There a fair few second hand tyres for sale on Trademe and I thought a bit of independant advice might be handy for those looking at buying. I don't work at a tyre shop or have any afiliation with any tyre company.
Tyre age.
Beware of tyres more than 6 years old! Even if they appear in perfect condition (like an unused spare) there are serious risks due to the breakdown in the rubber (even inside where the steel belt meets the rubber). For tyre code information see this link:
www.aa1car.com/library/tire_expire.htm If you put an old tyre on a car, or even worse an SUV, 4WD or van a blowout at speed could cause loss of control. Its not really worth the risk.Snow/winter tyres
These typically come into New Zealand from Japan on used vehicles. They are not designed for use in anything other than freezing cold conditions and should not be used as an all year round tyre in New Zealand. They have reduced grip in normal driving conditions, and have contributed to several accidents over the past few years. Car dealers sometimes sell imported cars still 'wearing' their Japanese snow tyres. Get the dealer to swap these for decent new tyresas part of the purchase agreement. Snow/winter are easy to spot:
If you live in Queenstown you might like to have a separate set of winter tyres, but don't forget to check the 'tyre age' advice at the top.
Feel free to add comments, Matt
franko171,
Apr 5, 8:13pm
tires are cheap buy new
muzzaandmich,
Apr 5, 8:33pm
dont you value your or your passengers lifeBUY NEWfor a few dollarspease of mind and safety all round,,,,have to ask yourself why were they changed in the frst place
shaun16,
Apr 5, 8:50pm
i bought 2 secondhand "as new" tyres from a tyre shop for less than the price of one new one. so secondhand isnt always bad. if youre buying tyres that are almost half tread or less then thats different
curlcrown,
Apr 5, 9:03pm
Why not buy second hand tyres! The tyres on almost all cars are second hand now. Or should tyres be replaced when they get below 6mm tread!
johnf_456,
Apr 5, 10:09pm
So you have never heard a new tyre fail, tui. Often its more than a few dollars, I pick up occasional 2nd hand tyres nothing wrong with them. On that same note you better remove all those used seat belts from your car and buy new.
Picked up a pair for my work hack 40 bucks each 2/3 tread left new would be double the amount.
tuttyclan,
Apr 5, 10:10pm
When you buy a second hand car normally the 'second hand tyres are included'. So what do you do then ,put new tyres on it or just renew the whole car!
johnf_456,
Apr 5, 10:10pm
Yup nothing wrong with 2nd hand tyres provided they are not bald, damaged sidewalls and the usual stuff to look for.
jezz43,
Apr 5, 10:47pm
2nd hand tyres can be a hassle. i used to work at a shop a while back, we had alot of secondhand tyres that were vulcanised. the vulcanised patches often let go after around 5000 kms and had to be repaired again. 9/10 2nd hand tyres we stocked were purchased from other 2nd hand outlets and had repairs to them. even 2nd hand they were still up to 80% of the price of a new tyre of decent quality (bridgestone etc) i dont know about other shops but this was just where i worked.
tigra,
Apr 6, 12:02am
Funnily enough its hard to sell 2nd hand tyres on TM. so usually they are well below new price. if I can get a tyre with 6mm tread for $25-$30 and a new one costs $110 I know where I am going to buy. I've bought lots over the years and never ever had one let me down.
johnf_456,
Apr 6, 12:04am
Ditto ^
johnf_456,
Apr 6, 3:47am
-1 Depends on the car, have you seen the price on some cars tyres.
cocabowla,
Apr 6, 4:50am
i had some unknown brand chinese tyres on my car that were worse than terrible, cheapest new tyres were $125 ea for brands i'd never heard of and simply couldnt afford the retail of ones i would have been happy with. found a set of 5 bridgestones the same as the ones sold in nz new for $255 total, i'm morer than happy to sacrifice 20% tread depth for what would have cost around $700 + new
johnf_456,
Apr 6, 4:58am
Indeed its worth it, just got to be wise and check them before hand.
