How shite are partworns?

[txe4]

For years I ran cars on partworns from a filthy backstreet place, or occasionally the cheapest nastiest new ditchfinder going - but mostly partworns. Mismatched, awful brands, etc - but always legal and manufacturer spec in terms of size/rating.

 

Recently, though, about half the partworns we've had have had obvious, illegal/dangerous problems, or been punctured.

 

Is it pointless now?

 

Was it always pointless and we were just lucky?

 

Give the lecture about being a danger to myself and others if you want, it's fine.

[Marm Toastsmith]

I think the answer is have a look and see what they've got... nothing inherently wrong with used tyres, sometimes you get better rubber than new budget ones, sometimes they do try to sell you utter shit...

 

I usually ask if they have anything decent and used in before shelling out for new rubber. Especially if I'm just replacing a single tyre.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Risky shit. I buy budget to get me out of a tight spot and change them when i have enough dollar. You don't know what stresses the P/w Tyre has been through. A footprint the size of the palm of your hand, that's what holds the corner of a car on the tarmac. Take the risk to save a score? Fuck that m9

[RayMK]

It's a fair enough question.  Personally, I would not mix brands, tread patterns or degree of wear on the same axle but have bought part worns in the past e.g. Michelin Xs from a scrap yard for my 2cv6 and Dyane and TRX (metric) tyres from a part worn specialist when I had my CX GTi Turbo 2 because brand new ones were bloody expensive.  As long as the condition looks ok and the date code gives a reasonable age I would consider part worns if forced by lack of cash.  

[Iamgroot]

You are buying part worn tyres every time you get a second hand car, if they are ok they are ok, but there's a hell of a lot of rubbish being sold in the part worn world these days, just check them out before they get fitted and check the dot marking to see how old they are and you should be fine. A large Tyre fitting company were still selling "brand new" remould tyres rated for 56mph not all that long ago, for all I know they still are, I would take a nice newish pirelli/Avon for same money over that any day.

[theshadow]

the partworns i get he sources them from germany,good no problems,had 2 michelin snow tyres put on front scenic,excellent in the wet,better than shite that was on it,cost very bloody cheap,have been using him for over 15 years

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

You are buying part worn tyres every time you get a second hand car, if they are ok they are ok...

 

You are, but at least they are still on the rimz so it gives you half a chance to hazard a guess at how they've been treated. A part worn from Bills bingo rings could have come off of salvage that had once catapulted across a field.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Total lottery.  I've got a good tyre guy just down the road from me and have had some excellent part worns, at amazing prices.  I'm sure you can get dodgy ones but I've not had one yet from him.

On the other hand, I bought a car a while back with a new-ish tyre that looked perfect... but pulled the steering hard to the right for no apparent reason.  If you swapped it to the other side, it pulled in that direction.  It looked perfect, had been only fitted to the one wheel (I had the receipt for it) and was 3 years old.  Must have been internally damaged in some way.

 

My point is, every car on the road is on part-worn tyres.  Some will be shite, some will be perfect.  Go in with a common sense attitude and I see no problem with them at all.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I recently whacked a pair of partworn Contis on the front on my fiancees old daily purely to sell it. It was a 10 year old Audi, the existing front tyres were rogered, and I figured it'd be better to buy a couple of decent brand partworns as opposed to a brand new, similarly priced pair of LingLongDingalings. In my eyes, new shit tyres would have shouted 'car has been maintained on a shoestring' greater than a pair of partworn decent ones.

 

I always buy brand new slightly-better-than-budget tyres for my own daily. I bought a set of 4 16" Falkens for my E91 and when fitted still owed me under 200 notes. They grip well and are good in the rain.

 

I'd compare decent partworns to the cheapest, new Chinese deathrings.

 

They may be ok.

Or they may try and kill you.

[vulgalour]

Part worns are fine as a temporary/emergency measure.  Sometimes you get lucky and get a decent set of part worns that have loads of life left in them, plenty of tread, not that old, etc.

 

Sticking brand new tyres on the Princess when I could afford to was, frankly, a revelation.  I'm not saying I'll never go back to part worns but for the cost and faff saving new tyres gave me, I'll always go new if I can afford it.

[RayMK]

The part worns I used to buy from the scrappy were complete with wheels, and I removed them from the car in question so could see whether the scrappage was due to accident (i.e. walk away).

 

Some brand new budget tyres let go so suddenly in the wet that a pair of decent branded part worns in good condition etc. is a safer bet.

[sierraman]

I used to but I wouldn’t now, they aren’t priced nearly cheap enough to make them worth while. I could fit a pair of budgets on mine for probably £80. Last time I asked about some part worms they wanted £20 a tyre for them and they were at 4mm. Most part worns now for sale are old rubbish that I’ve seen.

 

If you’ve fitted some budgets drive accordingly though but they shouldn’t be too scary on a modern car. I love the reviews on tyres though when someone posts their Vectra B handles shit on cheap tyres. No mate it just handles shit full stop.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

When I was a care free bastad, I got part worns among other things... but now I have a family, a shit tonne of responsibility and travel long distances, sometimes at short notice so I guess after I found that de laminated sidewall repair some years ago, I moved away from Tyre roulette. I knew the suppliers too, I grew up with some of them... Utter wankers.

[txe4]

Thanks all.

 

Glad others are having the same "part worns are shite now-a-days" experience.

 

As for the Germany thing - I scrapped two Pirelli this winter, both partworns from Germany, both with egg-shaped bulges in the sidewall as soon as pressure was applied. Even with the bad 'uns, partworns were still cheaper than new, but the hassle isn't worth it anymore IME.

