JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Used tire businesses can be found just about anywhere in Jacksonville. Right now, Florida lawmakers are looking to ban the sale of unsafe tires in the state.
So Action News went to a local tire business to find out how consumers can avoid getting duped.
"Stores like us, we kinda steer away from used tires," said Hot Wheelz manager Omar Maneja.
Maneja works for Hot Wheelz in Jacksonville and said he has customers coming in weekly to buy new tires after being sold bad used tires.
"A lot of times, again, they drive on these used tires and two to three days later, they start having issues. They take it back to where they bought them and they won't help them," said Maneja.
So Maneja showed us what to look for when buying a used tire.
"If you see any kind of thread, white thread, anything on this part of the tire, you want to stay away from that tire," he said.
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Next look for the bar indicator on the outside of all tires.
"As long as you have tread that's above that wear bar indicator, technically it's safe," said Maneja.
Also, make sure to check the inside.
"If there's any kind of damage along this area here, you know that the tire has been flat and taken off for a reason," said Maneja.
We're told one of the most important things to look for is the DOT stamp.
"On one of the sides, you see a four-digit number here -- this is the production number. This tire, for instance, is a 4612 -- the 46th week of 2012 is when it was made," he said.
If the tire is older than 6 years, experts say it's no good.