sure what the likes of advanced pitstop would charge for a similar set of new tyres but I'd guess it would be at least double. Pretty dam good value if you ask me, I'd definitely do this again.

johnnydeep

2pack wrote: »

but don't most part worn tyres come from Germany as they can be no longer be used on their roads as are worn below the legal allowed limit so it seems they pose a certain risk.
I Actually know of a guy who is selling and fitting part worn tyres from Germany, he's not registered as doing it part time but was wondering if you got one of these on and few hours later it blew out and god forbid caused an accident who is at fault...

you tell us. I mean I put p.w tyres on car throw in iinto a bend at 100mph hit the wall. I know I would blame the tyres. 99% percent of accidents are caused by nuts in cars, not nuts on cars

harg90

lifer_sean wrote: »

Most of the part-worn tyres being sold here are imported from continental Europe, where there is a legal requirement to run winter tyres for certain months of the year. If you don't have a second set of wheels for the car, you need to take off perfectly good tyres to change from summer to winter tyres and vica versa. If you can't or don't want to store them, then they get sold on to wholesalers and ultimately end up in your local tyre depot.

To the best of my knowledge in some of these countries they are not allowed to refit there old tyres after taking off there winters.

also there thread depth limit is suposed to be more than over here, i think in around 4 or 5mm?

corktina

there was programme on the BBC just last week about trading standards and the TS guy was showing a part worn Michelin that looked in great shape, almost full tread.....except it was found to be 16 years old and had been refitted twice before and the steel banding had rusted and twisted pulling it totally out of shape... I wouldn't risk a part-worn.

The guy who sold the tyre got fined about 6 grand!

Celly Smunt

Just check the tyres before you buy them really.I got 4 bridgestone 17' 245's for 160 euro not too long ago with plenty of meat left.
Try pick your tyre rather than letting them choose and they should be fine.

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

Legal depth in Germany is 3mm. Anything I've seen for sale has had loads more than that. Even though our limit is 1.6mm you'd want be changing tyres well before you reach that.

harg90 wrote: »

To the best of my knowledge in some of these countries they are not allowed to refit there old tyres after taking off there winters.

also there thread depth limit is suposed to be more than over here, i think in around 4 or 5mm?

Guys where did you hear all those?
AFAIK in every EU country legal minimum tread limit for cars is 1.6mm.
Also there is nothing stopping anyone to put used tyres back after taking off winter tyres.

Only thing which is probably true in relation to Germany is that many people don't have any storage space for Winter/Summer tyres, so they prefer to trade them every time season changes.

Celly Smunt

Zascar wrote: »

Just to say I got some part worns the otehr day for my car. They are actually puncture repaired and they have pretty much full tread on them. I got 4x Kumo 205/45/17's for €230 including fitting and balancing from Auto Depot. Not sure what the likes of advanced pitstop would charge for a similar set of new tyres but I'd guess it would be at least double. Pretty dam good value if you ask me, I'd definitely do this again.

You'd get the tyres for twice the price,but don't forget to add on all the other stuff that was "wrong" with your car.

harg90

corktina wrote: »

there was programme on the BBC just last week about trading standards and the TS guy was showing a part worn Michelin that looked in great shape, almost full tread.....except it was found to be 16 years old and had been refitted twice before and the steel banding had rusted and twisted pulling it totally out of shape... I wouldn't risk a part-worn.

The guy who sold the tyre got fined about 6 grand!

ah ya, you will get some bad cases, but no more than a thing, you cant paint them all wit the one brush.

there are alot of good p/w tyres out there. all E marked tyres give both the week and year they were made.

not being ignorant, but i supose there are some people who shouldnt buy part worns, esp if you dont know who your buying them off.

But if you are going looking for anything budget, you're going to get people selling decent stock for a reasonable price, and you're going to get cowboys selling crap looking to make a quick easy pound..

bottom line if your willing to buy off someone you dont know or trust, just because there cheep. your buying at your own risk.

harg90

CiniO wrote: »

Guys where did you hear all those?
AFAIK in every EU country legal minimum tread limit for cars is 1.6mm.
Also there is nothing stopping anyone to put used tyres back after taking off winter tyres.

