I need someone who knows about tires to confirm or debunk something my son was told at a tire store. He recently had damage to one of his sidewalls and since he has 50% left on his tires he didn't want to just buy a new one so he went searching for a used tire. He found one that was the same as what he has on his truck, bought it and took it to this tire store to have it installed. The tire looks good to me with no visible damage to the outside of the tire, but I'm no expert. Any way this guy told my son he wouldn't mount the tire because there was some flaking on the inside of the tire and it would blow out. He said it had gone flat and someone had driven on it. There is a little flaking on the inside side wall but again I'm no expert.

Was this guy trying to sell my son a new tire or is this a legitimate reason to not mount the tire? I don't want my son to get taken advantage of but I do want him to be safe. I'm looking to have you guys help me out here.

Driving on a flat tire will definately ruin the sidewall from the rubber being squashed between the rim & the road. If you can feel a worn spot on the sidewall (usually about halfway between the bead & the tread) then the tire is junk. The sidewall is the weakest part of the tire and any damage to it is not acceptable. Of course without being able to see it myself I can't say for sure if the tire store is telling you a story to sell you a tire or not.

I agree w/ NH Bandit.....

As someone who sold, warrantied, mounted, dismounted, balanced, patched and/or plugged tires for most of the 1990's I would need to look for a thin line around the inside of the tire that looks like it was buffed with a thin wheel all the way around the tire....That tells me it was run flat....If it has flaking excessively it would have definitley been a run flat, and sometimes it will look like excessive black saw dust which means it could very well not be safe to drive on as the sidewall would have been considerably weakened....As NH Bandit said, kind of hard to tell without pics, but I would advise against purchasing the tire....IMHO The amount of money to buy a new one is not worth risking your son's safety.....

Driving on a flat tire will definately ruin the sidewall from the rubber being squashed between the rim & the road. If you can feel a worn spot on the sidewall (usually about halfway between the bead & the tread) then the tire is junk. The sidewall is the weakest part of the tire and any damage to it is not acceptable. Of course without being able to see it myself I can't say for sure if the tire store is telling you a story to sell you a tire or not.

I agree w/ NH Bandit.....

As someone who sold, warrantied, mounted, dismounted, balanced, patched and/or plugged tires for most of the 1990's I would need to look for a thin line around the inside of the tire that looks like it was buffed with a thin wheel all the way around the tire....That tells me it was run flat....If it has flaking excessively it would have definitley been a run flat, and sometimes it will look like excessive black saw dust which means it could very well not be safe to drive on as the sidewall would have been considerably weakened....As NH Bandit said, kind of hard to tell without pics, but I would advise against purchasing the tire....IMHO The amount of money to buy a new one is not worth risking your son's safety.....

Absolutely! Tire Vs. Overheating (from under inflation) = Junk

It's not worth risking injury or worse to your son or someone else.

what they said. inner sidewall gets chewed up. Little black marbles in the tire.

just a little thought if all tires are same size but NOT same brand. the different tire if different brand will spin at different speed as others and will destroy rear in front ,rear or transfer case.if it is a full time 4wd vehicle.ive seen a p205/70r/15 in goodyear and same size tire in bf good wrench be a 1/2 difference in size. it will tear up something if put in 4x4