How to buy used tires and rims safely: the date code, tread depth, repairs and fit

Are used tires safe?

They can be. A used tire that is young, deep, unrepaired (or properly repaired in the middle of the tread) and the right spec does the job of a new one for much less. The catch is what you can’t see. Consumer Reports advises against used tires because you don’t know their history: a tire may have been run overloaded, underinflated or too fast, and the internal damage that leaves doesn’t always show.

Used makes sense when you need one or two to match a set that’s otherwise fine, for a winter set already mounted on rims, for a short-term car, or for a spare. Nearly new take-offs from a new vehicle whose owner upgraded the wheels are often the best buys of all.

Buy new when you tow, when the seller won’t show you the DOT code, or when a budget new tire costs barely more. Buying the whole car? Start with our used car inspection checklist.

Check the age: the DOT date code

Find the code that starts with DOT on the sidewall. Its last four digits are the week and year the tire was made, so 2419 is the 24th week of 2019. Tires made before 2000 used three digits; skip them. Some tires carry the full code on one side only, often the side facing the car once mounted, so ask the seller for a photo or look with a flashlight.

Michelin and Continental both say to replace a tire ten years after it was made, whatever the tread looks like, spares included. Michelin also wants a professional inspection every year once a tire reaches five. Some vehicle makers set their own limit; if yours is stricter, follow it. Tires age on a shelf too, so deep tread doesn’t make an old set new.

For a private sale, under five years old is the sweet spot. Five to seven needs a discount and a hard look at the sidewalls for cracks, and anything close to ten isn’t worth carrying home. The same code applies to motorcycles and to ATVs, snowmobiles and RVs.

Measure the tread

New passenger tires start with about 10/32 to 11/32 in of tread, roughly 8 to 9 mm. Most US states treat 2/32 in (1.6 mm) as legally worn out, and that is where the wear bars sit: the small rubber bridges across the main grooves. The US Tire Manufacturers Association quotes NHTSA’s finding that tires worn that far are three times more likely to be involved in a crash.

1. Get a tread depth gauge. It costs a few dollars at an auto parts store and reads in 32nds and millimetres.
2. Measure the inner, middle and outer grooves at three points around each tire.
3. Keep the lowest reading. That’s the one that counts, for safety and for price.
4. Compare the set. Four tires sold together should be within a 32nd or two of each other.

No gauge? In the US, put a penny in a groove with Lincoln’s head upside down. If you can see all of his head, the tread is at 2/32 in or less.

Uneven wear is the car’s history: both edges worn usually means the tires ran underinflated, one edge points to bad alignment, and patchy, scalloped wear to tired suspension.

Damage and repairs that rule a tire out

In July 2019 Ohio made it illegal to install unsafe used tires, in a law the US Tire Manufacturers Association backed. Its definition doubles as a pass or fail list for a private sale. Walk away from a tire with:

• a repair in the shoulder or belt edge, the sidewall or the bead;
• a puncture repair bigger than 1/4 in (about 6 mm);
• a puncture plugged from the outside only, instead of patched inside with the hole filled by a cured rubber stem;
• tread at 2/32 in or less.

Add what you can see for yourself: a bulge in the sidewall, cords or steel showing, deep cracks or chunks torn from the tread all mean no. Ask whether a tire was ever driven flat or run on a can of sealant, and whether it was properly repaired afterwards.

The inner liner, where patches and run-flat damage show, can only be checked with the tire off the rim. On a cheap pair, price that risk in; on an expensive set, have a tire shop look inside before mounting.

Make sure they fit your car

The placard on the driver’s door jamb gives the size your car was built for, and the owner’s manual gives the load index and speed rating. Match the size, and keep the load index and speed rating at least as high as the originals. The load index is a code you look up in a table, and each step up carries more.

Watch for these:

• If your pickup or van calls for LT (light truck) tires, don’t fit passenger tires to save money, and match the load range letter, such as C or E. Our used trucks guide covers the rest.
• If the placard calls for an extra load tire, marked XL, buy XL.
• A car that came on run-flats may have no spare, so ordinary tires leave you with nothing for a flat.
• On an all-wheel-drive car, read the tire section of the owner’s manual before buying one or two: some makers limit how much tread depth can differ between the four.

If you buy only two, put the matching pair on the same axle.

Winter tires in Canada: the snowflake and Quebec’s law

From December 1 to March 15, passenger vehicles registered in Quebec must be on winter tires. The SAAQ accepts two kinds only: studded tires, and tires marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake. All-seasons marked M+S don’t count, however deep the tread, while all-weather tires that carry the snowflake do. The fine is $200 to $300, and trailers and vehicles registered outside Quebec are exempt.

Elsewhere, the snowflake is still the marking to look for: as Pirelli puts it, M+S alone doesn’t make a true snow tire.

Winter sets on steel rims sell fastest in October and November, as the first snow arrives and Quebec drivers count down to December. If you can store a set over summer, buy in April or May, when owners who just swapped back want the garage space. Check the date code with care: winter sets spend half the year in storage and can be older than they look.

Buying used rims and wheels

A wheel either fits or it doesn’t, and the numbers decide that before condition does. Find your car’s bolt pattern, center bore and stock offset first, in the owner’s manual or a fitment guide for your exact model.

