Nearly a Third of Drivers Would Buy Unsafe Part-Worn Tyres to Save Money

Nearly a third of UK adults, 31%, would be willing to buy part-worn tyres if their own needed replacing, rising to almost half, 47%, among drivers aged 25 to 34, according to a nationally representative survey of 2,007 UK adults carried out by pollster Clariti for The Motor Ombudsman between 24 and 28 April 2026. Sellers of part-worn tyres must mark them “PART-WORN” on the sidewall by law. Nearly half of the people who said they would buy one, 43%, did not know that requirement exists.

The gap between what the law demands and what buyers actually check is where the danger sits. A part-worn tyre carries an unknown history: it might have been driven on a badly aligned car, run flat, or hold structural damage invisible from the outside. The only clues are a legal stamp many buyers do not know to look for, and an age code on the sidewall that most cannot read.

The Stamp and the Code Most Buyers Miss

Every tyre carries a Department of Transport, or DOT, code on its sidewall showing the week and year it was made, the tyre’s true date of birth. A tyre can look barely used and still be a decade old, its rubber perished and cracking beneath a healthy-looking tread. The Motor Ombudsman’s survey found 69% of respondents did not know what the DOT code meant, meaning most buyers relying on a seller’s word have no independent way to check a tyre’s real age.

The legal “PART-WORN” stamp exists precisely so buyers know what they are getting. Selling a tyre without it breaks the law. A nationwide mystery-shopper investigation coordinated by TyreSafe and the National Tyre Distributors Association bought part-worn tyres from dealers across the country and found more than a third contained faults or damage serious enough that they should never have been offered for sale, and the vast majority had not been marked “PART-WORN” as the law requires. Separate TyreSafe inspection work has put the proportion of part-worn tyres unsafe to return to the road above 60%.

What Wider Inspections Have Found

The Motor Ombudsman’s survey captures what drivers say they would do. Separate inspection work from TyreSafe shows what actually happens when part-worn tyres reach the road. Investigators checking retailers across the country found the vast majority of dealers non-compliant with the rules governing part-worn sales, and inspectors have recorded tyres offered for sale that were decades old, including examples close to 30 years past their manufacture date, still fitted with tread that looked usable to an untrained eye. TyreSafe has linked defective tyres, part-worn and otherwise, to road deaths and serious injuries running into the hundreds each year.

None of this requires a buyer to be careless. A part-worn tyre that has been driven on a misaligned car, or repaired badly by a previous owner, can carry damage invisible from the outside even to someone who knows exactly what to look for. That is precisely why the law requires the “PART-WORN” stamp and a readable DOT code: without them, a buyer is relying entirely on the honesty of a seller they have never met.

Why Cost of Living Is Pushing Drivers Toward the Risk

Money, not preference, drives the decision. Among adults who said they would buy a part-worn tyre, 67% named saving money over buying new as their main reason. Cost-of-living pressure has made 88% of respondents more likely to buy second-hand generally, to stretch an already tight household budget further. Others cited part-worn tyres as a stopgap until they could afford new ones (37%) or valued the fact that used tyres are often available for immediate fitting (36%).

None of those pressures are trivial for a driver watching every pound. Tyres sit low on the list of visible running costs compared with fuel or insurance, which makes them an easy place to cut back when money is tight, even though they are the only part of the car actually touching the road.

The generational split in the survey is telling. Drivers aged 25 to 34, often running older, higher-mileage cars on tighter budgets than any other age group, were the most likely of all to say they would buy a part-worn tyre. They are also among the drivers with the least spare cash to absorb the cost of a tyre failure, whether that means a repair bill, a lost no-claims discount, or a crash that a sound tyre would have avoided entirely.

What a Bad Tyre Actually Costs You

Stuart Lovatt, chair of TyreSafe, said millions of part-worn tyres enter the market every year “with an unknown history, hidden structural damage, or inadequate inspection by either sellers or vehicle owners,” adding that while they can look like good value, they can compromise braking performance and raise the chance of a blowout. Paul Brown, who runs the tyre division at Motor Ombudsman-accredited garage group Lindleys Autocentres and fronts the awareness campaign, put the choice plainly: “buying new at a reputable fitter should always be the first choice regardless of budget, meaning consumers are not taking a gamble when it comes to a tyre’s condition.”

A blowout at motorway speed, a failed emergency stop, or a wheel that locks unpredictably in the wet all cost far more than the money a part-worn tyre was meant to save, in repairs, in insurance excess, or in a crash a working tyre would have avoided. A tyre is not a part you can safely buy on trust from a stranger.

Insurers can also complicate a claim involving illegal or unmarked part-worn tyres. A policy could be affected if an insurer finds a vehicle involved in a crash was running on tyres below the legal tread limit or fitted with a part-worn tyre that should never have passed a basic safety check. Drivers who assume a used tyre is a cheap, low-risk shortcut can end up facing a repair bill, a higher premium at renewal, and a harder conversation with their insurer, all from a purchase meant to save money in the first place.

Where the Riskiest Sales Happen

Reputable tyre fitters that sell part-worn stock alongside new tyres tend to check and mark them properly: their reputation and their accreditation depend on it. The tyres that show up in TyreSafe’s investigations overwhelmingly come from a different corner of the market: back-street fitters, market stalls and online marketplace listings where a buyer never sees the tyre in person before it is fitted or delivered. A seller operating outside any accreditation scheme has little to lose by skipping the legal stamp and hoping nobody checks.

How to Fight Back Before You Buy

• Buy new from a reputable fitter wherever you can. New tyres come with a known history and a manufacturer’s warranty. Budget-brand new tyres are widely available and still cost far less than the price of a tyre-related crash.
• Check for the “PART-WORN” stamp on the sidewall before buying any used tyre. A dealer selling one without it is breaking the law, and you should walk away.
• Learn to read the DOT code. The last four digits show the week and year of manufacture, so “2321” means the 23rd week of 2021. Tyres more than five to six years old are worth treating with real caution regardless of how much tread remains.
• Check tread depth yourself. The legal minimum across the UK is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre. Look too for cracking, bulges or uneven wear that point to damage or poor alignment on the tyre’s previous car.
• Report a seller offering unmarked or visibly damaged part-worn tyres to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline. Enforcement depends on buyers flagging the dealers breaking the rules.

Motoring Chronicle has also covered how Britain’s heatwaves are silently damaging tyres that look fine on the surface.

Sources:

• https://www.themotorombudsman.org/press-releases/tmo-rolls-out-new-awareness-drive-to-highlight-the-risks-of-motorists-buying-part-worn-tyres/
• https://www.tyresafe.org/largest-ever-nationwide-part-worn-tyre-investigation-reveals-alarming-results/
• https://www.themotorombudsman.org/press-releases/tmos-worn-warn-campaign-looks-the-part-with-2026-tyresafe-award-win/