Used Tires Can Be a Cost Effective Way to Replace Your Worn Tires
We hear television commercials telling us over and over again to put our trust in a certain brand of tires. If the tires are a great value when new, then why would they not be a good value when used? It is true that tires wear out, but armed with some knowledge, you can confidently shop for used tires and make safe and sound purchases.
A recent advertisement in the newspaper had new tires for my truck priced at over $700 for a set of four. For most families struggling to make a living in these economically tough times, $700 is an awful lot of money. $700 is a rent or mortgage payment. A family of four or five can eat for a month on that amount of money, but they can’t eat tires.
Unless a tire has suffered from some sort of service-ending road hazard, or has been allowed to wear unevenly on a poorly aligned vehicle, there are some obvious indicators manufactured into the tire to tell you how much tread life is left. There is a wear bar that runs perpendicular to the tread ridges that indicates how much rubber is left.
Another good indicator of the tire’s relative safety is the age of the tire. Tires made since the year 2000 contain an identification code on the sidewall of the tire. The last four digits in that code tell you in what week and year the tire was manufactured. For example, if a tire’s ID code ends in 3411, the tire was made in the 34th week of 2011.
Also, don’t be surprised at all to find very new “used” tires. A good percentage of consumers buying new vehicles these days want to personalize their ride before ever taking it home from the sales lot. Probably the best way to personalize your ride is to refuse to take the stock rims and tires, and instead to order custom wheels and rubber in a variety of different styles, widths, heights and tread designs. The tires removed from the new cars and trucks are referred to as ‘take-offs,’ and they normally wind up at the used tire stores in almost brand new condition.
If you’re still a little leery about putting used tires on your used car or truck, just ask yourself at what age or mileage does a tire become used? If you believe a tire is used once it has rolled down the highway on someone else’s vehicle, then I guess we are all driving on used tires.
This blog post has been provided on behalf of Best Deal Tires. If you are looking for quality new and slightly used tires be sure to contact the experts. View their website to look through the on-hand inventory.