Where have all the decent part worns gone?

[Lankytim]

I need some tyres for the XM, I always buy part worns because I IS SKINFLINT and it's easy to pick up a decent make of tyre with 80% of the tread remaining for a fraction of the cost of a brand new item. I say easy, it doesn't seem to be as easy anymore. All the used tyre places I know of are knocking out tyres with 2mm worth of tread for top dollar and have nothing better in stock. It's like there's a national drought of part worns. I had the same problem a couple of years ago with my SAAB and ended up buying a complete set of wheels to pinch the tyres off. 

 

I was always told that most of the part worns in the U.K came from Germany where you need something like 4mm of tread minimum, you can't repair punctures and you have to replace tyres in axle sets, i.e if you damage a tyre and have to buy a new one you also have to replace the opposite side even if it has 6mm worth of tread left. Have the Krauts suddenly started sending their tyres elsewhere?

 

So where have all the part worns gone?

 

BTW, I'm after either 215/55/16 OR 205/55/16

[bigfella2]

All the zee-germans must be sending them to yorkshire. HWMBO has made it a sport for shredding tyres on kerbs and potholes recently and because of this I refuse to buy new tyres for her car. Changed one about three weeks ago in a similar size 205/45/16, had the choice of about 5-6 decent ones at the local tyre place, all with plenty of thread. Find somewhere else.

[Cavcraft]

I got two really good 205/55/16s for mine the other day, £20 a piece. One went down (so perhaps wasn't as good as I thought) but they replaced it no problem.

 

A1 Tyres

62-64 Station Road Blacon, Ellesmere Port CH65 4BQ, United Kingdom

0151 355 0642

 

Avoid Top Gear Tyres in the same town though, the last few sets I had or was offered weren't very good at all.

[fordperv]

Tim have you tried the guys in the old king ford service building on king Street Fenton, good lads down there

[Justin Case]

It might be worth trying Sue's Tyres  just down the road in Cannock; they used to import decent tyres in bulk from Germany, especially in the more expensive sizes, and kept several Saabs on the road safely and cheaply. No website though, but they were in Walkmill Rd industrial estate.

[CortinaDave]

I picked up a couple of 14 inch pirellis for a tenski each at the local scrappy for the cavalier - one still even had the knobbles on so clearly had only ever been a spare. Happy days.

 

£15 each to get them fitted though

[EssDeeWon]

I needed tyres for the 75 before Christmas so I just stuck the tyre size into ebay and luckily a tyre place 2 miles down the road from here had some decent part worn Michelins which they kindly fitted for about £60 all in 

 

I guess you have to be a little bit lucky with buying good part worns, but just stick the tyre size in the ebay search field (if you haven't tried that already)

[lisbon_road]

Recently bought some 175 70 13 from a place in Southampton and had loads to choose from with loads of tread, one looked new.

 

@CortinaDave, you need to find somewhere else to fit them.  If you can find one of the big chains where they are happy to do a cash deal and spend it on their lunch, you can get a real bargain for fitting.

[spike60]

I picked up a couple of 14 inch pirellis for a tenski each at the local scrappy for the cavalier - one still even had the knobbles on so clearly had only ever been a spare. Happy days.

 

£15 each to get them fitted though

The one that had only been a spare will likely be as old as the car that's been weighed in. Tyres are like cambelts, they deteriorate whether they're going round or not. Just my thoughts.

[CortinaDave]

The one that had only been a spare will likely be as old as the car that's been weighed in. Tyres are like cambelts, they deteriorate whether they're going round or not. Just my thoughts.

2012 date code ðŸ‘Â

 

I did however run around for a week on the original never fitted 1971 spare Michelin ZX that came with my mk3 cortina a few years back when I was caught out with an un repairable puncture and no cash. It looked absolutely fine but let's just say I used the car the bare minimum that week.

[spike60]

As long as you're aware of it, not all are. It's rare for sellers on Ebay to list date codes, and most aren't interested if you ask for it. Last one I got was 3 digit so before 2000, no thanks. If you get a car with old tyres on fair enough but I don't wish to pay good money for them. I would have to be very sure of the tyres before getting any part worns, no more Ebay lucky dips thank you.

[Bren]

Used to use part worns all the time, however as time went on it seemed that many offered did'nt have enough tread to justify £20, so I buy new now.

[PiperCub]

^^ Same here, they seem to be less value for money compared with new stuff nowadays. Not knocking part-worns (that's what your car came with after all), just my observation.

[Albert Ross]

These chaps are in Normanton, W.Yorks. Never used them, but they appear big sellers. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-tyre-205-55-16-4-6mm-Michelin-Pilot-HX-ref-P3473-/231249704403

[warren t claim]

Plenty of exporters still listing wholesale quantities of treads on alibaba.com so I'm sure there isn't a drought on.

[UltraWomble]

 

£15 each to get them fitted though

This.

I need one 185/65/15-88H for the Picasserole as ne rear is down to the wear bar.

All the local tyre places want a minimum of £15 a tyre to fit (some over £20/tyre) - Im now contemplating buying a budget brand off Blackcircles where they can supply and fit for £40/tyre

[castros_bro]

For the last 5 years or so I use part worns from a place near Aldershot which is part of a large  "end of life" car recycle yard so they only keep a few tyres out of the dozens they have each day. Fifteen pounds fitted and balanced.

[Squire_Dawson]

Do they not make remoulds any more or retreads? In the past, of course, these were the choice of the impecunious. Mind you, cars were not as fast or powerful back then.

