Used Tires

[dc914guy]

I hate to sound like a cheap ass here.. But I've got to ask..

Does anyone have any experience with used tires?

I have a good set of Dunlop tires on the Volvo, with about 50% tread left, but one of them has a bubble in the inside wall from a pothole. Needless to say this failed inspection today. A co worker of mine was telling me about a similar problem he had, and a used tire place who was able to match a tire with his good 3, and do everything for like $60. This kept him on the road until it was time to replace all 4. I called them today, and they told me that they buy tires and wheels from wrecked cars, and re-sell the good ones.

I've always replaced my tires in sets of 4, but I hate to throw away 3 good tires. Are used tires safe? What should I look for?

Any thoughts?
~Eric

[RickM]

I wouldn't use pre-owned tires. I had too many negative experiences with my own tires....looked great and with good tread but had internal belt issues. Some just couldn't be balanced properly or intruduced "noise" into the suspension.

I would recommend that you consider some of the lower cost brands from Tire Rack. I just purchased and installed Sumitomo (HTR 200) tires on my 380 SL. They were very highly rated. Excellent handling and very quiet. I can't yet speak for their wear characteristics. The best part is that they cost $42 each. How can you go wrong? I'm EXTREMELY happy with them and I'm picky.

[cstreit]

Stay away unless you know the prior owner.

Race car takeoffs are one thing. Street car used tires, well, I've seen an inordinate number come flying apart...

[HarryD]

Then again, I don't know about you, but all of my cars seem to have used tires.

[Z-man]

I friend of mine miffed his Cup car pretty bad at a Driver's Ed event this summer: left front tire blew. He had no history on the tires he was running on.

At 120mph, he lost control of the car, spun around 2 times, smacked the wall (Nascar 3 at Pocono raceway), and then slid across the track and hit the armco on the inside of the track. Close to $40k in damages.

BTW: this occurred the 2nd week he had the car.

Do I recommend used tires? NO STINKIN' WAY!

-Z-man.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

it cost so much to have em mounted and balanced, why not buy tires and get free mount and balance?

[Schrup]

If you had road hazard warranty it would make it a little easier. Can you put a price on piece of mind? Are you the only one driving the car? I've used used tires before, back in the day I couldn't afford new & nobody else drove my truck but me. I wouldn't do it now.

[Jay Auskin]

Just for kicks, I stopped at a "used tire" place across the street from my work. They were worse than the bald, dry-rotted tires I wanted to replace...and not cheap!

[hardflex]

I've bought used tires many times, when I need a spare or on a non-driver that I just need to hold up off the floor. In Tx here you can find them for $20 mounted.

look for even wear with good tread left, knowing which way the tire has been rolling is a plus, look for patches or plugs which could indicate it has been run with low pressure. If you find one, put it on the back, not the front.

$60 is a lot though, almost a new price. This is your daily driver, so I'd look at the spare and possibly buy 2 new and get rid of the 2 worst tires.