Part Worn Tyres

[Jaydug]

I bought two new tyres online for my caravan for delivery to a local fitting shop. I put the caravan wheels in the car and drove to the tyre depot. The new tyres were fitted with new valves and then balanced. The two removed tyres (which looked fine with good treads), rather than being put on the heap of scrap tyres, went straight on to the part-worn racks. My old tyres must have been at least 7 years old.

 

[JezzerB]

Why do you seem to think all part worn tyres come off of a car that’s been in an accident. And what form of accident would be of concern to you! There’s minor accidents that lead to cars being written off on cost grounds. And bad smashes that don’t lead to a write off and the car is repaired and it’s tyres stay fitted . ???

Surely what’s required is some form of regulation and oversight over the standards applicable to the part worn trade. I’m sure some of the HGVs you drive had retreads or recuts.

GREAT debate and am beginning to revise my opinion on part worns-we have a 4x4 and as has been stated they don't take kindly to having big differences in tread-in the past we had a puncture and was very lucky/unlucky that there was very little wear and the spare was the same so the we could put the spare on and buy a cheap new spare we hoped not to use. If there had been more wear rather than replace two tyres or all of the other tyres at great expense, a part worn might make sense. You lot are persuading me!!!

 

[otherclive]

I bought two new tyres online for my caravan for delivery to a local fitting shop. I put the caravan wheels in the car and drove to the tyre depot. The new tyres were fitted with new valves and then balanced. The two removed tyres (which looked fine with good treads), rather than being put on the heap of scrap tyres, went straight on to the part-worn racks. My old tyres must have been at least 7 years old.

Probably then if LT tyres going to WVM.

GREAT debate and am beginning to revise my opinion on part worns-we have a 4x4 and as has been stated they don't take kindly to having big differences in tread-in the past we had a puncture and was very lucky/unlucky that there was very little wear and the spare was the same so the we could put the spare on and buy a cheap new spare we hoped not to use. If there had been more wear rather than replace two tyres or all of the other tyres at great expense, a part worn might make sense. You lot are persuading me!!!

That’s precisely what happened to me with my previous Subaru. Fortunately I had converted the rear end to take a full size spare. I deliberately went for a part worn with enough tread to work between my other tyres being at 6.6-7mm it when they had worn down to 3mm at which point I change tyres anyway. I searched on EBay and found a Bridgestone and the supplier answers all of my questions and sent me several extra photos.
It was worth it as one Bank Holiday Sunday near Bangor on came TPMS. My heart sunk as I could see a large nail which turned out to be a serrated shed/fence type nail. It had left a hole larger than the 6mm max. So Kwik Fit could not repair it. Instead I put the spare onto the rear wheel and bought a new full size to put in the boot. It still cost me over £120 as Kwik fit had no budget tyres of my size. But at least we could continue the holiday.

On selling the car I sold the full size unused tyre and an OEM wheel for more than I paid too.

So like most things in life you make considered choices based on your experience and knowledge.
This thread reminds me that I’ve not converted this Scoobie to full size yet

 

[JezzerB]

And I need to rotate the Navarra tyres-now that is going to be fun as i have a standard trolley jack-as you say you have to make choices based on what is occurring-my problem is am a bit autistic and sometimes dont think outside the box like you did. The benefits of forums-sometimes I think things can be over thought on forums like this but it throws up opportunities too; the power of the internet!

 

[Icaru5]

As others have said, technically speaking, unless they have all just been replaced, all second hand cars are equipped with “part worn” tyres.

However, that does of course not mean that the car has ever been fitted with ”used” tyres.

Surely the term “part worn” with respect to tyres is only used as a marketing term to make the tyres perhaps sound like more of an attractive low-cost solution than they would be if they were more candidly referred to as what they really are, which is “used”. Second, third or even fourth hand. There’s now way of knowing.

Undoubtedly the market for part worn tyres is quite a lucrative one, where items are sold for good money, items that would otherwise be deemed scrap and in certain cases may not only have been previously damaged by potholes or punctures, but could have been removed from vehicles scrapped due to accident damage, sometimes severe.

I’ve never heard people speak of buying ”part worn” shoes, lawnmowers, or engines. They’re simply referred to as either “second hand” or “used”.

I’m not sure many people would buy “part worn” brake pads or brake discs, but due to to the costs involved choose to buy used tyres of unknown history or source.

I understand why, because there are some, including many used car dealers who view tyres as nothing more than a neccesary evil, and will replace them only when they have no option either through damage or MOT failure, and will go out of their way to pay the absolute minimum for one that will get them mobile again, irrespective of age, condition, make or tread depth. They will then drive off having paid £100 for a full set of tyres and an MOT certificate, wearing their £200 trainers and at the same time texting their mates to tell them of their bargain.

