Debating Buying Used Vs. New Tires

It's come time to buy some tires for your vehicle, and you're unsure of whether to purchase a set of new tires or used ones. Here is a discussion of both options to help you decide.

Buying Used Tires

In a great situation, you can get lightly worn used tires for much less than what you'd pay for new tires. You'll need to make sure that you are buying your used tires from a tire store with a great reputation in order to weed out some of the problems that can come along with buying used tires.

The risks of buying used tires is that you don't know what the conditions were when the previous driver used them. It could be that they drove them underinflated and that the outside of the tire looks fine, but the inside has a lot of wear and tear. It could also be that the tires were recalled by the manufacturer previously. This is why buying used tires from a private party is probably a bad idea; you won't know the condition of the tire for sure, and you won't have anyone to come back to in case there's an issue. But if you buy used tires from a shop, you'll have their expertise to count on. And you can see their reviews; if others haven't had any long-term problems while buying their used tires, then you have a pretty safe bet.

Buying New Tires

On the other hand, buying a set of new tires has its benefits too. The first is that you have a greater guarantee that these tires will last a long time without you having to replace them. Even if you find a great used tire deal and the salesperson is willing to replace them if they fail, it still means that you'll have to come back into the shop to get your tires swapped out. New tires from a tire store provide some peace of mind on their safety and reliability.

Of course, there is no absolute guarantee that your new tires will make it for many years. If you hit a nail or a pothole, or even an object on the freeway, then you might be looking at a flat new tire sooner than you would like. It's always a bit of a gamble to spend money on new tires as well. As you can see, both options can have their pros and cons.

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