Tires are an expensive purchase, it quickly costs hundreds of euros for a decent set of tires. In the case of winter tires, there are sometimes additional costs for metal rims. Because good tires offer safety, they are a must. By buying second-hand tires you are much cheaper. But are used tires good and how can you see or check this?
Why buy used tires?
In principle, the reason for buying second-hand tires has to do with money, as they are much cheaper than new ones. It can therefore be a cause of a too limited budget, but also because you know, for example, that you will not continue to drive the car for long because of an upcoming sale. In the latter case, it can be a shame to make a large investment.
Where can you buy used tires?
Second-hand tires are an industry in themselves and are available in various places. One option is to go to your own or another official car garage. The garage owner often has second-hand tires in stock or knows where to find them. There are even car repair shops that specialize in used car tires. Anyone looking on the internet will quickly find these garages. It is also possible to buy used car tires from private individuals via, for example, Marktplaats. A good strategy is to check in advance what size tires you need, what your budget is, and so on. By checking which tires are good in the tests you can look more specifically for good tires. You can read more information about which tires are good here.
Check the quality
The first thing you look at is the profile. A worn-out tire with a bad tread is dangerous. It is legally required that a tire must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm. So make sure that the profile is well above this, for example at least 4-5 mm. This allows you to use them for a considerable period of time before the profile falls below the mandatory 1.6 mm. However, a minimum of 4 mm is recommended for winter tires, because this tread depth does justice to the specific qualities of the winter tire. So if you want to buy a second-hand winter tire, you must have a winter tire that has a profile of more than 4 mm, preferably at least 7 mm to be able to last long enough. Furthermore, you should always check whether there are cracks or cracks in the rubber of the tire and whether the valve is undamaged.
How much do you save?
As mentioned earlier, second-hand tires are considerably cheaper than new tires. This applies to both summer and winter tires. The exact amount depends on, among other things, the brand that is chosen, as there are cheap and expensive brands. The age and wear of the tires also play a role. The older and more worn, the less valuable the tires are. Nevertheless, a used tire set quickly saves hundreds of euros compared to a new tire set.
Make sure you buy the right tires
This point applies to both new tires and second-hand tires. You will always have to buy the right tires for the type of car you have. For example, the tire width, the ratio between height and width of a tire and the diameter of a tire play a role. A point of attention is the size of the tires and whether they fit on your rims. This is even more common in the case of winter tires. For some rim sizes, no size winter tires are available. This means that a new rim set must also be purchased! When purchasing tires, also pay attention to the carrying capacity and maximum speed of the tire. This information is printed on the side of a tire.