Part-worn tire warning

ERJ staff report (TP)

London – If you buy part-worn tires for your car you’re not necessarily saving yourself any money, reported James Foxall for The Daily Telegraph.

According to one tire safety organisation, more than four million drivers a year are buying tires that have been previously used on another vehicle, and one in six motorists has bought part-worn items at some point in their driving life.

On top of the safety implications, TyreSafe claims buying part-worn tires isn’t necessarily cheaper. Here’s why. A typical part-worn tire will have about 3mm of tread. Considering the legal minimum is 1.6mm, that part-worn tire will only have about 1.4mm of usable tread, meaning 4,000 miles (6,437km) or so of motoring.

A new tire usually has 8mm of tread – that’s 6.4mm of legal tread, or 18,000 miles (28,968km) of driving.

With all that in mind, TyreSafe estimates that part-worn tires could cost about £6.33 (€7.58) per millimetre of usable tread compared with just £5.32 (€6.37) per millimetre for a new set.

This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Full story from The Daily Telegraph