directorylist,
Apr 6, 5:02am
Its false economy. I remember when i first started seeing my missus. I got a call from her, her bottom radiator hose had blown. Turned up found the hose was shot. Fixed it with some duct tape to get her home. When i was talking to her later she mentioned her Grandfather had fixed it last time with a hose from pick a part. I think it cost me about $20 from repco for a replacement.
franc123,
Apr 6, 5:09am
Sorry pal but this isn't news, well it is but it's last years.All your points are of course valid but the two debatable issues here are if aged tyres are a safety risk, why is it still legal to use them and there is no requirement to check manufacturing dates during WOF and the only reasons for rejection are still the usual ones of visual deterioration!If snow tyres are as dangerous as people claim, why is their use in anything other than low temperature conditions illegal, increased minimum tread depth or not!Chew those over.
mattlhancock,
Apr 6, 9:03pm
Thanks Franc, good points.I never intended it to be news to everyone, just something to consider for those thinking of buying second hand tyres, and I couldnt find this information on TM. NZ's WOF standards are hardly world leading in my opinion, for example, we don't test for emissions other than by looking at the exhaust pipe! Deterioration of the joint between the steel belt and the rubber just can't be checked, so its up to owners to make their own judgement. Snow tyres might be fine on your ute or for around town but there is no way I'd be fitting them to a modern car for use on the open road all year round. Again, if you think the government is smarter than you feel free to follow the letter of the law.
muzzaandmich,
Apr 6, 10:02pm
so why change the tyres in the first place
kevin_the_kiwi,
Apr 8, 12:23am
I think people don't buy second hand tyres off here because A) They arn't easily posted so you have to pick them up and B) They put the 'getting the tyres fitted to the wheel/rim' in the too hard basket. Which is good for those that want cheap second hand tyres.
pollymay,
Apr 8, 7:19am
I bought a used tyre for my turbo car when the old one got camber wear down to the canvas. Took 4 weeks to arrive and they sent the wrong one and I gave up. It is slightly different to the one on the other side but I have no choice at this point cause no one sells decent 16" tyres for my staggered setup. I left neutral feedback cause at least they sent something that got me off the dangerous tyre in the end.
Besides if you run old tyres etc etc it's your own fault. Onselling is another matter but a lot of it is heat cycling and the come right with a couple burnouts or hard track time as long as they aren't cracked all over. That's proper heat cycling, not just going for a drive. They are CHEAP on here though, some good deals if you are sharp.
johnf_456,
Apr 8, 3:20pm
Problem, nothing wrong with 2nd hand tyres, save heaps provided they are not crap.
mattlhancock,
Apr 10, 5:22am
Pollymay, just in case you are looking for 205/55/16s Good Year are doing the excellent Eagle F1s GS-D3 on sale for $185 fitted. Great directional tyres, bit noisy. I have some on my Mazda 6.
autocars1,
Apr 10, 2:07pm
Yes you are right, but not entirely. If the tyres have been stored inside then they should be alright. The older the rubber has been ages the better the performance/longevity. If they've been left outside they get water into the steel belt and they corrode. Rubber is pourous, not perfectly sealed hence the problem. SO just be careful. Remember like anything you get what you pay for, Also, how many people have had their cars for 10years + with no problems.so a lot of what you say is subjective and the wrose case scenario. Believe me I seen it, been there and done it all.
autocars1,
Apr 10, 2:09pm
That's too dear. They aren't worth more than about $90 each. If you shopa round for the same make you can get better prices than that. I would never pay for than $100 for any new tyre, like my Watties bakes beans, won't pay for than $1, they come down and then I buy them, not paying $1.50 like Countdown charge.
gneel1,
Apr 10, 2:15pm
That's why I haven't even considered buy tyres on TM before. are there people who will just fit tyres!
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