Buying Used Tyres

Kilty_2

mikey72 wrote: »

This is how it should be done.

http://www.thetreadshop.co.uk/default.aspx

Nicer site but still false economy

The tyre I priced up at National (a Tigar Sigura 155/70/R13) is available there for £16 with 4.8mm tread remaining and fitting is £10.

So £26 for a tyre with < 50% life left or £36.50 for a brand new one.

Flying-High_2

Tyres in Small size and there is no excuse for Part worns.... New ones are cheap enough...

mikey72

Small tyres aren't the best example, but if you're selling the car that's £20 extra profit.

I've bought a few used tyres off ebay,
two on rims for 99p (only bidder), with decent tyres,
two off rims 9.99 (only bidder), all inspected before fitting, by me and the tyre fitter.
£40 fitting, but in two trips, so I could clean up an old set of alloys after the old tyres were off, then back to get the new ones fitted.
I've refused to buy two I bid on as they were cracked, and I'd been told they were ok, another two I looked at were cracked so I didn't bid.
Four I bought for a tenner for the rims off a car I knew had crashed to put winter tyres on, and another
four on rims that cost £10, with decent tyres, and a further £10 each to swap them to alloys, and another
four on rims (155/70/13's actually), for £24. Decent tyres, but mainly wanted the rims for winter tyres. I probably will use the tyres though.
And finally another four off rims I bought for £11 that seem decent enough, but I'll fit these myself with new valves, just to move a car I am restoring around, as the tyres on it have rotted away, but it's got original rostyles on I want to keep.
I use a local tyre fitter, he's keen on checking the tyres, and won't fit any he doesn't like.
So from £15 to £10.50 with fitting to far, down to £6 for the ones on the right rims.

jase1

Flying-High wrote: »

Tyres in Small size and there is no excuse for Part worns.... New ones are cheap enough...

My word... we agree on something

You gain no particular advantage by buying part-worn tyres for small cars ... and that goes right the way up to the typical Astra/Focus size of 205/55/16 or thereabouts.

Low profile tyres will not be coming off cars that are old/small generally. So the low profiles, the ones that represent a real saving, are the ones most likely to have come from a car with questionable safety, i.e. crashed ones.

Much is made about "well-selected" tyres. The problem here is that they tend to be the more expensive ones -- it stands to reason. Places selling Continentals with 7mm of tread for £20? Question marks everywhere -- why would they sell them for this much when they fetch 60%+ of new value on ebay?

You want to buy second-hand tyres? Go ahead, but you won't convince me. Some questionable Conti with 4mm over a brand new Falken? Not on your nelly.

jase1

Oh, and this business of 4mm tyres having "more than 50% of their life left" -- let's put this silliness to bed once and for all eh? Do the maths for heaven's sake. A 4mm tyre has 2.4mm of tread left -- you can't include the 1.6! The 4mm tyre has 2.4/6.4=37.5% of its life left. If a new tyre is £60 fitted, the 4mm tyre is worth £22.50 fitted at the absolute most. If you're paying £20, YOU ARE NOT GETTING A BARGAIN.

Kilty_2

So a 4mm tyre that's £36.50 fitted new is worth........... ?

OK, so small sizes don't work. Do you really want to put them on a car with big wheels which tends to be a performance car? :rotfl:

jase1

Kilty wrote: »

So a 4mm tyre that's £36.50 fitted new is worth........... ?

.... about £3.50 on ebay allowing for the fitting fee :rotfl:

Less than the delivery charge

Flying-High_2

jase1 wrote: »

. Places selling Continentals with 7mm of tread for £20? Question marks everywhere -- why would they sell them for this much when they fetch 60%+ of new value on ebay?

.

Because its still more than 100% Profit when you've bought them of a Wholesaler who has bought 1200+ in one go from the likes of Germany.... who in turn has made 80-90% return on his money.

Ebay is not the end and be all.....

Yes we agree on something:D

harveybobbles

jase1 wrote: »

You gain no particular advantage by buying part-worn tyres for small cars ... and that goes right the way up to the typical Astra/Focus size of 205/55/16 or thereabouts

I agree with this.

If we ever need tyres for stuff with 15 inch on the corners then we will always buy new, middle of the road rubber.

Anything from 16inch upwards we will buy part worn, premium branded ones.

225 50 17 Michelin or Conti's for example are about £130 each. If we need a pair, thats £260 quid out of the profit already, before we've even had the car up on the ramps, serviced, MOT'd and sold with a warranty etc.

Part worns would be 60 quid for a pair or partn worn, pressure tested premium branded ones.

jase1

I just won't buy cars that need stupid, expensive cart-wheel tyres in the first place

Those 205/55/16s are about as far as I am prepared to go. I've been shocked at the prices of those tyres. What exactly was wrong with Vectra-sized cars with 185/65/15 tyres in the first place?