St Paul Mn Used Car and Truck Tires

Buying used car and truck tires is a great way to save money and keep you and your passengers safe. Used tires purchased from used car parts lots keep perfectly good tires out of landfills.

Look for Uneven Tread Wear

Look for uneven wear on the tires – if the previous car has a bad alignment, the inner edge could be worn out while the outer edge looks just fine. This is bad and the tires will have a much shorter life and continue to wear unevenly, even if your car is aligned properly. Avoid anything with uneven tread wear.

Tire Brand & Original Retail Price

Research the tires you’re going to get – what do they retail for? Do they have good reviews? I like to use TireRack.com to research tires as they have tons of information, reviews, etc. They also have really competitive prices. Depending on the tire, you might just end up buying them new depending on how much the used tire seller wants.

Look for Patches & Defects

Once you’ve determined the remaining tread & age, look over the tires thoroughly for any defects. Don’t buy any tires with bubbles in the sidewalls – they’re prone to blow out at any moment and without warning. Likewise if you see patches on the tires (usually visible from the inside of the tire) that’s a sign the tire might not hold air or could have issues. Also look for any missing chunks, dings, holes or anything out of the ordinary.
Since you have to pay to get the tires installed, it’s a big risk that one tire might not work out – if you’re going to buy a tire that looks like it has been repaired or might have a defect, either try to get a warranty from the seller or offer them very little (if nothing) for the tire because of it.

Read the Tire Age

Next, it is important to check the age of the tire – even if tires have plenty of life left, if they’re really old, it’s a bad buy. Old tires crack and will eventually blow out. According to TireRack.com, most governments & automotive associations recommend replacing your tires every 5-6 years, regardless of how much tread is left.
You can check the age of a tire based on the writing on the side of the tire. This article on Tire Rack explains how to figure out the age of a tire. Knowing how much tread is left, you can calculate approximately how long of a life the tire has remaining based on its age, remaining tread depth and your driving habits. All of this can be used to haggle down the price, or just to determine if you should buy the tire or not in the first place.

 Evaluate Tire tread depth 

First you should determine how much life the tires have left in them by looking at the depth of the tire tread. I recommend picking up a tire depth gauge – for as little as $5, it’s a tool that is well worth the cost if you’re going to buy used tires. Typically, a new tire has between 10-12/32″ of tread depth. Using a gauge you can determine EXACTLY how much is left, which can help you decide if you should buy the tires and how much you should offer.

I wouldn’t recommend buying anything under 4/32nds of tread – 4/32nds is the minimum that dealerships require to trade-in your vehicle, anything less they determine too worn and will make you replace the tires first. Likewise, you’ll typically pay between $80-120 to get the tires mounted, balanced and installed, so why waste that money on installation when the tires are going to be bald very soon?
Use your tire depth gauge to figure out how much life is left, and use that as the basis for your offer (50% of tread left means pay no more than 50% of original retail price).

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