Used Tire Cost: How Much Are They?
No matter the type of car you own, your car is only as good as your tires. This means that every driving input you do needs to go through the tires and onto the road. By investing in higher-end tires, you are essentially broadening the spectrum of what you and your car are capable of.
What Affects Used Tire Prices?
- Initial price from new
- Tread
- Wheel alignment
- Age
- Tire brand
- Tire size
- Tire type
How Does Initial Tire Price Affect Used Tire Price?
No matter if you buy an expensive item or a cheap one, chances are that both of these will suffer from depreciation. Tire depreciation can easily be viewed as a percentage of value a tire loses during its lifespan. More expensive tires start with a higher price tag, but they follow a similar depreciation curve as cheaper tires do.
This is because the price itself isn’t as important as all the other factors listed above combined. Therefore, losing 30% of the value from a $1000 tire isn’t the same as losing 30% of the value from a $100 tire. This inevitably means that more expensive tires tend to lose more value from a dollar-per-dollar standpoint while cheaper tires lose the same percentage, but not the same amount.
How Does Tread Affect Used Tire Price?
The more you use a tire, the less effective it becomes. The less effective the tire becomes, the less sense there is to buying it. Therefore, no one is willing to pay considerable amounts of money on a tire that has little to no tread life left. Remaining tread depth is determined by measuring the tread with a tread depth gauge. As the tread tends to wear off, the value of the tire is soon to follow. Either way, be sure to always check how much tread a tire has left with these two handy tricks.
How Does Wheel Alignment Affect Used Tire Price?
Wheel alignment does not necessarily affect used tire prices directly, but rather the effects of improper wheel alignment. If you fail to precisely align your wheels so they can meet the road at the exact angle, chances are that your tires will experience uneven wear.
Uneven wear means that some parts of the tire are noticeably more worn out and that the tire is not able to perform in the same way across its entire surface. Tires with considerable uneven wear aren’t going to fool anyone as these tires are the very cheapest usable used tires you can get. You can’t even properly predict how long these tires can last.
How Does Tire Age Affect Used Tire Price?
Tire age works in a similar way as tire tread because the older the tire, the less tread it has. However, age plays a more pivotal role in other situations, such as when you don’t use your tires. If you keep your tires stored for a long time, even though they have lots of tread left, they are simply too old to be used.
Moreover, the modern-day tire industry has shown great improvement over tires made in the past few decades. So even if you do store old unused tires perfectly, chances are that they are not going to be as advanced as the tires you can buy today. To top it all off, the structural integrity of a tire sidewall tends to deteriorate as tires get older and older.
How Does Tire Brand Affect Used Tire Price?
Brands like Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Pirelli, BF Goodrich, and Bridgestone are known as premium tire brands. Being a premium tire brand means making tires for the very best and most advanced cars on the market. Premium tires cost a lot more money than mid-level tires and they perform better in most relevant areas.
Used tires with premium badges are also going to be more valuable on the 2nd hand market as people are more willing to invest in a brand known for quality. This is especially the case when it comes to used tires as you are never too sure if the tire is as good as it looks.
How Does Tire Size Affect Used Tire Price?
Some tire sizes are more popular than others which means that the used tire market is in greater demand for such tires. 15 and 16-inch tires are likely the most popular tire sizes out there which means that most used tire buyers are going to want 15 and 16-inch used tires.
However, low-profile tires tend to be more expensive from the get-go which also means that they are more expensive when buying used. Also, a really large truck tire uses much more rubber, steel, cotton, and all other materials during production which also pushes the price of such used tires.
How Does Tire Type Affect Used Tire Price?
Not all tires are made equal which means that certain types of tires are more expensive than others. For example, an industry-standard all-season tire is always going to be a lot cheaper than a performance tire or a specific off-roading tire. Winter tires use different compounds which wear out faster and pre-mounted winter/snow tires are a bit trickier to buy for that very reason.
Why Should I Buy Used Tires?
There are a couple of reasons why people tend to opt for used tires as opposed to simply buying a set of brand-new tires. First of all, used tires are cheaper and it often makes more sense to buy a set of used tires for a particular car that isn’t getting as much use as a typical daily driver. So, if you own an old car that you only drive occasionally at low speeds, there is no need for you to overspend on a set of brand-new tires.
Furthermore, by buying used tires, you are actively lowering the effects used tires have on our environment. The good thing is that you can recycle both new and used tires which means that you can take them to certain facilities where you can even make some money doing that. No matter how you look at it, it makes perfect sense to recycle tires.
Before you decide to buy used tires, you need to be able to inspect them carefully and thoroughly. First of all, you need to find out when were the tires made. You also need to find out how much tread is left on the tire and if there are any cuts, pierces, or similar defects on both the face and the sidewall of the tire. Go around the entire tire and don’t skimp a mere inch.
Be sure to know what you are after before you come and start looking for tires. It is also essential to make sure that the tire you are looking at can even fit your wheel and your car. If you do all of this carefully and with a decent understanding of what is going to happen if you don’t, you should buy used tires.
Where Can I Buy Used Tires?
There are plenty of places out there where you can buy used tires. You should start by looking at your local tire centers and dealerships as these often stock used tires if such tires are worthy of resale. Big-box retail shops such as Walmart, Sears, Costco, etc.) can also sometimes stock used tires while also selling them for a considerable discount.
Online services such as eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, or Kijiji are filled with loads of used tires and wheels, but these are a bit trickier as you are usually buying from private individuals. It is often best to search for specialized used tire shops that predominantly deal with refurbishing used tires as these are the places with the best deals and best used tires in general.
Conclusion
Determining a used tire cost requires a bit of knowledge as not all tires depreciate in the same way. It is reasonable to think that a standard used tire should only cost about 30%-50% of the tire’s original price, but some tires, such as lightly used high-performance tires, can cost up to 75% of the original price tag.
Either way, many factors affect how much a used tire costs, all of which are important. If you do decide to buy a set of used tires, be sure to do so carefully as used tires need to be inspected thoroughly before buying.
