Home / News / Merityre News Article The Dangers Of Part Worn Tyres

Merityre News Article - The dangers of part-worn tyres

23rd October 2014

Fitting the right tyres to your vehicle is essential in order to maintain its safety, fuel-efficiency and handling. At Merityre, we offer a wide range of high performance and premium tyres along with quality budget tyres, with something suitable for every budget, and driving style.

Despite the UK having strict rules (Motor Vehicle Tyre Safety Regulations Act 1994) on the conditions of sale of part-worn tyres, there have been several investigations in recent years into the sale of part-worn tyres that have uncovered some shocking facts. At Merityre, we don’t sell part-worn tyres, because whilst many part-worn tyres may look OK and seem a bargain, in reality it is very hard to spot some of the dangers that part-worn tyres may be carrying.

The Hidden dangers of part-worn tyres

In a Nationwide investigation conducted by TyreSafe, one of the UK’s leading tyre safety organisations, it was discovered that 98% of part-worn tyres purchased were sold illegally, and 34% of part-worn tyres purchased contained potentially dangerous forms of damage or non-compliance. Issues included illegal repairs, bead damage and inner lining damage - none of which could be easily detected by someone other than a tyre expert. There were even cases of nails in tyre walls and exposed cords, which could both cause fatal accidents.

Price per mile: a false economy

When you compare the cost-per-mm of tread of part-worn tyres vs. new tyres, new tyres often work out cheaper.

With a new tyre, you get 8mm of tread depth, giving you 6.4mm of useable tread until you reach the minimum tread depth of 1.6mm. With part-worn tyres, the amount of tread depth left on them is typically only 3mm, giving a useable tread depth of just 1.4mm, significantly less than the amount of useable tread on a new tyre.

With new tyres, 6.4mm of useable tread will last, on average, for 18,000 miles, whereas 1.4mm of tread on a part-worn tyre will only last for 4,000 miles.

They may be slightly cheaper to buy initially, but if you use part-worn tyres, you’ll need to replace them an additional three times before their brand new equivalents would need replacing. TyreSafe has estimated that the cost per mm of a part-worn tyre is about £6.33, whereas the cost per mm of a new tyre is over £1 cheaper, at £5.32.

Longer braking distances

The braking distance of part-worn tyres is also greater when compared to new tyres; in some instances part-worn tyres take almost 12 metres longer* to stop in wet conditions. (*tyresafe.org)

Don't compromise your safety or the safety of others, to simply save a few pennies. Search for your new tyres via your tyre size or vehicle registration, order them online and book specialist fitting at your local Merityre, at a time convenient for you.