Only thing which is probably true in relation to Germany is that many people don't have any storage space for Winter/Summer tyres, so they prefer to trade them every time season changes.

the pub, where else.. :L

belcampprisoner

don't grip in wet, harder to stop when breaking, also you can get blowouts

its a good way when buying a car to see if its being maintained, bad titres mean no maintenance

colm_mcm

belcampprisoner wrote: »

don't grip in wet, harder to stop when breaking, also you can get blowouts

its a good way when buying a car to see if its being maintained, bad titres mean no maintenance

Have you even read any of the other posts? This is about buying part worn tyres

Wibbs

belcampprisoner wrote: »

don't grip in wet, harder to stop when breaking, also you can get blowouts

So you go and buy four brand new tyres, drive them for 6 or 8 months, do they suddenly start losing grip in the wet, start becoming harder to stop under braking and blowout? Eh no, they don't.

biko

harg90 wrote: »

To the best of my knowledge in some of these countries they are not allowed to refit there old tyres after taking off there winters.

That doesn't make any sense, of course it's ok to put the summer tyres on again after taking the winter tyres off. Do you have a source?

bop1977

Here is a fifth gear test of sorts, of part worn tyres. The braking test throws up a bit of a surprise. go to 4:30 for the results:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_698431&feature=iv&src_vid=4p3HUeqYDvo&v=GYoh1xNTs7w

corktina

harg90 wrote: »

ah ya, you will get some bad cases, but no more than a thing, you cant paint them all wit the one brush.

there are alot of good p/w tyres out there. all E marked tyres give both the week and year they were made.

not being ignorant, but i supose there are some people who shouldnt buy part worns, esp if you dont know who your buying them off.

But if you are going looking for anything budget, you're going to get people selling decent stock for a reasonable price, and you're going to get cowboys selling crap looking to make a quick easy pound..

bottom line if your willing to buy off someone you dont know or trust, just because there cheep. your buying at your own risk.

yes it's an extreme case, but i'd listen to trading standards myself. In the UK part-worns have to be branded on the sidewalls as such so people know what they are, good idea. After all you only need to get one rogue part worn to put you in the ditch!
Oh and I wouldn't trust either of my local tyre dealers!

harg90

corktina wrote: »

yes it's an extreme case, but i'd listen to trading standards myself. In the UK part-worns have to be branded on the sidewalls as such so people know what they are, good idea. After all you only need to get one rogue part worn to put you in the ditch!
Oh and I wouldn't trust either of my local tyre dealers!

very true actualy, it only takes one to claim the lives of many.

harg90

biko wrote: »

That doesn't make any sense, of course it's ok to put the summer tyres on again after taking the winter tyres off. Do you have a source?

well thats what i thought, but yad never know what those germans are like

eh yes and know, i know a lad who would be over in germany quite abit for work, now that you mention it he wouldnt be unkown for tellin a tall one

Boskowski

I personally wouldn't do it as you just don't know if they were abused and how old they are.
They might look grand but may have been parked halfway on the kerb for 6 month. You just don't know.

ironclaw

Boskowski wrote: »

I personally wouldn't do it as you just don't know if they were abused and how old they are.
They might look grand but may have been parked halfway on the kerb for 6 month. You just don't know.

Those would be my sentiments. Not amount of visual checks or X-Rays will reasonably detect that. If you have 2000 tyres in a container your going to give each one about 10 seconds of a look over even less as there is no legal obligation to do so (That I'm aware of) Granted someone mentioned that a outlet were insuring their tyres but that's all well and good if your alive to claim it (Extreme but reasonable in my eyes) It really is the the few square inches between you and an accident and I'd spend the money where it matters.

I'd rather pay the extra and at least know and have some come back about where my tyres came from.

Cheensbo

To the people who say they're a death trap..

Would you buy a used car?

And if so, do you change all 4 tyres as soon as you get it?

(And brake pads & lines, as you don't know what they've been through..)

TBH if a tyre has no visual defects,i.e. no cracking, not too old, no bulges etc, its no more likely to blow out than the next one.

The part worn aspect means nothing, the brand, QC and testing processes at manufacture mean a lot more,

I'd take a michelin/pirelli/conti/ with 2.0mm thread over a maxtrek/wanli/ditchfindi with 8.0mm any day.

Wils110

In Germany if you get a puncture you have to replace the tyre,then you can't have a brand new tyre on the right and a worn tyre on the left so you have to replace both tyres,I've purchased them in the past and haven't had an issue..as above they generally come from the continent where the roads are of better quality

colm_mcm

I wonder how all the anti part worn people would feel if a law was brought in here that you couldn't repair punctures?

corktina

Cheensbo wrote: »

To the people who say they're a death trap..

