More than two in five used-car buyers either failed to inspect tyre tread and condition before purchase or could not remember doing so, according to Blackcircles research. The finding comes as updated DVSA data shows tyres continue to account for around three-fifths of dangerous defect items recorded in Class 3 and 4 MOT testing.
Blackcircles surveyed 2,001 UK adults who had bought a second-hand car, examining the checks made before purchase and the unexpected costs encountered afterwards. Its study found 27.3% did not check tyre tread depth and condition before buying their most recent used car, while another 15.7% were unsure or could not remember. Combined, 43.1% had either missed the check or could not confirm making it.
The survey also found that 37.3% of respondents had experienced unexpected repair costs after buying a second-hand vehicle, with those affected reporting an average bill of £1,288. Blackcircles does not establish a causal link between those costs and missed tyre inspections, and explicitly notes that its MOT analysis does not show what caused the reported repair bills.
The tyre-checking gap is notable against the latest official MOT figures.
DVSA data updated on 10 September shows tyre defects were recorded in 6.23% of Class 3 and 4 tests during the 2025/26 financial year. More significantly from a safety perspective, tyres represented 60.60% of all dangerous defect items recorded in those tests.
The latest quarter shows a similar pattern. Between April and June 2026, tyre defects appeared in 6.55% of Class 3 and 4 tests and accounted for 62.69% of dangerous defect items. Those percentages describe defect items rather than the share of MOT failures caused by tyres.
The updated figures strengthen the tyre-safety context around the Blackcircles survey without suggesting that tyre condition is responsible for buyers' later repair costs. They also indicate that the prominence of tyres among dangerous MOT defects has persisted beyond the 2024/25 data used for the defect-category section of the original Blackcircles report.
Blackcircles' published methodology states that its consumer survey covered 2,001 UK adults who had bought a second-hand car. Its separate vehicle-age analysis used anonymised DVSA test extracts for 2025, while its original defect-category figures used DVSA's then-latest complete 2024/25 financial-year data.
The research sits within a substantial used-vehicle market. SMMT figures show 7,807,872 used cars changed hands in the UK during 2025, an increase of 2.2% year on year.
For tyre retailers and fitting networks, the findings provide another indication that basic tyre inspection is not universal at the point of used-car purchase, despite tyres remaining heavily represented among the most serious defects identified through MOT testing.
Tags: used car tyre checks, MOT tyre defects, Blackcircles, DVSA MOT data, tyre safety, used car market, car tyres, MOT failures, tyre tread checks, UK tyre retail
Editorial Standards & Disclaimer
Tyre News Media is an independent industry publication. Our reporting is based on information available at the time of publication, including company announcements, regulatory filings, official data, research and other sources considered reliable.
Articles may include independent analysis and editorial interpretation. Where appropriate, company statements and third-party claims are attributed to their source. Analysis, estimates and forward-looking observations should not be read as statements of established fact.
Tyre News Media takes reasonable steps to ensure accuracy but welcomes corrections, clarifications and responses from organisations or individuals covered in our reporting. If you believe information is inaccurate or requires clarification, please contact info@tyrenews.co.uk. Material errors will be corrected as appropriate.
Commercial relationships, advertising and sponsorship do not determine Tyre News Media's editorial coverage or conclusions.
%20(1).jpeg)
