Part Worn Tyres

Pross

Need to get a few bits on my car done this month including the rear tyres. I normally get mid range, branded tyres when I'm buying my own (I've been spoiled for years having company cars where they have been included in the lease though). With the other bits that need doing on the car and several other one off expenses this month I'm looking to save on the tyres and was going to get budget tyres at around £55-£60 each. However, the place I'm going to also does part worns for around £35-£40 for branded tyres, all professionally checked and with a minimum of 5mm of tread (so roughly 50% of the original tread left at 25% or less of the original price). I've always been a bit wary of part worns but wondered whether anyone has any experience and whether a part worn quality tyre is a better option than a new budget tyre (especially given £20 per tyre saving).

Poppa Wheelie

One way of looking at this. Every second hand car you’ll every buy will have part worn tyres on it and you won’t bat an eyelid.

Personally, I’d check how much new tyres are on blackcircles.com.

Also, budget tyres can be noisy so I’d consider part worn tyres IF they have life left in them.

Pross

oxoman wrote:

Would you fit used tyres to your car without knowing how many times its been kerbed, i wouldnt. Most budget tyres are manufactured by the big manufacturers just under a different name and normally an older tread pattern or rubber formulation and yes slightly noisier, but in the grand scheme of things you probably wouldnt notice. I would sooner have new every time knowing they havent been kerbed and also covered manufacturers warranty against defects. At the end of the day its your money and car.

As mentioned above, it's probably no different to buying a second hand car although it feels different when they've been removed. I'm going to find out more when the car goes in but from what they said on the phone there seems to be some standard they meet. My main concern is where they come from as I doubt many people replace tyres with 5mm tread remaining so presumably they are from written off vehicles.

My instinct is to opt for the new budget tyre. Oddly, the noise rating on their budget tyres was better than on the mid range branded tyres with the wet weather and economy rating being the same on them all.

ballysmate

As I am not rich nor hopefully stupid, I have never purchased a brand new car and as a consequence have driven many miles on part worns.
But when coming to replacement I go for new tyres. Part worns with circa 5mm tread are only giving you 3mm life. Obviously any slight maladjustment of tracking or dry steering habits and you could soon be looking for more tyres.

eric_draven

I have used part worn tyres before and been more than happy with them,bought both off eBay and from breakers yards,as mentioned above blackcircles or tyreleader.co.uk,I have bought of the later for new tyres and paid £12 per tyre to have changed and balanced

BelgianBeerGeek

Use them all the time cos I am a cheapskate. But I don't do too many miles or drive very far or very fast so it suits me. Never had an issue with part worns, some don't look like they have had much wear at all.

confused@BR

Have you considered re-treads? I had some fitted to a Citroen Picasso a few years ago with satisfactory results. Very popular in Germany I am given to believe, something to do with Germany not accepting vulcanized repairs to punctured tyres.
The price I was quoted (and paid) was challenged by the bloke on the till, he thought them too cheap! About 30% of the new brand price.

knedlicky

Also look when the part-worn tyres were made (printed in an elongated circle on the sidewall, with first the week, then the year). In this example, the tyre dates from week 3 of 2004.



And if the part-worns are older than 2010, don't even consider, whether there is enough tread on them or not.
In older tyres, after 6-10 years the rubber starts to get more rigid (effecting grip negatively and sometimes increasing noise) and the first cracks in the sidewall may start to appear (making the tyres liable to blow-outs).
I'd even wonder about tyres just 5-6 years old, since it may be more economical to buy new ones now rather than to replace the part-worns in at most 4 years time, maybe before then if the remaining tread still on them isn't generous.

veronese68

I’m in the motor trade and a bit tight, I’ve bought remoulds for classic cars but always buy new for the family car.

confused@BR

Sorry! I meant re-moulds. Re-treads are a shockingly bad idea.
BTW when I attended the induction for my job with London Transport, in 1970, one of the stories we were told was that LT didn't own the tyres for its bus fleet! Apparently an early case of divestment, also all the tyres were re-moulds.

mouth

Pross wrote:

My main concern is where they come from as I doubt many people replace tyres with 5mm tread remaining so presumably they are from written off vehicles.

last set of part worn I had were from a set of wheels that the owner was replacing with alloys. The car was still on the ramps when I got there - a brand new mini which had been literally driven straight there from the dealer. Tyres had covered delivery mileage + about 3 more. Sometimes you just get lucky. I only went for the fronts to be replaced but wound up having all 4.

straas

Always used to use part worns on my old car - for about 15k/year mileage

Never had any issues.

LiamW

I get my tyres from a mate who works in a car dealership. They get mobility cars back with hardly any wear on them and then they sell them off. Got my last 4 for £80 for my Seat Leon. Good idea to ask round some dealerships as i know they have to pay for them to be collected and disposed off.

keef66

Experience with budget tyres on my son's first two cars was that they wore quickly, and not always evenly. The last set of rears developed uneven tread wear and made so much noise I was convinced a wheel bearing was to blame.

I would consider part-worn or remoulds for the rear. Good tip about checking their age though. Wife's car just had new rears for it's MOT and when he looked at the old ones the Kwik-Fit guy said he hadn't seen one of those for over 10 years. The sidewalls looked a bit scary when he showed me.

Think I'd always stick to a decent branded tyre for the front.

Pross

Went for budgets in the end as they didn’t have any part worns in stock to fit mine. They class their part worns into 3 categories based on remaining tread depth and say they pressure test all tyres etc.

£108 for two new 215/15/R18s fitted isn’t bad.