75ZT Community

From AOL News pages today . . .

A driver paralysed from the chest down in a serious road accident has been told that the part worn tyres he bought in good faith were a major contributory factor to his near-fatal crash.

"I thought I was saving money with part worn tyres but I've paid a terrible price," said Keith Johnston, 41 from Tyne and Wear. "If I knew then what I know now, I would never have bought part worn tyres. "Unfortunately for me it's too late but I would urge other drivers to steer clear of part worn tyres and always opt for brand new ones."

His accident took place last February when he was driving his Renault Scenic near Carlisle. In freezing temperatures, he lost control of the car on a bend and rolled down a ditch. All of the tyres on the car had recently been purchased in a part-worn condition and a police investigation found that the rear tyres were found to have an illegal tread depth even though they had only been on the car for a couple of months.

Keith had always bought part worn tyres and replaced them every few months. He has already spent several months undergoing intensive rehabilitation in hospital but he is hoping to return home shortly when he will have to adapt to his new life with round-the-clock care.

"My life has changed forever but I hope that some good can come out of it. My message is think again if you are considering fitting part worn tyres," said Keith.

We have covered this issue before, highlighting the worrying proportion of part-worn tyres that are sold in illegal condition. Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe commented: "All tyres suffer from wear over time but TyreSafe always advocates the fitting of brand new tyres as the safest option. "It's impossible to know the history of part worn tyres and the true extent of any damage which may have occurred inside the tyre."

While there are legitimate reasons why a decent tyre is being taken off a car and resold (e.g. the original owner fancies upgrading to wider wheels and tyres), most people do not take a tyre off their car when it is still in good condition. Any potential buyer of a part-worn tyre needs to ask themselves why the previous user was happy to get rid of it.

Tyres and brakes, the most important parts on any car IMNSHO. I have a friend that always buys part worn tyres, over time he spends more on replacing these than I spend on new sets for similar mileage, approximately £500.00 for all four corners. On the odd occasion I have been a passenger in his car I have asked that he drive gently and carefully, on the pretext I am a nervous passenger. The truth is I don't trust that his car is a safe place to be. Anybody that has driven with me knows I enjoy driving or being driven in a spirited fashion.

Yes, it's not worth to make a compromise concerning safety. But as Mick said, you can even safe money by going for the safer option. I would never trust a used tyre, even in almost new condition, as it's impossible to know how it has been treated. And a blown rear tyre isn't easy to handle.

Look, I agree that buying part-worn tyres is not the best option, but a lot of people do it with the vast majority having no problems.

Fair enough, the worn tyres were a contributing factor, but the result would have been the same even if they had been bought new but left to wear down to illegal depths, (1.6mm). I'm not condoning the sale of badly worn tyres at all, but I think it unfair to label all part-worn tyres with the same brush.

As with all things it's a matter of personal choice. My own choice is stated as above.

Got to say I think it's a bit of scaremongering by the media again.....

I've got part worns on my car, as that's the only way that I've been able to get the car back on the road, I simply don't have the money for new tyres.

We had part worn Tyres on the V6 and after two months, all the inside wall of one tyre had split leaving the tyre in a very dangerous condition. They had been bought as a stop gap as the MOT had cost more than we expected, but I was shocked at how bad after only a couple of months the condition had got too. We had been very, very lucky - It would probably have blown the Tyre if we had done any Motorway travel and we all know the consequences of that. We only noticed this as I had paid to have Avons fitted and the Tyre Fitter showed me how bad the Tyre was

I don't think I'd take the risk of using part-worns. The idea of what could be wrong with them scares me to death. I drive gently as well. OTOH, I think myself lucky to be able to afford new tyres.

Look, don't get me wrong, I have never fitted them, will always fit new, unless it was an absolute necessity. It's just that just because a couple of people have had bad experiences it doesn't mean they're all bad.

And I agree with Jake with this, a lot of the time this being the case............

It's not just the tread depth that causes concern. That's entirely the fault of the owner of the car for not checking them. Some disreps will go to incredible lengths to off-load bad stuff. Also many tyres fail MOT by sidewalls splitting and cannot always be easily detected. They may cost less initially, but they ain't cheap. Wouldn't dream of taking any chances with my nearest and dearest.

Oh heck. I hope I haven't put my foot in it Bill

I don't doubt that there are some bargains to be had. It's just that I, personally, would worry about the previous life of the tyre. So much so, that when I acquire a car, I tend to get the tyres changed as soon as it comes into my possession. Apologies if my post was seen as being in any way a general condemnation.

No Apologies needed Paul - I was just clearing up a point - nothing personal at all.....

And I do aswell if there is real 'tack' fitted, which luckily has only happen to me once! In actual fact the condition of the tyres, as well as the quality of same is a good 'pointer' as to how the previous owner has cared for the car and it's safety, which has in the past been a determining factor in purchase......

When I posted the news story at the start of this thread I deliberately didn't make any comment one way or the other as I guessed opinion was going to be divided on this matter.

Me? No, I wouldn't buy part-worn tyres either. Having said that I have seen a brand new tyre twist and distort within 2 months of being fitted (my brother's Citroen BX)and another develop a bulge in the side when the tread still looked relatively new.

Then again, I know someone who regularly buys part-worn tyres from a local salvage yard - he's had some real bargains but has also had some problems (always readily sorted by the yard in question, though that's not the issue here).

I guess the message is - whatever you fit, they should be checked over on a regular basis - not just the tread but the whole tyre for any sign of damage or wear.

TF

Hear-Hear.....

On the one hand, I don't trust a word that is written in the media these days, as there's always some axe to grind. In this case it very much looks like a publicity story from a trade body.

On the other the variation in performance of some new tyres has been so poor that good part worns could be less of a risk. I've had such bad performance from a well known reputable brand tyre in the wet, I still to this day refuse to but their standard tyres. However thier winter tyres are the reference I'm told by a tyre expert. There are some far eastern tyres which are known as xxx ditchfinders, but then again I have some economy tyres that are performing fine.

Personally I would never buy part worns either. When they used to be available I did by remoulds a couple of times when I was young and poor, but had similarly poor experiences. One tyre wore out within a few months. The others were a set and the carcases used for the remoulds were unsafe, a fact I only found after the car was off the road . I had a puncture the day before it was taken off the road, which was due to a gash on the inside wall. I only twigged what had happened after seeing a consumer program some months later. As it goes, I still have the tyre over twenty years later if anyone doubts what unsafe stuff people are prepared to sell that will cost you your life.

Have never and will never consider part worn tyres, I value my life, my family and other road users too much to take the risk. The tread depth can easily be checked but what can be hidden is damage to the tyres structure which could be caused either on the vehicle or by bad storage and handling whilst they're waiting for a new home.
When ever I buy a new car I always replace the tyres as quickly as possible as soon as I know it's a keeper. In fact when we traded our ZR for the ZS I actually had the dealer swap the wheels so I could keep my own tyres that I knew were good!