Purchasing used tyres of unknown history is like playing Russian roulette - you can never be sure that you will not get a faulty tyre. In factories, brand new tyres are X-rayed to see if they have internal defects. There is no technical possibility to check used passenger tyres outside the factory. PTIA warns drivers – shops offering used tyres do not have adequate tools to test their quality. Internal damage cannot be seen with the naked eye!
Tyres will pose a threat to the next owner if they have been operating underinflated for several hundred kilometres, which cannot be checked. Are the resellers’ assurances about their good condition a sufficient guarantee of safety for our families?
Regardless of whether the used tyres are offered in auto shops, on retail parks or on the Internet – sellers are not able to detect any internal damage due to technological limitations. Such tyres may even explode when operating! Every driver should choose only unused tyres from reliable sources. It is better and much safer to buy a brand-new tyre in economy range.
There are some drivers, especially among owners of older cars, who assume that they can buy almost new tyres for much less money. It is worth noting that such tyres have a much shorter lifespan than those bought in proffesional retailers and auto shops, and sometimes the period of their safe operation is so short that it is difficult to talk about any savings. There is however a good chance that we will put ourselves and others in danger.
We are able to assess the external condition and depth of the tread of used tyres, but even the impeccable appearance, lack of abrasions, cracks and bulges do not guarantee safe travel, and after inflating also leakproofness. However, this is not enough - the interior of the tyre remains a mystery and it can have significant damage invisible to the naked eye. We never know in what condition tyres were previously used or stored, and whether or not the car in which they were mounted participated in an accident. Even after hitting a curb or a pothole the inner layers of the tyres - the carcass or the belt - may be damaged.
One can also destroy tyres when driving with too low pressure – then excessive overloading and overheating of the side walls of the tyres occurs. On longer trips, in such conditions irreversible destruction of the carcass and belt of tyres occurs. In worst-case scenario, especially when traveling on a heated road, the tyre may break during driving.
One can expose themselves to damage by using random auto shops of dubious quality. If the tyres are removed unprofessionally from the rim, it is easy to damage the tyre bead and break its bead core. The driver may not even notice that. Such tyre does not adhere properly to the rim and, for example, on a road curve, where the tyre load increases, it may break and cause uncontrolled slippage.
As you can see, with all technical sophistication, tyres are susceptible to damage, improper operation or unprofessional service. They are not a lamp, a deckchair or a TV set, which subsequent owners can pass on without much risk.
– Used tyres may have previously been involved in a serious accident, improperly used, unprofessionally repaired or stored in improper conditions. Only when buying new tyres, we have a guarantee that they are free of any damage and have properties declared by the manufacturer. Brand tyres are always carefully checked at every stage of production, including X-rays – to rule out any internal damage to the belt or bead core. Despite their unknown past, nobody checks used tyres that way, so buying always poses a great risk - notes Piotr Sarnecki, general director of the Polish Tyre Industry Association.
As drivers, we don’t really care much about our tyres – nearly 60 percent of respondents do not regularly check tyre pressure[1]. In addition, European Commission research shows that 28 percent of cars in Poland have problems with tyres[2]. So where should the good, undamaged, used tyres come from? The place of used tyres is in recycling plants, not in the secondary market.
[1] Moto Data 2017 - Panel of car users
[2] European Commission, Study on some safety-related aspects of tyre use, December 2014
Source: Polish Tyre Industry Association