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Wholesale Used Tires

One surefire method you can save money when acquiring tires for your car or truck is to buy wholesale used tires from reputable dealers. Because the tires were acquired at wholesale prices, the costs are lower. Since they are used tires or classified so, again the prices are less. Thus, if you add up these whammies, you might get tires for $10 each, sometimes even just a dollar per if you are extremely lucky, or the dealer just has to dispose of them very quickly. You can sometimes even buy used truck tires cheap enough to cost like those for cars.

In these budget-conscious times, this economizing has gained great popularity so that more and more people are using wholesale used tires on their vehicles.

But as in any merchandise, there are downsides in buying used tires for sale. While dealers will usually take great care to sell only quality used tires, a small percentage of unusable ones inevitably slip through their quality control process. These are the tires that are so aged or damaged they are dangerous to use, particularly in high speeds or difficult terrain. So if you want to buy wholesale used tires for your car to save money, make sure you are not buying unusable ones that may endanger your life and those of your loved ones.

 
First, determine the age. A tire that has been on the shelf for years will look new but its rubber, steel and nylon elements would have deteriorated, perhaps to dangerous levels. The steel belts, for instance, may have rusted a little or grown weak due to metal fatigue, that a little stress can break them. Or, the rubber may have disintegrated enough that it has cracked or weakened so much as to cause tread-belt separation, an often catastrophic event.

Tire age is often indeterminable by just ocular inspection, especially those that have undergone ‘detailing’ or refurbishing. Tire recycling firms may inspect the scrap tire, pump air into it to determine whether it still functions, and do some patching work if needed then paint it black to make it look new. So to a casual observer it will look like he got a great bargain, when in fact he might have bought a lemon.

Still, there are tell-tale signs. The rubber, for instance, even if painted black will look like it’s been painted black. The paint job will show somehow to a discriminating buyer. If not painted the rubber will look old and tired instead of being shiny and bright: the color is dull and drab, rubber grains will rub off if the surface is scrubbed vigorously by the hand, there might even be tiny pittings in the tire’s sides. The rubber itself may feel hard and dry, not elastic or ‘bouncy’.

Next, look at the tread. The legal minimum tread depth in a used tire is 2/32nd of an inch (1/32nd in California) or 1.6 mm for cars, and 3 to 4/32nd –inch for trucks. If tread depth is smaller than those figures, the tires may not grip the road or pavement adequately to stop, turn or run, raising the risk of accidents occurring. Actually, a 2/32nd –inch tread depth is the recommended indicator when you should change tires, so you must get tires with more than 2/32nd or 1/16th –inch deep treads when buying used tires wholesale.

Check the tread wear also when buying wholesale used tires or just used tires. Uneven tread wear indicate incorrect tire maintenance, and the tire may not perform as well as it should. Thinner center tread mean constant overinflation, side wear indicate incorrect wheel camber. To the buyer, this will mean less rubber that meets the road surface, less tire traction and greater risk of accident.

You can also pound the tire casings to sound them off, using a piece of metal like the jack handle or a hammer. There is more ‘bounce’ in new tires and dead sound in old rubber. You can probably compare-pound a used and a new tire to note the variance in sound and ‘bounce’. Refuse to buy tires with decidedly aged tire casings. The rubber might be brittle and thus prone to rapid disintegration.

Examine the inner lining or casing interior as well for defects, tears, improper repairs or punctures. If the steel belts have begun to show or be felt through the radial plies, it means the tire is so aged it is totally dangerous to use, no matter how new it looks.

So if you want to buy used tires, be on the lookout for the indicators of unusable ones in the wholesale used tires market. True, you can save if you buy from a wholesale used tires dealer, but there is a greater risk of getting the wrong merchandise. To minimize it, you just have to be vigilant and discriminating in selecting your tires to take full advantage of the lowest prices of quality used tires you get.

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