Rising Rubber Prices + Bad Economy = More Used Tires Sold + Increased Risk
Here’s a link to a recent article:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20110807/AUTO01/108070306/1148/Used-tire-market-rolls-along-with-rising-rubber-costs
Is there a place for used tires ?
Are they ever a good idea ?
Would you buy them ?
CSA
I suppose that slightly used tires might be a good idea. I don’t have to consider them because I can afford new tires. I would not buy them unless I had a SUV with a blowout. But the chance that a tire dealer would have an exact match for a blowout is very low. Maybe a used tire bank…
Here in the southeast we have a slew of used tire stores. Most of the tires they have have long passed their expiration date. If I need a used tire for any reason, I visit my local auto recyler and get the newest tire I can find in the size I need. New tires, however, are the best and safest way to go.
I would use a used tire as a way of limping a car along until I can afford new ones. My father, on the other hand, hasn’t bought a new tire in 20 years. He always buys used. The closest thing I have done to buying used tires is that I recently bought a set of wheels and tires off a kid who was scrapping out a car. The tires were the size I was in the market for, and the alloy wheels fit my minivan, so I paid him $300 for the set. The tires were a month old and had less than 1k miles on them. Good tires, too, according to Tire Rack, and not cheap either.
During WW II, rubber was scarce and we had gas rationing to preserve tires. People drove on anything that would hold air. Of course, the national speed limit was 35 mph. Part of whether or not to buy a used tire depends on the conditions under which it to be used. For example, I had a blowout on my 2003 4Runner. I did put on the spare, but wanted a replacement spare tire. The owner’s manual and the independent tire dealer where I trade both specified that the tires were all to be the same. The 4Runner had Dunlop tires and my tire dealer did not handle Dunlops. He said he would call around and get a price. He called back an hour later and said a customer had come in to replace his tires. He had the same Dunlop tires that I had and had about 1/2 the tread life remaining. He sold me a tire for a spare for $35. That beat paying $150 for a new tire. My late father-in-law always ran on Michelin tires. When he bought a new car, he would have the car less than a year and he would have all the tires replaced with Michelin. While Michelin is a great tire, someone got an excellent buy on the tires he removed that had gone about 10,000 miles.
Some years back, I had a 1950 Chevrolet 1 ton pickup truck. It had 7.00 x 17" tires. These tires were hard to get. I would buy any tire that had enough tread life to get through inspection. However, I only used the truck to do hauling for limited distances.
I think in making a used tire purchase there are two things: 1) what type of driving is going to be done on these tires; 2) what is the condition of the used tires.
One thing I know is that even if you buy used tire don’t pay by a credit card. It makes your credit score take a nose dive. I guess they figure this is one of the last things you might skimp on.
The only used tire I ever put on was when I blew one out 200 miles from home and just needed something to get home with until I could get a new set. I did use recaps in college. 4 for $50 back then. The problem is that the charge for mounting and balancing a used tire is the same as new plus no recourse if there is something wrong. Just doesn’t seem to make economic sense in the long run. By the way, oil is coming down witht he current economic chaos so rubber should follow.
I worked in a gas station pumping gas as a teenager. The only tires I ever had on my car were the ones that customers were replacing when they bought new tires.
If any of the customer’s old tires had several thousand more miles left to them, I put them on my car, - as long as they fit the rim and didn’t rub against the fenders.
I’m not advocating that practice, but I’m sure it’s still done.
A whole lot about nothing.
Even the author said “Used tires are still a relatively small slice of the overall tire market” in the article.
Besides, the cost of rubber is only a small fraction of the price of the tire.
If the author’s numbers can be believed, they’re about 15% of the market. That’s millions of cars driving around with used tires.
I would not put used tires on my car. But then again, if I’d been without a job for a few years it’d be easy to compromise my philosophies to keep the car rolling. One has to do what one has to do.
Some tires are so expensive that people will buy an almost bald tire instead of paying $250 or more for a new one. Once they win the lottery, or put enough wear on the other three, they might get new ones. There isn’t much rain in Summer if you live in much of Ca.
pleasedodgevan2, I guess that explains all the blow out accidents here then. When it is 104 degrees outside and you are driving at 80 mph the tires get really hot.
Call me crazy, but EVERY car on the road has used tires.
True, but I know the history of mine. Used tires on the used tire store rack could be from one of those posts we get from someone who simply cannot get rid of a vibration.
We all drive used cars too, but we know where they’ve been.