Tires: rating of used tires., michelin pilot sport, wet weather conditions

Question
am looking @ buying used tires on ebay for my 2001 TT Roadster Quattro.

Found Michelin Sport AS tires with 7/32 left on the tire.  Is this a decent used tire with that much tread remaining.

Answer
Good Morning Gary!

The Michelin Pilot Sport AS is a fine tire, but do your homework before you make this deal. What are you paying for these used tires? (you can find the same tire new in your size 225/45/17 in the 180.00 each price range) And I'm always skeptical of used tires because why didn't whomever had them go ahead and finish wearing the tires down to replacement level.

As far as the 32nds remaining, this is how I feel about that and maybe its because I'm biased and I see people driving on unsafe tires all the time. In alot of states the minimum legal limit allowed is 2/32nds of an inch which is the the little bar in between tread blocks that go all the way across the tire in several places, but the tire that is worn down to that point should have been replaced long before it gets worn to that point for safety reasons and here is why. Obviously water cannot be compressed so it has to channel through the sipes and around the tread blocks to escape from underneath the tire, but lets say you have 5/32nds remaining which is just a hair over 1/8th of an inch the tread isn't "thick" enough to provide a deep enough channel for water to escape in some wet weather conditions and on a light weight car like your Audi TT the conditions may be right for a possible hydroplane condition and the tires you should be replaced to prevent this. I firmly believe this to the point where I just replaced the tires on my Nissan truck and my wife's Acura TL because both were worn down to 5/32nds.

So to answer your question, if I could get the tires cheap (20.00-40.00) I might consider it, but I would also be replacing them very soon after that for the reasons stated above. I hope this answers your question and if you need me again please let me know!

Good Luck!
Andrew :)