What To Look For When Buying Used Tires

Look For Plugs

If a tire has been punctured, it will have a round, rubber plug inserted in the split or hole. A tire that has been fixed can still be used, but beware of red flags. If the plug itself - a five to eight-millimeter circle of rubber - has a matching patch on the inside of the tire, it was correctly repaired with a patch-plug method. If not, the tire is at the end of its functioning life. Worse yet, if the flat was driven on enough to cause burning, keep shopping around.