I saw something recently that brought up this topic elsewhere. Sometimes people find themselves in a situation where they must replace one or more tires and can't afford to buy new ones at that time. Sometimes a new tire just plain isn't readily available at any price. At that point, used tires can look like a good idea. Buying used tires isn't something I'd want to do but I often see people driving around on obviously damaged or inappropriate tires later to find out they recently bought them used.
I'd like to start a discussion here about what to look for. Some used tire dealers can be pretty shady and from what I've seen, some of them are very irresponsible. The bad guys tend to be particularly bad when selling to people who don't speak the language, people who appear to be poor, and to a lesser degree, very young or very old women.
I'm not the most knowledgeable person here on the topic of tires, but I've seen quite a few bad ones in use and I brought it up so to get the ball rolling:
Always inspect used tires with your own eyes before they're mounted and again after they've been mounted but not yet installed on the vehicle. If the seller won't allow this, leave. Don't buy anything from this seller. Some things to look out for before the tire is mounted:
-correct (or suitable alternate) size and load rating
-no tires marked NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE on a road-going vehicle
-no trailer tires on a car or truck
-no plugs or patches in a non-repairable area
-note any repairs that you can see from the inside and mark them so that you can check for leaks after it's aired up.
-no cuts, even minor looking ones, in the bead area
-no defacement on the DOT number
Once the tire is mounted, look for:
-the tire has no visible bumps or bulges in the tread or sidewall
-any repair noted before mounting should be checked for leakage
-the bead area should also be checked for leakage
If the tire costs more than you paid for lunch, get a receipt so that you can return it if it goes flat by tomorrow morning.
I'd like to start a discussion here about what to look for. Some used tire dealers can be pretty shady and from what I've seen, some of them are very irresponsible. The bad guys tend to be particularly bad when selling to people who don't speak the language, people who appear to be poor, and to a lesser degree, very young or very old women.
I'm not the most knowledgeable person here on the topic of tires, but I've seen quite a few bad ones in use and I brought it up so to get the ball rolling:
Always inspect used tires with your own eyes before they're mounted and again after they've been mounted but not yet installed on the vehicle. If the seller won't allow this, leave. Don't buy anything from this seller. Some things to look out for before the tire is mounted:
-correct (or suitable alternate) size and load rating
-no tires marked NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE on a road-going vehicle
-no trailer tires on a car or truck
-no plugs or patches in a non-repairable area
-note any repairs that you can see from the inside and mark them so that you can check for leaks after it's aired up.
-no cuts, even minor looking ones, in the bead area
-no defacement on the DOT number
Once the tire is mounted, look for:
-the tire has no visible bumps or bulges in the tread or sidewall
-any repair noted before mounting should be checked for leakage
-the bead area should also be checked for leakage
If the tire costs more than you paid for lunch, get a receipt so that you can return it if it goes flat by tomorrow morning.