[Lankytim]

I've used remoulds in the past, infact I pick them up from the Kingpin factory when I'm there with work. TBH they perish after a few months and are as expensive as a budget new make. 

 

I've spotted Achilles tyres locally for £35 odd fitted. Mixed reviews online for them. 

 

I've done a bit of juggling and found that 205/60/16 seem much more common than 215/55/16 but are effectively the same diameter. It's all a bit of guesswork as i'm replacing the 15" steels shod with 205/65/15's 

[spike60]

I've used remoulds in the past, infact I pick them up from the Kingpin factory when I'm there with work. TBH they perish after a few months and are as expensive as a budget new make. 

 

I've spotted Achilles tyres locally for £35 odd fitted. Mixed reviews online for them. 

I bought a car with a pair of new Achilles 225/50/16's fitted, they gripped ok but wore heavily and cracked in the tread at less than a year old.

[Jikovron]

A few years ago I used to sing the high heaven praises for cheapo part worns, quarter of the price of a new budget, plenty of breakaway warning at sensible speeds due to them becoming akin to ancient parchment for grips and sometimes a premium brand which generally didn't matter due to the immediately former reason but looked good because it was a pure toyo/avon/conti combination with a cheeky marshall

 

but I noticed that years back they were generally £10 which was about 25% of the new budget (165r13) and had maybe 60-70% life left but since these cheapo places have proliferated like knats in the wind they seem to wheel out the best in tapered tread flat spotted tyres for £20-30 quid which then promply make the car pull hard to one side under power and braking and still vibrate after balancing lol

imo its plausible that second handtyre demand is high enough that tyre emporiums are salvaging them from skanky shitter rims from scrapyards maybe

 

if I could find a place to sell a decent part worn I would go back to them but now I will spend a tenner more as I don't have anyrims larger than 14" although if I was buying 16s or whatever then I would persevere with the second hand jobs

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I put a pair of part worms on the front of the 600 yesterday. Cheeky fucker tried to charge a fiver extra for winter tyres, I pointed out I'd prefer summer ones and he admitted he'd only got winters!

Anyway £40 fitted for 2 195/65 15 Vredstein winter tyres with about 5mm.

Had to wait whilst the guy dealt with a couple of Carina E s with beaded seat covers and a cd hanging from the mirror- must be the cheapest around here( Milton Keynes)

[overrun]

I buy them for the daily. 235/40/18. If you are Savvy (TS) you can pick a pair of 6mm Michelin/Pirelli etc up for itro £80 from eBay.

 

Good savings to be had and I only pay £10-£20 to have a pair fitted, locally.

[dave21478]

......I've done a bit of juggling and found that 205/60/16 seem much more common than 215/55/16 but are effectively the same diameter. It's all a bit of guesswork as i'm replacing the 15" steels shod with 205/65/15's 

 

 

http://www.willtheyfit.com

will help find out alternative sizes.

[michael1703]

Some new unheard of brand Chinese tyres can be had for £25 upwards new so there are less decent part worms kicking about

[Lankytim]

Cheers for the link, I've been using it to compare different sizes... Good fun inputting ridiculous tyre sizes too.

 

Thanks to facebook I've found a part-worn wholesaler has recently opened about 100 yards from my house. Talk about handy!

[beko1987]

My local place is quite good, and due to something to do with their ethnicity, monday is a really quiet day for them as their taxi driving friends dont work Mondays for religious reasons apparently

 

Have never had too many issues with them, although they tent to either have great stock or ok stock, have had nearly new mitchelins for £20 (for grade A, £15 for gradeB), when I went there for the fronts on the ZX it was names ive never heard of with ok tread (still fine now though tbh)

 

Possibly helps that I've got pally enough with the guy who runs it that I can go with him to choose. I remember him laughing* with me when the xm swallowed his jack as he didnt give me a chance to raise it up to high... Nearly tempted to get 2 winters soon, put those on the front and put the current fronts on the back but I just cant be arsed really, the weather cant get that bad surely?

[UltraWomble]

, the weather cant get that bad surely?

Probably not now, though snow in March or April isnt unheard of. Im glad to see Im not the only one who puts M&S tyres on my driven wheels and leaves the non driven ones with all weather / zummer tyres.

[Lankytim]

Tadaa.

 

 

Apologies for the shite pic, I finished work early today and managed to nip in to get some new hoops fitted. £80 all in and 2 were nearly new! Every tyre is a different make but meh..

 

2 of the old tyres were shot and one of the good ones had tyre weld in it. The remaining one was full of rubber dust so feck knows what had happened there. Driven while flat? Either way they were all fooked so i'm glad I managed to replace them quickly.

 

The XM now drives much more nicely but despite being the same diameter as the old 15" tyres the new ones look comically large. Old tyres were 205/65/15 and the new ones are 205/60/16. I'm pleased anyway.

 

The garage I used was full of old tat too, mostly Porsches including a James "Dead" Dean one that was thoroughly teabagged and reduced to a bare shotblasted shell on a chassis roller. The guys were only too happy to talk shite and were very interested in the XM (same suspension as the metro innit.. err NO) I may even take my Audi Coupe in for them to fettle. I showed the guys a pic of it on my phone and they were drooling all over it. 

 

Can anybody guess what this is?

 

 

I'd recommend the garage I used on here but I've already forgotten what they're called!

[lisbon_road]

Er, are you sure you replaced 15" tyres with 16"? 

 

Feels good buying secondhand tyres - less waste which just can't be a bad thing.