Are used tires safe?

The honest answer

A used tire with enough tread, even wear, a clean sidewall and a reasonable age is safe to fit. Most tires come off cars long before they are worn out, usually because somebody bought a set of four and only needed two, or sold the car.

A used tire is not safe when you cannot see what you are buying. The risk is not that the tire is used. The risk is buying one blind.

What to check before you fit one

Tread depth, measured, not guessed. 2/32 is worn out.

Even wear across the face. One edge worn away means the car it came off had an alignment problem, and the tire has less life than the deepest point suggests.

The sidewall: no cuts, no scrapes down to the cords, and no bubbles. A bubble means the inner structure has failed and the tire should be scrapped.

The age, from the DOT code.

What you cannot see

This is the part nobody else will tell you. A tire that has been run flat, badly over-loaded, or patched wrongly on the inside can look fine from the outside.

That is why it matters that somebody has had the tire in their hands. Every tire we sell is looked over by eye for damage, plugs and uneven wear, pressure tested to check it holds air, and checked by hand once more on the day it ships.

Repairs

A proper repair is a patch-plug fitted from the inside, in the middle of the tread. That is an industry-accepted repair and a tire with one is fine to run.

A plug pushed in from the outside without taking the tire off the wheel is not a proper repair. Neither is any repair in the shoulder or sidewall, because those areas flex too much to hold.

If a tire has been repaired, you should be told. We note it.

Where used tires are a bad idea

If your car is all-wheel drive, many makers want all four tires within a few 32nds of each other. Mixing a deep used tire with three worn ones can strain the drivetrain. Check the owner's manual.

If you need a matched set of four and cannot get the same model at the same tread, buy new. A matched set matters more than saving money.