I’m sure most people would agree that aside from their obvious function, tyres are a safety device, even more so than a crash helmet, which unless an unfortunate incident occurs, is redundant throughout most of its time in use, unlike tyres which must be relied upon for every second of your journey.

Still, as they say in motorsport ...

If you’ve got a 5 dollar head, then get a 5 dollar helmet !

 

[JezzerB]

Yes good point; I never skimp on tyres on any vehicle; only contact with the road.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Just going for a pair of (new) tyres, (Goodyear Wranglers). ----- But won't they be 'part worn' by the time I get home????!!!!!!

 

[JezzerB]

Definitely secondhand after a few miles on our lovely uK roads!!!!

 

[Raywood]

I take the point that tyres off a written off car may not be damaged but you do not get the history with them, and most places selling part worn tyres look distinctly dodgy. Personally I would not touch them. but I can see the attraction to someone running their car on a budget.

 

[Gafferbill]

.........most used/second hand/part worn tyres come from the scraping of cars or disposing of insurance write offs.
Scraping a vehicle is no longer a simple matter.......the vehicle must be processed at a license facility and these are highly regulated by several licensing authorities.
This has resulted in the dubious cowboy operations going out of business as they cannot afford to fulfill license requirements and onerous inspection regimes.
One of the criteria that has to be fulfilled is very high levels of recycling which is also monitored.
The majority of used tyres sold at retail outlets are in fact traceable back down the supply chain from sources that have quality controls.

 

[Damian]

Moderator Note: This post was by Tyrefixer, posted today at 8.15pm. It was posted in two areas and in an attempt to merge the posts to one and move it here, I somehow lost it into cyberspace.
However I was lucky to be able to find the wording and have copied to here.
My apologies to Tyrefixer, your posting is a timely reminder to be very careful when it comes to the rubber in contact with the road.
Damian


Having worked for a multi national tyre supplier for 35 years then running my own tyre company for 15 years I was witness to the increase of part worn tyres being supplied and sold throughout the country, I personally have never agreed with these practices and even wrote to the 3 main party leaders and my M.P one of which was prime minister. I received 1 reply which showed little interest in the matter, The reasons I took this action was as follows
Scrap tyre disposal in the UK is a monumental problem and bygone solutions are now illegal for example landfill, dumping at sea, burning etc, tyres have been used in the manufacture of running tracks, safety flooring in children's play areas ect but it seems the scrap ratio far out weight the solutions.
You see many many part worn tyres are imported from the likes of Germany where their laws remove tyres at 3 mm and bearing in mind our law states 1.6 mm is the limit therefor a market has been made for them and solves a pretty big problem for those countries, The law in UK states that Part Worn must be stamped on the side wall but this can easily be removed, most suppliers do not give receipts for part worn as this would leave a paper trail and a lot of sales are cash in hand.
Over the years I have seen dozens of customers who have come for advice on why their vehicles are not handling as they should and when checked I discovered part worns have been purchased, when I have advised they return to place of purchase and they have the comments they recieved are mostly unprintable. With regards tyres removed from scrap / in accident vehicles no one can tell what internal damage they may have and when tyres were checked in a survey by the consumer protection authority some were found to be 12 years old. So if you are set on buying part worn tyres and always get a receipt showing details of the tyres you had fitted not just Part Worn . Every one seeks to save money but what price can you put on a life ?
Before purchasing take a look at your children , partner parents and family and friends who may also given access to your vehicle.

 

[Gafferbill]

.....so are you saying don't buy a second hand vehicle unless the seller fits a set of new tyres all round?

 

[JezzerB]

Nicely written and confirms my suspicions.

 

[thosoneill]

One of the first things I would check upon buying a used car is the tyres - if all four are of the same brand and type I generally assume that the car has been treated better by the seller - maybe just me but mismatched tyres put me right off

 

[JezzerB]

Totally agree-it is a preference of mine too!

 

[otherclive]

One of the first things I would check upon buying a used car is the tyres - if all four are of the same brand and type I generally assume that the car has been treated better by the seller - maybe just me but mismatched tyres put me right off

Whilst I understand your point I don’t see it as an essential requirement. Over the years especially with fwd cars I have moved the rear tyres to the front when the fronts reach 3 mm. Then bought new rears but not necessarily the same make. What I do ensure is that the new tyres are the same specification as the old tyres and generally have similar tread patterns. So I wouldn’t move rear summer tyres to the front and put all seasons on the back. In that case all four would be renewed for all seasons. There is also the situation where an owner may have had a puncture and has had to have a dissimilar brand fitted. Again not any real evidence of an uncaring owner.
However having ridden motorbikes for many years I do realise how tenuous the grip is between vehicle and road. So I always buy good quality tyres from recognised brands,

 

[Mike]

The law in UK states that Part Worn must be stamped on the side wall but this can easily be removed, most suppliers do not give receipts for part worn as this would leave a paper trail and a lot of sales are cash in hand.

