Of course, the best choice is the purchasing of new tires but it is not really a cheap deal and some drivers prefer buying used ones. Used tires in very good condition can serve for a long time. Also, a lot of drivers are getting rid of still very good tires after one or two years of driving just because they think it is time to buy the new tires. In this case, we have a lot of very good used tires on the market lying around us.
On the other hand, there are a lot of spoilt old tires on the market. If a person buys bad tires it may cause a lot of trouble on the road and may cost money or even lives. Therefore, we should be careful and attentive when buying old tires!
Our main task is to distinguish good used tires from bad ones and buy tires which will work perfectly on the road in any conditions and work for us when braking, turning or skidding. There are a few features which make a difference between good and bad used tires.
First of all, you should pay attention on tire tread. If it is too small the tire will not last for a long time and may not work when braking and skid even on the dry road. Height of the tire tread should not be less than 10 millimeters or 0.4 of an inch. If the wet roads are concern, tread should not be less than 4/32 inch depth. For this reason manufacturers developed tread wear indicator. You can find raised bars in the deepest part of the tread. This will indicate that it is time to change tires. If the amount of tread is not even on the whole area of the cover it is not a good condition. Look at the top of a tire and if the tread is not even on the left and right sides it is better not to buy it.
Secondly, you should check if the tire was previously repaired or not. It may look like a new tire but it was repaired in an unsafe zone and it was the reason why previous owner sold it. If the tire had a puncture in a dangerous zone, do not buy it! The most dangerous places are the side wall, the edge of the tire, or close to its top border. Such tire may blow up on high speed and consequences can be terrible. However, if a puncture was between the grooves of the tread on top of a tire and was repaired perfectly it will last for some time.
Thirdly, tires with deep cracks are not worth buying them. If there are deep cracks on the side of the tire, the top of it or between the grooves it is better to avoid such tires.
Final advice will be to buy used tires only after a proper inspection when you are sure that they are safe to use and you really save money buying them.
