Tires, nobly: Russians began to save on tires
In March 2026, the cost of tire repair services was 13% higher than last year, Izvestia found out. At the same time, the minimum total cost of replacing tires — including its purchase — amounted to 29.8 thousand rubles. This is 4% more expensive than in March 2025. Car owners are trying to reduce costs by increasingly purchasing used tires — for some brands, their percentage in the sales structure reaches 69%. However, the risks are disproportionate to the savings, experts say. What are the dangers of used tires and in which regions of Russia it is already worth "changing shoes" by spring — in the Izvestia article.
What kind of tires do Russians buy?
Russians' interest in buying used tires is growing rapidly, analysts told Izvestia. According to Avito Goods, the share of Pirelli tires sold "off the shelf" increased from 52% to 62% year on year. For the Yokohama brand, this indicator also increased by 3 percentage points, to 55%. Cordiant showed even more noticeable dynamics, from 54% to 69%.
"This growth is due to a rational approach to purchase: users are increasingly considering resale as an opportunity to purchase high—quality tires from well-known brands at a more affordable price," Avito Goods said.
According to the Fit Service car service network, the seasonal change of winter tires to summer tires has started only in a few federal districts. The March activity of motorists above last year is noticeable in the Central, Southern, Northwestern and Ural districts.
"But by absolute values, that is, the number of visits, the season can be considered open only in the Southern and Central regions. More than 4 thousand car owners have already visited tire service here," they said. — In most federal districts, the tires have not yet been changed or even signed up for the service. There is still snow in most of the country, frosts occur at night and ice forms on the roads."
So far, the number of tire visits is 9% less than a year earlier, the network added. The average receipt for order orders that have a tire repair service is 8,5 thousand rubles. This is 13% higher than last year's figure.
And taking into account the purchase of four tires, the minimum cost for their replacement in March 2026 is 29.8 thousand. This is 4% higher than last year's level, the analytical center "Check Index" of the company "Platform OFD" told Izvestia.
— The average receipt for tire repair services increased sharply in the second half of the month, it is higher by a third compared to the level of the first half of March, — they said. — For passenger car tire repair services, the average check is 3.4 thousand rubles, 10% higher than last year. The number of purchases increased by 13% year-on-year.
The tires will cost 6.6 thousand rubles each, which is 3% higher than last year's level. The number of purchases increased by 12%.
During the "re-fitting", drivers began to repair wheels more often, reinstall them, use the tire diagnostics, storage and disposal service, do balancing and camber, the Fit Service said.
"Tire prices in the spring season of 2025 have increased slightly above inflation," said Nikita Rodionov, technical director of the international franchise network of car service stations. — Price adjustments were necessary to compensate for the increased financial burden on the business, as well as to retain a staff of competent specialists.
What are the dangers of used tires?
According to the CRPT, from January to March 2026, sales of new and used summer passenger tires increased by 41% in units and by 30% in money, reaching 8.6 billion rubles.
At the same time, according to Alexey Ivanov, the owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership network, new tires have generally fallen in price.
"The market is literally flooded with Asian products, and some little—known brands have dropped in price even more — by 10-20%," he said. — Russians vote with their wallets for cheaper tires. The most popular size of the R16 now costs about 6 thousand rubles apiece, the R15 is about 4.5 thousand, the R17 is about 8.1 thousand.
But the trend towards switching to used tires is clear: such tires are much cheaper, he noted.
"Although the risk is disproportionate,— Alexey Ivanov added. — Externally, the tire may look quite decent and at the same time have hidden damage to the frame. In case of hernia — swelling on the sidewall due to a rupture of the cord — the traffic regulations prohibit the operation of the wheel. Such a tire can burst in motion, especially at speed. The driver simply won't have time to react.
According to him, no seller on the secondary market can guarantee that the tire has not been repaired with a harness or has a bundle that is not visible from the outside.
Therefore, the expert recommends, even trying to save money, to buy new tires from the budget Asian segment, while focusing on the results of independent tests, and not on the country of origin, he said.
Nikita Rodionov noted that it makes sense to record a car for tire service only when the weather has stabilized, that is, when the average daily temperature has been around +5 for several days in a row...+7 degrees and does not drop below zero at night. It is in such conditions that summer tires begin to work effectively, providing normal grip and braking.
This year, the weather in most of European Russia is two weeks ahead of the calendar, Alexander Golubev, head of the Department of short-term forecasts and hazards at the Hydrometeorological Center of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.
"The average temperature above 7 degrees is expected south of the Smolensk–Moscow–Kazan line, while it is still colder to the north," he added. — In the south of the Urals, the temperature is approaching 5 degrees. Lower temperatures are still maintained in the rest of the territory.
To prolong the life of the tires and drive safer, Avito Auto recommended that you "change your shoes" on time, monitor tire pressure, check wheel mounting angles — broken geometry increases wear and affects the handling of the car. In addition, tires should be changed if the remaining tread is less than 1.6 mm for summer and 4 mm for winter. Experts recommended driving more carefully, in particular, not to "slip" and not to brake sharply.
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