[lesapandre]

Some of my Citroen AX do less than 100 miles a year. I tend to go 2nd hand  but  I keep in touch with my tyre place and they let me know when good stuff comes in and I put it away.  I think it partly depends who you deal with.

[Crooner]

It also depends on your style of driving. If you are a motorway or fast A/B road driver, I'd only buy decent ones. If you only bumble around or just stop-start commute, it doesn't really matter. I've just bought three part worn, no make tyres for the Escort van as I only commute at most 5 miles each journey, some less. On my modern, I've just paid £330(!) for two new continentals to match what it has had on from new. And that was was shopping around. Still mainly commuting, but I do two a largish caravan now and then, and I'm going over to France later this year with the family. You pays your money..........

[lisbon_road]

Many good opinions.  Bad news if you just breeze into your part worn tyre place and let 'em fit what they want.  Better if you scour adverts and get choice, matching, hardly worn pairs of decent brand tyres.  Takes patience; you either have that mentality or you don't.

 

I'd never buy cheapo Chinese tyres though.  New, old or whatever.

[The_Equalizer]

After having a tyre let go coming on to the M25 at 70 mph I would now be as likely to fit part warn brake pads and discs as I would tyres. Safety items and cost cutting are not good bedfellows.

[Kiltox]

Every cunt trots out the “they’re direct from Germany innit” line about part worns. Must be a hell of a lot of Germans running about on LingLongs.

 

They’re shite. Savings are minimal. New budget over part worn anything every time for me. I am far from a “omfg you’ll die” type either.

[stripped fred]

On a slightly different but related topic, how much do people pay to have tyres fitted nowadays. I will be buying some uniroyal rain sport or whatever they’re called, for my c-max at some point. Usually order through tyreleader after being recommended on here and have done me well in the past. My tyre place used to charge £10 a tyre but now it’s £15 and they moan a lot as they would rather I buy some no name brand from them. Is that a common price for fitting and balancing? I suppose they lose out in any profit on the tyre so make it up on the fitting.

[Kiltox]

Rainsports are a common enough tyre, what’s the fully fitted price locally?

 

Never felt the need to order tyres in then have them fitted

[Split_Pin]

I bought part worns for the Megane from a breakers. They were very particular about them and marked them up to confirm that they had checked them as best they could. At a tenner a corner it was a no brainer. Ran them for over a year with no problems.

 

However that was a 1.4, I wouldn't entertain them on something higher powered like the 172. I can also confirm that to the unwary, budgets are plain dangerous. I bought the 172 with them fitted and the car is wild in the wet. New tyres will be on order very soon.

 

I've also never fitted them to the family car which my wife and son travel in every day.

[drewd]

I always used to get part worns as it's all I could afford. Over the last 5 or so years I've had more crap part worns than good, ranging from puncture repaired, which I am fine with, fairly old, quite worn or not very round!

 

I've taken to buying new where I can now, only considering part worns if new ones are either more than I can afford or not available when I need them. It's just less hassle, and they last longer.

 

I did fit some part worns to the wife's Micra when we got it as one of the fronts was a advisory on it's last MOT. I sourced them myself, so they're good, but by the time I'd paid to get them swapped onto her wheels it would've been almost as cheap to just stick some new ones on. I wish I'd just put new ones on to be honest.

[MikeR]

For what new ones cost on my run of the mill cars .. I would not bother with part worns ....

[sutty2006]

The toss up between a sketchy part worn for 20 quid and a brand new landsail for 25 quid is a no brainer now. The amount of budget tyres on the market for cheap isn’t worth putting part worns on

[Matty]

Two things here. A decent place will let you choose your own. It's not hard to look for even wear, deformations, old repairs, banding damage etc. I've give up on them because I'm earning a bit more now, but mainly because the useless twats always jack the cars up in the wrong spot. Nothing inherently wrong with part worms, as someone said above everytime you buy a new car you get a set....

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

I must admit with regards to Tyre fitting that the last two sets I've had fitted was by kwikfit mobile. Yeah, they stare at you funny when you hand them a list of pressures and torques and you end up doing that yourself anyway but it is way too convenient for me to pass by.

 

Budget tyres are for school run cars, mot passes and cars that are laid up a lot. I don't expect them to impress me whilst hanging a left in the rain or, in the case of those fucking Cooper's I had put on the 635 because excessive camber, they just light up everywhere as soon as the asphalt sweats! What a load of bollocks they are.

[Dave_Q]

I concur with the sentiment ALL MODERN PARTWORNZ R SHITE.

 

A few years back it used to be £20 and some of them were near new. 

 

Now £20-25 gets you something with 3-4mm left on it when a new ditchfinder is £35-40.

 

For fitting of online tyres I pay £7.50 a wheel but I am in The North, I did start a thread once upon a time moaning that I used to pay £5 a wheel and £7.50 was an outrage, but most people were paying £10-15.

[rainagain]

I don’t bother with the nearby part worn place as their tyres are normally 4mm and if you work out the cost per mm you’re wasting your time.

 

I’ve a search alert on gumtree, from this I recently bagged two 205 55 16 michelin tyres with 7mm of tread for £50. Always make sure you check the date code, I once bought some part worns from eBay and forgot to check the date code, they were six years old and despite being winters they had all the grip of Teflon.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Back in the days when I was unfortunate enough to be involved with the shit side of the motor trade we done a little survey. You know, some brand spanking new cars were wearing 4 year old tyres. How queer.