I found a set of Civic HX factory wheels with almost brand new Michelin X Radials on Craigslist recently for 300 bucks. Unfortunetally the wheels won't clear the front brakes on my Corolla, so I put them on Ebay and got $220 for the wheels. Apparantly they are sought after in the tuner community since they weigh 11 pounds and are made my Enkei. So I got almost new (9/32 tread measured) Michelins for 20 bucks each. I got brand new snow tires a few years ago cheap on Craigslist. it's a great place to find wheels and tires if you keep an eye out. There's lots of absolute junk, but if you wait long enough, there always seems to be someone selling brand new tires/wheels for a car they sold or was wrecked.
Craigslist Tire Score!
- Thread starter Drew99GT
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Reason #64 why I like my harbor freight tire changer.
Get tires on rims, sell either rims or tires, profit.
My favorite scheme now is to get rims with bald tires, then pay $2 disposal on the tires, and I get to keep the rims for... whatever. Seems like people are stymied how to dispose of the complete assembly.
These people were halfway savvy enough to get mounted, balanced tires through another avenue, and are happy to get anything, or next to nothing, for their old set.
Get tires on rims, sell either rims or tires, profit.
My favorite scheme now is to get rims with bald tires, then pay $2 disposal on the tires, and I get to keep the rims for... whatever. Seems like people are stymied how to dispose of the complete assembly.
These people were halfway savvy enough to get mounted, balanced tires through another avenue, and are happy to get anything, or next to nothing, for their old set.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
I hear that!
I outfitted both our vehicles with basically brand-new CL purchased Firestone Winterforce snows for $450. Not including mount/balance though.. Gotta look into that HFT tire changer..
I outfitted both our vehicles with basically brand-new CL purchased Firestone Winterforce snows for $450. Not including mount/balance though.. Gotta look into that HFT tire changer..
When I get a house with a garage, the HFT tire changer is going to be one of the first things I buy!
I have been doing it by hand a lot recently.
In fact, in the spring I am going to be buying 4 tires, mounting them myself and having someone balance them.
I have been doing it by hand a lot recently.
In fact, in the spring I am going to be buying 4 tires, mounting them myself and having someone balance them.
Originally Posted By: Miller88
When I get a house with a garage, the HFT tire changer is going to be one of the first things I buy!
I have been doing it by hand a lot recently.
In fact, in the spring I am going to be buying 4 tires, mounting them myself and having someone balance them.
If you're going to do that, why don't you also try getting the wheel balancer from Harbor Frieght also? It's $85, but I think you could use a 20-25% off coupon when they come out.
When I get a house with a garage, the HFT tire changer is going to be one of the first things I buy!
I have been doing it by hand a lot recently.
In fact, in the spring I am going to be buying 4 tires, mounting them myself and having someone balance them.
If you're going to do that, why don't you also try getting the wheel balancer from Harbor Frieght also? It's $85, but I think you could use a 20-25% off coupon when they come out.
I didn't sold such a device! That's not something I can do by hand ... I may just buy that for myself.
Wish I had known about that a few months ago! Would have been perfect for the new snow tires.
I'd gladly spend more so I can do something myself. I like tinkering ... I think most of us here do.
Wish I had known about that a few months ago! Would have been perfect for the new snow tires.
I'd gladly spend more so I can do something myself. I like tinkering ... I think most of us here do.
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The HFT wheel balancer is either junk or I couldn't figure it out. It needs an incredible amount of precision sticking the rim onto the cone, which I haven't been able to repeat.
If one really wants to rough it in with a static balance, they can take an undriven hub with no brakes to drag (eg rear on a fwd car), mount the tire up, spin it, and see if it stops at the same spot every time. Throw weight up top until this stops.
I've lived with my HFT manual changer for nearly a decade, but just recently got a 2-plane spin balancer. It was much more expensive! The changer gets you a great start with disassembling purchased assemblies, taking off old tires to sell separate from the rims, etc etc. Also in today's "OMG we won't mount those" society, you can take a mounted tire into WM for a $5 balance and they won't ask any questions.