Would you buy a used car?

And if so, do you change all 4 tyres as soon as you get it?

(And brake pads & lines, as you don't know what they've been through..)

TBH if a tyre has no visual defects,i.e. no cracking, not too old, no bulges etc, its no more likely to blow out than the next one.

The part worn aspect means nothing, the brand, QC and testing processes at manufacture mean a lot more,

I'd take a michelin/pirelli/conti/ with 2.0mm thread over a maxtrek/wanli/ditchfindi with 8.0mm any day.

well a test drive before purchase might throw up any dodgy tyres, you can't do this with a part worn.
As it happens, I bought a car once that, I later found out, had been parked up for some months which had affected the tyres, they looked perfect, as part-worns would do, but I had one of them blow out on me on the Motorway and a second go so out of shape that the car was undrivable. Had I crashed on the first blow out, the second one could have been sold on as a part worn ,as could the other two which I also changed immediately AND PERHAPS THEY WERE! Who's to say what the dealer did with them? they looked perfect but in all probability were deadly

Cheensbo

corktina wrote: »

well a test drive before purchase might throw up any dodgy tyres, you can't do this with a part worn.
As it happens, I bought a car once that, I later found out, had been parked up for some months which had affected the tyres, they looked perfect, as part-worns would do, but I had one of them blow out on me on the Motorway and a second go so out of shape that the car was undrivable. Had I crashed on the first blow out, the second one could have been sold on as a part worn ,as could the other two which I also changed immediately AND PERHAPS THEY WERE! Who's to say what the dealer did with them? they looked perfect but in all probability Possibility were deadly

You'd know fairly quick after fitting if there was a serious defect, i.e. driving home (test drive?)

I was driving a 131 Kia Sorento, on the motorway with less than 200km on it, from the dealers to the work compound,, and one tyre blew out, wasnt part worn.. still blew out, any tyre can blow out at random..

I don't see how, a tyre being on a different rim at some stage or another, can make a difference to its durability/safety...

CiniO

Wils110 wrote: »

In Germany if you get a puncture you have to replace the tyre,then you can't have a brand new tyre on the right and a worn tyre on the left so you have to replace both tyres,I've purchased them in the past and haven't had an issue..as above they generally come from the continent where the roads are of better quality

Next one.

Seriously - where do you guys get all these info?
Maybe they also replace their cars with new ones, when oil and filter is old and needs changing? Or don't they?

corktina

Cheensbo wrote: »

You'd know fairly quick after fitting if there was a serious defect, i.e. driving home (test drive?)

I was driving a 131 Kia Sorento, on the motorway with less than 200km on it, from the dealers to the work compound,, and one tyre blew out, wasnt part worn.. still blew out, any tyre can blow out at random..

I don't see how, a tyre being on a different rim at some stage or another, can make a difference to its durability/safety...

well the point is surely WHY is that tyre not still on it's original wheel? It could be that the car was scrapped due to being at the end of it's life, in which case the tyre is probably perfectly sound, or it could be that the car was scrapped due to having gone of the M8 at 120km/h into a bridge, in which case the tyre might be severely damaged. How can you tell which is which?

VeVeX

The main issue I see with the sale of part worn tyres is that a lot of motorists who buy them know absolutely nothing about tyres.

Too many people are buying part wort tyres because it fits their budget and a lot are buying rubbish.

Most of us agree that if you can check the tyre properly you shouldnt have an issue but what if you dont know what to look for?

Matt Simis

corktina wrote: »

well the point is surely WHY is that tyre not still on it's original wheel? It could be that the car was scrapped due to being at the end of it's life, in which case the tyre is probably perfectly sound, or it could be that the car was scrapped due to having gone of the M8 at 120km/h into a bridge, in which case the tyre might be severely damaged. How can you tell which is which?

The tyres are tested prior to export and also on landing here. You question really isnt "how do you know" its "do you trust the business you are buying from" which isnt a question unique to Part Worns.

VeVeX

Matt Simis wrote: »

The tyres are tested prior to export and also on landing here.

Do you believe every part worn tyre thats sold here is tested?

corktina

Would you agree there is some degree of risk in buying a part worn? (they could have been imported by the Russian Mafia for all you know). Is it worth taking that risk?

Boskowski

My dad was a driving instructor for many years and his one bit of advice was dont skimp on stuff that's affecting safety. Definitely not on brakes and tyres.
Sounds like good advice to me.