Then check each wheel:

1. Look for cracks at the root of every spoke and around the lug holes. A crack is a no, however small, and so is a welded repair.
2. Feel for bends. Run a finger around both the inner and outer lips for flat spots or ripples, and ask whether the tires needed a lot of weight to balance.
3. Be wary of a fresh refinish on an older set. New paint or powder coat can hide bends, curb damage and repairs.
4. Read the back. Factory wheels carry casting marks, usually a part number and the size, that you can match to your car.
5. Ask for the extras: TPMS sensors, center caps and, if the seller used locking lug nuts, the key.

Could the wheels be stolen?

Some are, and police use Marketplace to catch the sellers. In western New York, State Police found eight tires and rims stolen from a dealership listed on Facebook Marketplace, arranged a buy in Buffalo and arrested the seller. In Colorado Springs, about $10,000 of tires and rims taken off a new Ford Bronco at a dealership turned up on Marketplace. Around Washington, DC, where owners have found their cars left on crates, reporting notes that stolen wheels are resold online fast and carry no identifying marks.

A wheel has no serial number to run, so you judge the story. Be wary of nearly new factory wheels on new tires with no car behind them, a seller who can’t say what they came off, a price far below similar sets, and a seller who won’t meet at home or wants a deposit first.

Real take-offs exist: when a new truck’s buyer upgrades the wheels at delivery, the factory set gets sold nearly unused. A genuine seller can name the dealership that did the swap.

What to pay for used tires

Asking prices for used tires are all over the place, so work from the new price. What you’re paying for is the tread above the 2/32 in wear bars:

Fair price = new price of the same tire × (tread left − 2/32) ÷ (new tread − 2/32)

Get the new price for the exact tire from a retailer or Google Shopping; the spec sheet usually lists new tread depth (otherwise use 10/32 in).

A worked example, with made-up numbers: a tire that sells for $200 new started at 10/32 in and now measures 6/32 in. Usable tread was 8/32 and 4/32 is left, so half the tire remains, about $100 each or $400 for four. The same calculation works in your currency.

Then adjust. Take more off from five years old, since Michelin wants a yearly inspection from then and the tire gone at ten. Take more off for an unknown brand, and price from the shallowest groove when wear is uneven. Add some back for tires already mounted and balanced on rims: you skip the shop’s fees on four wheels, and a winter set on its own rims saves a swap fee twice a year. Our guide to negotiating on Marketplace helps with the offer.

Check for recalls

Tire recalls usually cover a plant code and a range of production dates, both part of the full DOT code, so photograph it. In the US, the US Tire Manufacturers Association’s lookup checks a Tire Identification Number against recalls from its member brands. In Canada, Transport Canada’s recalls database covers tires as well as vehicles, and you can register tires you own to get recall notices.

What to bring when you go to look

Before you drive anywhere, ask for photos of the DOT code on each tire and of the tread with a gauge or coin in it. A seller who won’t send them has answered the age question for you.

Bring a tread depth gauge or a penny, a flashlight, a photo of your door placard, your bolt pattern and offset, and a rag.

Collecting from a garage or driveway is normal for something this heavy; if you’d rather meet in public, use a safe exchange zone. Pay at the handover, after you’ve checked every tire. An e-transfer to hold a set before you see it is the oldest trick on Marketplace; see our guide to deposit scams.

How to search for tires on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji

Search the size, not the word: a plain “tires” search brings back bike tires, mower wheels, hubcaps and every tire shop for 100 km.

On Facebook Marketplace, in the app or on a computer:

1. Search the exact size and season, such as 225/65R17 winter, or rims 5x114.3 for wheels. Sellers write sizes several ways (225 65 17, 225/65/17), so try a second spelling.
2. Open Filters, set a price range, and set Delivery method to Local pickup. Our guide to keeping Marketplace local explains why that filter resets.
3. Set Sort by to Date listed: Newest first, since fairly priced sets go fast in the fall. More in sorting Marketplace by newest.
4. Set your location to your postal code and pick a radius you’ll actually drive.

On Kijiji, search the same size, choose your area first and sort newest first. Many tire shops there show “Please contact” instead of a price; skip them, or switch on Kijiji in Sift and let it hide them. See finding deals on Kijiji for more.

Narrow the search with Sift

Facebook’s filters stop at price, distance and delivery. On a computer, Sift handles the rest. It’s a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace: no account, it works right in Chrome (and in Edge and Brave), and it sets up in about a minute. Set these once:

1. Turn on Hide listings with no price. Kijiji tire shops’ “Please contact” listings and Facebook’s price-on-request ones go; free and swap listings stay.
2. Leave dealers tagged, or hide them. Tire shops get a Dealer tag, and one switch hides them all.
3. Add Block words for what a size search drags in: hubcaps, chains, trailer, ATV, mower, bike. More ideas in excluding words on Marketplace.
4. Set a Distance limit from your home. Every listing then shows how far away it is.

Search an exact size and Sift compares each set’s price with similar listings: a cheap set gets a Below typical badge and an overpriced one gets Above typical. Check elsewhere links to Google Shopping for the new price the formula above needs, and to Sold on eBay and Search by image. Red chips name the common warning signs: a request for an e-transfer to hold a set gets Pay first, a price far below similar sets gets Very low price, and a push to text off the platform gets Off-site contact. Press Is this a good deal? for an AI second opinion on a set: a verdict, the reasons, a fair offer and a message to the seller ready to copy.

Then watch your size search in Sift. Sift checks it in the background and sends a desktop notification when a new set is listed, or an alert to your phone with Sift Pro, so you can message before the fall rush gets there. Start on your winter size in September. More on alerts and Kijiji alerts.