Used tires?

[alabamagal]

Anyone ever buy them?  Just wondering since we are YMer and love used cars.

DS has a Ford Explorer Sport Trac Truck with 180k miles on it.  It needs new tires.  It has been a very reliable vehicle for the past 15 years (I was previous owner).  DS just started a internship type job and if all goes well and he gets his real estate appraiser license he will be able to afford a newer car next summer.  Putting new tires rated for 60k miles seems like a wasted expense.  Even if he sells the vehicle back to us (DH wants it back) it will likely not be driven much.

Last time I bought new tires for an older vehicle it got totaled the next week.

Thoughts?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 15, 2017 11:35:20 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Anyone ever buy them?  Just wondering since we are YMer and love used cars.

DS has a Ford Explorer Sport Trac Truck with 180k miles on it.  It needs new tires.  It has been a very reliable vehicle for the past 15 years (I was previous owner).  DS just started a internship type job and if all goes well and he gets his real estate appraiser license he will be able to afford a newer car next summer.  Putting new tires rated for 60k miles seems like a wasted expense.  Even if he sells the vehicle back to us (DH wants it back) it will likely not be driven much.

Last time I bought new tires for an older vehicle it got totaled the next week.

Thoughts?

You could have gotten at least part of the cost of the tires (50%) back from the insurance co.  TD had this happen with 2 month old tires.

Since you will likely be taking the car back, why not put new, lessor rated tires on it?

[busymom]

Back when DH & I were newly married, and "dirt floor poor", we'd buy rims from the junkyard, & use the tires that were attached to them.  I definitely don't recommend doing this for long trips, but at the time we had short drives to work.  Safety-wise, I'd probably just shop around for tire sales. Do you have a Costco, or something similar near you?

[emma1420]

Yes.  I bought used tires once.  I was pretty broke, and I needed two new tires.  I could get brand new ones for $650 or pay $120 for used ones.  I got the used ones.  They had a good amount of tread left, and it gave me breathing room, and an extra 18 months before I needed to replace them with brand new tires.


Used tires can be a great stop-gap, that is all they are.  Depending on how much you drive they buy you a year or so, so I don't think they save you money over the long-term. 

[Deleted]

I'd just go for some cheaper lower rated tires from Walmart or Tirerack.com  unless the cost difference was huge.  I know truck tires are expensive.

My ex and my brother's used to get used tires a lot, but it's kind of a crapshoot and usually they only had two that matched so you would have different types in front and back.

[dannylion]

The tires are the only part of the car that actually interacts with the road surface.  Just speaking for myself, that is the primary factor I consider when purchasing tires.  

[alabamagal]

Aug 15, 2017 12:29:54 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Aug 15, 2017 11:35:20 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Anyone ever buy them?  Just wondering since we are YMer and love used cars.

DS has a Ford Explorer Sport Trac Truck with 180k miles on it.  It needs new tires.  It has been a very reliable vehicle for the past 15 years (I was previous owner).  DS just started a internship type job and if all goes well and he gets his real estate appraiser license he will be able to afford a newer car next summer.  Putting new tires rated for 60k miles seems like a wasted expense.  Even if he sells the vehicle back to us (DH wants it back) it will likely not be driven much.

Last time I bought new tires for an older vehicle it got totaled the next week.

Thoughts?

You could have gotten at least part of the cost of the tires (50%) back from the insurance co.  TD had this happen with 2 month old tires.

Since you will likely be taking the car back, why not put new, lessor rated tires on it?

We supposedly got credit for the new tires.

If we get the truck back, I doubt we would get to 250k miles.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 15, 2017 14:39:52 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Aug 15, 2017 12:29:54 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

You could have gotten at least part of the cost of the tires (50%) back from the insurance co.  TD had this happen with 2 month old tires.

Since you will likely be taking the car back, why not put new, lessor rated tires on it?

We supposedly got credit for the new tires.

If we get the truck back, I doubt we would get to 250k miles.

Which means the tires would have 70,000 miles on them if you manage to get to 250k.  You can also get tires rated to 40k.

Tires are important, I don't think this is a place to skimp.  JMHO.

[countrygirl2]

I am picky, we always put on new tires, just don't want to take a chance.

I just had new tires put on my car I traded in 2 weeks ago, stupid move, but
I did get credit for them.

[Opti]

Check out Craigslist if you know what you are looking for. If my car had been in better shape, I would have checked out a couple sets I saw there. Both sets would have required at least a 45 minute or better drive one way.

[Tiny]

I've always treated used tires as a "stop gap" - I put used tires on my last car because I knew I'd be selling the car within a year. I do city driving - about 8K miles a year. I figured even if I got two more years out of the car - I wouldn't need to replace the tires.

Since I'm so low mileage - if a tire goes bad and the whole set is under 6 years old - I'll buy a 'used tire' and get another year out of my 'set' and then replace all of them. I'm so low mileage - my tires don't wear out from use - they wear out from age. I'm a low mileage, city driver. Not sure I'd recommend this strategy from a high mileage driver or a highway driver.

[Tennesseer]

If you want some free used tires, check your local supermarket parking lot. This past week I was in the parking lot of my local grocery store and watched some woman load her groceries into her car then roll a used tire right into a shopping cart corral.

[mroped]

Definetly not!
Dont underestimate the importance of good tires.
Used tires are typically barely passing inspection-3-32nds in Pa and winter is not that far.
Ford Explorer is a prety heavy vehicle and improper tires can be crucial in stoping the vehicle in time.
If you can afford it just bite the bullet and get new ones!

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I've sold tires I didn't need anymore, and my XH and I bought retreads because that's all we could afford.

DH buys new tires as soon as we hit the mileage point. He just is adamant about safe tires.

[Happy prose]

That's like buying used pizza. Don't do it!

[tallguy]

I'm going out tomorrow to look for a used tire.  I had a flat on Wednesday and the old tire is not repairable so I currently don't have a spare.  I only drive a few thousand miles a year to start with, and that number goes down even more in a month.  Why buy a new one for that?