Anyone buy/run used tires?

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Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by Traction
Unless they were just put on, EVERYONE is driving on USED tires, and might even have a nail in the shoulder that hasn't poked through yet.


Further, everyone is walking around in used shoes.

I won't ever buy either product used.


What about all of the people that tried on your shoes before you bought them. I sold a set of used tires with only 50 miles on them, because they were a little too narrow for the wheels I had just bought. Used is a pretty wide term.
 
I used to but craigslist ruined it.

Back in the mid 00s I had a junkyard with a huge pile of tires I could climb on, pick my favorites, and pay $5-10. Then they got "uppity" and went to 15 and then 20. Still use them occasionally because they pretty much are guaranteed to have what I need. This was also during that oil crunch and a 175/70/14 generic tire was $75.

Now craigslist in my area is massively overpriced and I can get cheap new chinese tires with minimal warranties for under $50. Crack heads have come out of the woodwork and think their junk is gold. The DTD sales a few years back changed my habits.

The only good deals are where I get rims with tires, but only want 1/2 of them, so I separate them with my HF machine and sell the part I don't want, getting most of my money back.
 
Absolutely.

I've bought lots of basically new snow tires and regular tires used. CL, FB marketplace, eBay and through BestUsedTires. I've never had an issue with a used tire.
 
Tires are not something I'd even consider buying used unless the car was a absolute POS beater that I drove less than 1000 miles per year.
 
Never bought used tires and not planning to ever do it.
A set of new good quality tires is usually around $500 installed and balanced, they usually last 5 years, so a $100 a year per car is imho very reasonable.
I don't buy into large rim or expensive tires ideas, there is plenty of reasonably priced quality and reputable brand name tires.
Personally, I have General and Sumitomo in high regard lately.
 
Originally Posted by mattd
Tires are not something I'd even consider buying used unless the car was a absolute POS beater that I drove less than 1000 miles per year.

What's the difference between tires you bought used with 5,000 miles on them, and tires that you bought new and put 5,000 miles on?
 
My friend has an LQ4-swapped 1980 Camaro with the 14" wheels and he gets used 205/75R14 tires from a local shop called Brown's for like $30 a piece.

He also has a 1978 C/K10 Scottsdale and he gets 31x10.50r15 tires from the same shop for around $50 each. Hasn't had any issues with them except one time they managed to break off 2 studs.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
What's the difference between tires you bought used with 5,000 miles on them, and tires that you bought new and put 5,000 miles on?


One thing would be you'd know if you hit a curb or pothole hard if you put the miles on.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
What's the difference between tires you bought used with 5,000 miles on them, and tires that you bought new and put 5,000 miles on?


One thing would be you'd know if you hit a curb or pothole hard if you put the miles on.

If the tires look good, balance out, and ride well, who cares how many potholes they've hit?
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
What's the difference between tires you bought used with 5,000 miles on them, and tires that you bought new and put 5,000 miles on?


One thing would be you'd know if you hit a curb or pothole hard if you put the miles on.

If the tires look good, balance out, and ride well, who cares how many potholes they've hit?


Exactly. It's nothing different than buying a used car, and yet everybody on this forum touts buying used over new.
 
Most of the time I buy used especially for my second set, which is usually winter. Just gotta know what to look for. No plugs, no holes, no sidewalk damage. If it has an undisclosed bubble than I'll deal with it.
 
I think unless you're taking them off a new car or slightly used seasonal types, forget about it. Not worth the risk. Tires are one of the most important components of the automobile and one might argue the most important when it comes to your safety alongside the brakes. It is the only part touching the road. Be wise as saving a couple hundred is not worth it.
 
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I wonder how many who say they will NEVER buy used tires have bought used cars and just drive away?

I buy used tires and got some great deals on them. If they are 80% or better with no visual damage for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a new set, they are a great deal. Also never have to pay any sales tax off Craigslist either. I never had a single issue with any used tire I bought. Conversely, I had two new General tires blow out on me at speed, one with literally 100 miles on my new car, and the other with less than 5000 miles on it. I bought used and replaced all of them.
 
I've used them recently on a budget 1998 Mustang GT build. No issues. Around here tire shops get them mostly from wrecks coming into the junkyard.
 
Once, a couple weeks ago. Guy drove his 4Runner out of the showroom. Then he drove 1,000 miles to get a lift, new tires/wheels installed and a supercharger.

Got 4 tires plus rims for $400. Tires were manufactured less than 6 months ago.
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I've bought them before as spares for vehicles that could hold a full sized spare in the well.

My normal practice now instead is to hold back the best from a set I'm replacing and have it mounted on a spare rim. That's becoming increasingly difficult, though, as spare tires of any sort are a disappearing breed and the few that do still have one usually only size the well to hold a donut.
 
I have, back in my college student days when money was tight and $20 was a fair chunk of change. Last November, I sold a set of winter tires on steel wheels for my old 2016 Ford Explorer Sport when I traded it for my Ram. I even listed them here but sold to a guy off CL. He wanted them for his Escape. I'm looking now to replace my slippery factory tires on the Ram with All Terrain tires, and getting a set of winter tires for the 2010 Crown Vic. I can take some time to look, but snow will be here soon...
 
Like I said before, there is an irrational fear here over "tire safety". Some here think that unless you have an almost brand new tire with near 100% tread depth and zero road wear (like small scuffs, etc.) you are rolling on a "death trap" that's about to kill you and anyone near you. That is simply false.
 
When I purchased my 2016 Grand Caravan in Feb 2017, it had two good tires. I found a set of 4 matching tires with about 80% tread at a high volume salvage yard. I ran them for three years. I checked the two that I took off. They had nearly new tread depth. I found two more to match at the same salvage yard. I will get another two years out of them. I should mention that I take the summer tires off and put snow tires on for the winter season (4-6 months). When the winter tread gets worn down enough on the winter tires, I will run them for one summer. If I time it right, I will need a new set of winter tires and a new set of summer tires during the same year.
 
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