Anybody buy Tires on E-Bay?

[redsox1975]

I was wondering if any of you have ever bought used or new tires on E-Bay? If so, good or bad experience?

The reason I'm even considering this is the fact that my G-6 has 225/50/17's...the dreaded 17-inch low profile tire. I've just started pricing these and the sticker shock is killing me.

Also, what can you expect to pay someone to put 4 new tires on for you? I know it will depend on where you take your vehicle. I'm just looking at this as an option, any and all advice will be appreciated.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Discount Tire Direct has pretty good price and free shipping to boost. I bought many things on Ebay, but never bought any tire.

If you have Discount Tire stores in your area, they will match DTD. If no DT in your area, buy from DTD and have Walmart install/balance for about $16-18 a tire.

 

[RoGuE]

If you do get DT to match, refuse to pay the higher install cost (from $16 each to $20). They wouldn't install at the $16 price so I complained to corporate and got back the difference and then some. The CSR even agreed that it's silly for them to charge more.

But back to the topic at hand, I wouldn't buy tires on eBay just because it may be too hard to deal with a return if something is wrong with it. Tires are something that I find much easier just buying from a physical store.

 

[robshelton]

A few years back I purchased a set of tires and wheels for my truck from a van and truck conversion place in Indiana. I got a good deal at about $950 including shipping. They mounted and ballanced the tires and UPS'ed 'em here. The wheels are factory Ford optional XLT type, with the centers.

But more toward your question, as above, I'd use Discount Tire Direct. And in fact did the last time my truck needed tires. In my case, they didn't ship the tires, but sold me what was in the local store at the better price. And there was a LOT of flexability on the price! The salesguy REALLY wanted to sell me their warranty and kept reducing the price of the tires untill the total price including the warranty was about the same as what I had expected to pay just for the tires. So not surprisingly, I got the warranty. BTW, I did pay the higher mounting fee.

On a side note, if you use a shopping portal like ebates you can get some cash back. I see ebates is offering 4% so it might be something worth doing. I see it as getting part of the tax back.

Good luck!

 

[The Critic]

If there is a Discount Tire in your area, do not bother with Discount Tire Direct. The local store will work with you to match prices. Retail purchases get free pro-rated road hazard, but the DTD purchases do not.

DTD is also a bit more difficult to work with on pricing than Discount Tire retail stores, from my experience.

In 225/50-17, the Continental DWS is a great tire for about $160 + install. That is only about $30/tire more than the 195/65-15 Michelin Primacy MXV4 I have on my Prius. What's the big deal?

 

[eljefino]

Yes, twice!

First time I got four pep boys futuras, matching, all 9/32, for $36. I spent $50 in gas to go get them, still came out ahead. I drove on my old bald tires so I wasn't really wearing the rest of my car out.

Second time, a set of four snows, still nearly new, for a buck and a half. Seller forgot to set a reserve and tried to weasel out. Their listing had a paypal, pay-now link (which was not yet mandatory) so I paid now to put myself in a better position. They were dumb yuppie scum who traded a 1st gen prius on a 2nd gen and the tires didn't fit.

I can't believe how many idiots are listing tires with 4/32 (in one good spot) and calling it "40% thread" though.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

I can't believe how many idiots are listing tires with 4/32 (in one good spot) and calling it "40% thread" though.

+1. 4/32 is 0% remaining in my book.

 

[Shannow]

If I was to go 4 wheelering in seriousness, I'd be over ebay tyres like white on rice.

$450 for a set of 265/70R16 retreads that are going to be bounced off boulders when you can't get a brand, let alone name brand for under 1/4k per paw

 

[CapriRacer]

DO NOT BUY USED TIRES ON eBay!!

Unless you know what to look for and what questions to ask, you could end up throwing your money away on tires that are old, or worn badly, or any number of things.

In fact, I will say that buying used tires is just plain difficult to be sure. From time to time, you're gonna get stuck.

 

[stephen9666]

I've ordered from DTD twice and had good experiences. But I have some concerns about ordering tires from eBay. Unless the seller lists the DOT number, you have no idea how old the tires could be. I've seen "new" tires on eBay that were already several years old, based on the DOT number. You usually don't have to worry about that with a company like DTD because they move tires relatively quickly.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
DO NOT BUY USED TIRES ON eBay!!

Unless you know what to look for and what questions to ask, you could end up throwing your money away on tires that are old, or worn badly, or any number of things.

In fact, I will say that buying used tires is just plain difficult to be sure. From time to time, you're gonna get stuck.


Agreed. I've never understood the logic in purchasing used tires, especially since new tires aren't that expensive. While I'm as frugal (probably more so) as anyone else, tires are an area where it's simply stupid to skimp and buy used junk.

 

[MNgopher]

On Ebay, no. On Craigslist, yes.

In a perfect world, yes, one would always buy new tires. On the other hand, if you have a chance to inspect the goods before buying, you can usually tell if you are getting a decent buy or not.

I've made two tire transactions through craigslist. I needed a new spare tire for my F150. New tires in the size I required generally start around $135 before mount and balance. I ended up with a used tire from craigslist for $30 that had 6/32 of tread, no apparent defects or patches, a recent build date, and worn evenly. It will work fine until I replace the tires on the truck and can rotate in the best of that group.

The other purchase, I ended up getting all four tires and original Ford rims that match the ones that came with the truck for $350. The tires alone retail for $220 a piece right now, and two of them were nearly brand new, the other two had 8/32 of tread (started with 15/32). With the extra set of rims, I was able to get a set of snow tires set up as well for a decent price on seasons end closeouts at Discount Tire.

 

[HTSS_TR]

A source for good used tires is local tire stores, Discount Tire has good used tire(and OEM wheels too) from customer who upgrade their tires(and wheels) to larger aftermarket set and trade in their old. Some used tires are almost new and the price is much less than new.

 

[redsox1975]

Thanks for the responses, I was just curious, noticed a E-Bay seller that sells tires and has a 99.9% positive feedback rating.

I'll probably just stick with Tire Barn, they usually have the best deals in my area.

 

[Paulson]

Eh I bought a used/repaired tired off of eBay for $49.95 shipped... was a firestone affinity tire as my mazda came with all brand new tires and one ended up getting a sidewall puncture with 5K miles on it.

Closest place that had a match was tires plus for $115

When I got the tire it had a patch/plug setup (tire still had all the nubs on it) and has been on for around 10K so far and has a little bit more tread on it than the original ones.

I'm completely happy about it!