These days, it’s just as easy to get hold of part-worn tyres as it is brand-new rubber. In fact, it’s probably easier to pick up the former as you need only look online to find any number of retailers selling hundreds, maybe even thousands of used tyres of all shapes and sizes. Given that tyres have never been the cheapest things on Earth, it’s hardly surprising that part-worn tends to be the option favoured by millions of drivers. They can cost less than half the price of brand new tyres and seem to do the same basic job, so logic dictates that there’s really no point in spending more than necessary.
However, common sense should also dictate that with a lower outlay comes the very real possibility of a lower quality product in return.
Road Safety Concerns
The introduction of the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations Act 1994 was geared toward ensuring the substandard tyres could be and would be driven off UK roads once and for all. It’s now common knowledge that any tyres that are worn, damaged or in any way compromised can not only cause performance and efficiency problems, but can also be a true road hazard in their own right. As such, we’re now living in a day and age where very few drivers would knowingly hit the roads in a car with tyres they knew were unsafe.
One of the new rules set out by the act was that of making it necessary for those selling worn tyres to not only ensure the tyres were up to scratch in terms of tread depth and general condition, but also provide their own name and registration number. These are all measures to ensure things happen as safely and responsibly as possible, but sadly it seems there are still far too many out there doing their best to flout the rules.
The UK’s primary tyre authorities are still today warning that an innumerable proportion of sellers are peddling part-worn tyres that are wholly unfit for purpose. And once they’ve been sold, they’re the property of the buyer and come with no warranty or comeback in the case of dissatisfaction…or worse. So while the rules and regulations are stricter than ever before, substandard part-worn tyres are still rife.
It’s Hard to Tell, So Buy Well
So does this all mean that buying part-worn tyres is a bad idea outright? Not at all, as there are hundreds of thousands of part-worn tyres doing the rounds right now that are pretty much as good as new.
It all comes down to the buyer’s approach to sourcing them and where they’re bought from. If you buy from a random and somewhat anonymous online seller then to some extent you’re playing with fire. If by contrast you head to a huge local dealer that’s been in the business for years and guarantees that all the rules are followed, there’s really nothing to worry about.
Trying to examine part-worn tyres by hand for imperfections is difficult to say the least, so in the interests of safety it’s a good idea to only ever buy from those that have carried out all such checks on your behalf.
Once you decide what type to use, always take extra care of it and also change whenever need arises.
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