Given the amount of scrap tyres being fly-tipped nowadays, surely its time that every tyre business should be able to prove where their discarded/'part worn' tyres are going. If for nothing else but the environments sake. I am all for a bit of cash myself, but not at the expense of seeing mountains of tyres in laybys. And, as tax-payers, we are paying to clear them.

 

[camel]

The part worn tyres on my kuga have loads of thread in fact they look new butt I was cleaning the car the other day and Mt attention was drawn to a repair to the tear o/s it was a mitchelin, no way am I pulling a caravan with a plugged tyre, I consequently had the tyre replaced yesterday and the tyre they took off the rear o/s had two plugged repairs which you could see inside the tyre, the problem plugged repairs to tyres is that it is all legal and you can keep on pluggi g tyres if they are spaced appropriately,

 

[otherclive]

The part worn tyres on my kuga have loads of thread in fact they look new butt I was cleaning the car the other day and Mt attention was drawn to a repair to the tear o/s it was a mitchelin, no way am I pulling a caravan with a plugged tyre, I consequently had the tyre replaced yesterday and the tyre they took off the rear o/s had two plugged repairs which you could see inside the tyre, the problem plugged repairs to tyres is that it is all legal and you can keep on pluggi g tyres if they are spaced appropriately,

Surely a properly repaired tyre is always plugged. That’s part of the process. If you read the BS standard it’s quite a complex procedure involving drilling out the puncture hole, cleaning, and preparation for adhesive bonding with temperature requirements too. Also the BS defines where a tyre can be repaired on its tread and depending on speed rating of the tyre how many repairs are allowed and minimum distance between repairs.
Cannot really understand why you would not tow a caravan at up to 60 mph with a repaired tyre yet would seem prepared to drive solo with a repaired tyre at higher speeds and higher cornering forces

What is a British Standard Tyre Puncture Repair? - Dexel Blog

What is the British Standard BSAU 159 for tyre puncture repairs? The steps that should be taken to carry out a tyre repair to the highest standard.

www.dexel.co.uk

 

[camel]

OC
My choice it's gone, hope someone picks up this used tyre,

 

[ProfJohnL]

The loads and forces that tyres have to endure are not easy to fully appreciate but I am certain the tyre manufacturers are aware and will have designed and manufactured their products to successfully endure them. In practice compared to the numbers of vehicles on the road we see a very small number at the side of the road with damaged tyres.

This empirical evidence points to how reliable most tyres really are, and that must also includes a proportion of previously repaired tyres. I've never been told or warned that a repaired tyre is any less serviceable than an undamaged tyre.rned

Just imagine the law suits if repaired tyres were to be implicated in vehicle incidents. The fact they're not has to tell us something.

As another confidence booster, if there had been any evidence repaired tyres proving to being significant less servicable, the insurance industry would have made a lot of noise about it.

I am sure there has been a lot of care taken in designing the repair process, and to identify when a repair is not safe. Provided the repairer's do act in good faith and alI have come across do, then I do not think there is any reason to be unduly concerned about using repaired tyres for towing.

 

[camel]

The loads and forces that tyres have to endure are not easy to fully appreciate but I am certain the tyre manufacturers are aware and will have designed and manufactured their products to successfully endure them. In practice compared to the numbers of vehicles on the road we see a very small number at the side of the road with damaged tyres.

This empirical evidence points to how reliable most tyres really are, and that must also includes a proportion of previously repaired tyres. I've never been told or warned that a repaired tyre is any less serviceable than an undamaged tyre.rned

Just imagine the law suits if repaired tyres were to be implicated in vehicle incidents. The fact they're not has to tell us something.

As another confidence booster, if there had been any evidence repaired tyres proving to being significant less servicable, the insurance industry would have made a lot of noise about it.

I am sure there has been a lot of care taken in designing the repair process, and to identify when a repair is not safe. Provided the repairer's do act in good faith and alI have come across do, then I do not think there is any reason to be unduly concerned about using repaired tyres for towing.

Prof, like I said in my previous post it comes down to choice and I prefare to have a brand new serviceable tyre,

 

[ProfJohnL]

There is nothing wrong and you are perfectly entitled to choose to only have new tyres fitted for towing, but that may prove expensive and it isn't strictly necessary as correctly repaired tyres should be perfectly durable and serviceable.

 

[Gafferbill]

.......I have contributed to this thread and as far as I am concerned part worn tyres are not the same as repaired tyres.
I never have tyres repaired .......I replace them.

 

[otherclive]

Don’t buy a Subaru then as you will find yourself having to replace all four in order to maintain tread depth in line with the makers specifications.