Used tyres

only visual inspection before and after fitting. when you buy a secondhand car you have no idea as to what has happened to any of it in the past or who has worked on it, so secondhand tyres are very similar, you take a chance.

Just having a readup on it and seems that there are certainly regulations which must be complied with, one being that the second hand tyre must have it's sidewall stamped as used.

It all comes under the Consumer Act apparently.

Run your hand round the inside checking for bulges, nails protruding and repair patches and if both that and the external faces are ok then it's fine. I run my car on old tyres from the local tip and it's amazing what people chuck out. Plenty of stuff with 4mm or 5mm left and quite often I find almost new ones with 7mm tread. It helps having a mate with a tyre changer so it's all free of charge though. It's probably a false economy paying someone to change part worns that'll need doing again before long.

But you are not acting legally if you sell a tyre after an examination like you have described.

Unless you're driving something with very odd tyre sizes, decent-quality new tyres are very, very cheap - especially given their typical life.

It just ain't worth the fannying about, imho.

And, yes, of course you're driving on "used tyres" if you buy a used car

- but there's a much lower chance of, as you point out, them having a dodgy past. There's always a question of why used tyres are being sold as used. If they're off a car that's been run on a shoestring to death, then they're very unlikely to be good quality. If they're off a car that's been in a crash, are they damaged? Which really only leaves the small number of vehicles which have died a sudden mechanical death.

Sorry that should be ARE acting illegally.

Well that's my theory. For £200 I can get a set of Michelin fitted at Protyre and in the unlikely event that anything goes wrong I have at least two very liable companies in my sights.

I'd love to see the end of used tyre sales for any car.

It is interesting to note that 98% of tyre dealers do NOT mark their tyres as used which is required by law.

Ah, sorry.

I thought you were asking a question in your OP because you wanted an answer, rather than you were looking for an opportunity for a rant. I'll leave you to it.

New tyre seller are you?

Tim

No but I do drive on the road with my family in my car and fail to see any reason why I should put myself or family at risk by sharing the road with poorly maintained death traps running on illegal tyres.

None of which, of course, has anything to do with the question you asked.

So, please, f*ck off. You really are very dull.

What size? and how many do you call a set?

Oh dear, so you've already passed your genes on then and are busy raising a brand new brood of whiny fuckwits? Drive faster please, especially in the wet and snow. You might be able to correct the problem if you try hard enough.

So, just so I have got this right: If I want to sell my car I have to do it a tyre dealer. The required process will be:

1. Seller drives car to tyre dealer
2. New tyres are fitted
3. Money/Keys/Documentation exchanges hands
4. Purchaser drives car away

Are you serious about this?

I bought a complete set of (correct) wheels and tyres for my BMW off Ebay

- the seller had 'upgraded' to larger sports wheels. The tyres were a BMW approved brand and absolutely correct for the car, and virtually unworn. Paid just over 100 quid - less than one new tyre.

Something I have learnt being a caravan owner is that care should be taken in using tyres of over 5 years old and tyres of 7 years should be replaced even if looking perfect. There is a 4 digit code on one side of the tyre, the first two are the week number the second two are the year of manufacture. Regards David

It's only four digit if they're post 2000.

If they're 1990s, it's three digits plus a triangle. If they're 1980s, it's just three digits.

And don't say "But there won't be any of those around..." - I've just replaced the 1985 tyres on my trailer, and there's a 1983 tyre in one of my lockups, whilst the 1988 VW camper had it's original spare.

I had 3 M+S tyres with 3 digit codes removed from rims last year. I suspect the guy at Kwik-fit has sold them on.

Ones I bought for the front of the MX5 (wouldn't normally, but I had 4 flats last month, and my wallet was struggling. All on nearly new tyres!) Part worns had 5mm on, them undamanged to my eye and feel, and were Michelin Pilot Premacy or something, £15 each fitted and balanced. They balanced up ok, they drove fine, I'd have probably put some new Kumhos on it all round if I was keeping it for any period of time, but I wasn't.. not then anyway.

The "new" MX5 has 14" rims, P6000s on the back, which I hate with a passion, but they're on the wear markers, and chinese s**te on the front so it'll get 4 new kumhos and a new roof before it goes on the market towards the end of summer.

I don't mind buying cars off women that have cheap s**te tyres on the front. That, and the state of the car, very clean show its never been thrashed.