If one really wants to rough it in with a static balance, they can take an undriven hub with no brakes to drag (eg rear on a fwd car), mount the tire up, spin it, and see if it stops at the same spot every time. Throw weight up top until this stops.
I've lived with my HFT manual changer for nearly a decade, but just recently got a 2-plane spin balancer. It was much more expensive! The changer gets you a great start with disassembling purchased assemblies, taking off old tires to sell separate from the rims, etc etc. Also in today's "OMG we won't mount those" society, you can take a mounted tire into WM for a $5 balance and they won't ask any questions.
Craigslist is good for both buying and selling. I bought some really good things for little money and I can inspect those things before paying. I also sold something for more than I can get from Ebay after fee(s) and avoid potential buyer fraud.
The problem with Craigslist is there are so many junks. that you need to carefully read between the lines to filter those and once in a while you will get really good stubs for much less than standard price.
The problem with Craigslist is there are so many junks. that you need to carefully read between the lines to filter those and once in a while you will get really good stubs for much less than standard price.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Craigslist is good for both buying and selling. I bought some really good things for little money and I can inspect those things before paying. I also sold something for more than I can get from Ebay after fee(s) and avoid potential buyer fraud.
The problem with Craigslist is there are so many junks. that you need to carefully read between the lines to filter those and once in a while you will get really good stubs for much less than standard price.
Yeah. I went to buy 4 "new winterforce" tires. It was 2 worn out winterforce and two bald (to the cords) all season tires.
Craigslist is good for both buying and selling. I bought some really good things for little money and I can inspect those things before paying. I also sold something for more than I can get from Ebay after fee(s) and avoid potential buyer fraud.
The problem with Craigslist is there are so many junks. that you need to carefully read between the lines to filter those and once in a while you will get really good stubs for much less than standard price.
Yeah. I went to buy 4 "new winterforce" tires. It was 2 worn out winterforce and two bald (to the cords) all season tires.
I'll second that the HF bubble balancer is junk. I tried it out a while ago and even though I got the bubble to center, the tire was far from balanced.
Then I picked up a Snap-On WB200 electronic wheel balancer off of CL for $300. The best money ever spent on car tools. It was missing a centering cone, but since I was working at a metal fab shop I had the machine shop make one for me for free. HF even now sells the stick on wheel weights so no need to buy a big box of them from Carquest like I did back then. I still have half of the box.
I've since sold the mounter and balancer now that both of our vehicles run lower profile tires. I found that anything under 55 series was very difficult to do with the manual changer, or I just needed to work out more so I have the power to do the lower profile ones.
Then I picked up a Snap-On WB200 electronic wheel balancer off of CL for $300. The best money ever spent on car tools. It was missing a centering cone, but since I was working at a metal fab shop I had the machine shop make one for me for free. HF even now sells the stick on wheel weights so no need to buy a big box of them from Carquest like I did back then. I still have half of the box.
I've since sold the mounter and balancer now that both of our vehicles run lower profile tires. I found that anything under 55 series was very difficult to do with the manual changer, or I just needed to work out more so I have the power to do the lower profile ones.
Great score for OP.
Regarding the HF tire changer....$59.99 regular price, on sale for $44.99, and still the hassle of DIY, and DIY rotations, etc. I'm all for DIY, and I used to do my own tire rotations when I had lighter cars. I recently paid NTB $70 to dismount old, and mount and balance new Cooper AT3s for my Jeep. That included lifetime rotations. I also paid them $60 for lifetime rotation and balance on my OE Ram tires (heavy). IMO, that's well worth it. In the end, you'll probably have to pay someone to balance them anyway.
Regarding the HF tire changer....$59.99 regular price, on sale for $44.99, and still the hassle of DIY, and DIY rotations, etc. I'm all for DIY, and I used to do my own tire rotations when I had lighter cars. I recently paid NTB $70 to dismount old, and mount and balance new Cooper AT3s for my Jeep. That included lifetime rotations. I also paid them $60 for lifetime rotation and balance on my OE Ram tires (heavy). IMO, that's well worth it. In the end, you'll probably have to pay someone to balance them anyway.
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I scored two nearly new tires for $45. They were good tires too, made in USA and everything. The person selling them had an identical car that they had just totaled.
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