New tires on used cars

Status
Not open for further replies.
slo town

slo town

Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
3,356
Location
The Willow Creek District AVA
Hello:

I've been helping a very good friend of mine find a one owner, low mileage. with records 2009+ Honda Element for his vacation home. He and I met in 1st grade - and we're both 65 years old now. Crazy, eh?!

Anyway, we've looked at several Elements over the last couple of months. On every single one of the used car dealership sold Elements we've looked at, if new tires have been installed they are either Indonesian or Chinese made. Used Elements sold by new car dealerships always have new tires made in either the US, Japan, or the EU.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Scott

PS I am a self confessed tire geek. I am very particular about tires just like people are about oil. My 1,000 miles per year E46 BMW garage queen even has a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s on it (they'll rot before I wear those gumballs out). My daily driver E90 BMW has a set of Bridgestone RE-11s, our work horse Element Michelin Primacys, our 25K miles per year Ford Focus Pirelli P-Zeros.
 
Used car dealers installing the cheapest possible tires just so they can tell the buyer they're getting a car with new tires?
 
Used car sales 101, cheap cars get cheap new tires! Atleast the dealership has to make sure they are mostly round and balanced, although I'd also carry a pencil gauge to see if the tires are inflated properly. A soft tire can make the car feel smoother and hide out of round issues.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Are they lease returns? If so, most people will buy the cheapest possible tires prior to lease return, just to not get dinged for returning a vehicle with worn out rubber.



Given the age of the Elements we've looked at (2009+), I do not think they are lease returns. Last year of production for the Element was 2011. Can leases be that long?

Scott
 
Sign of the times IMO. Big dealership chains around me will install good matchng used tires on their pre-owned cars.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Most people don't know or care where their tires were made. The used car dealer is using the " we put new tires on it" as a sales pitch.


Yep, just as you say in quotes. Most people don't know or care.

But if we bought "one of those cars", we'd pull the tires off.

Scott
 
Most dealers are just looking for a way to fatten the take. A cheap tire is in their best interest monetarily. It's just that simple
 
Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
On every single one of the used car dealership sold Elements we've looked at, if new tires have been installed they are either Indonesian or Chinese made. Used Elements sold by new car dealerships always have new tires made in either the US, Japan, or the EU.

I used to work at a Honda dealer, even Honda CPOs we sold got Prime Wells. The only exception was a Land Rover LR3 we took in as a trade. We ordered Kumhos via Tire Rack for that. We had the local Firestone store make weekly runs to us every week.

My parents both of their cars used - their van had a set of OEM-spec Dunlops installed by the dealer. Their other car has a set of Chilean-made Goodyear Eagle RS-As. I think unless there's really a penny pincher working as the used car manager, it's easier for a dealer to get a "cheap" tire from their distributor(Tire Rack's dealer arm or Dealer Tire) than to have an account with a local tire shop. The local Lexus dealer pushes Milestar for the cheapskates, and I assume Dealer Tire carries them out of ease for the dealers.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Used car sales 101, cheap cars get cheap new tires! Atleast the dealership has to make sure they are mostly round and balanced, although I'd also carry a pencil gauge to see if the tires are inflated properly. A soft tire can make the car feel smoother and hide out of round issues.


I know you weren't throwing stones with your "cheap cars" comment, but used Elements really command a price premium! A nice Element with 150K miles on it can fetch $10K or $12K easy.

Just based on the new purchase price and what I think I could sell it for today, our Element has cost us 9 cents a mile. I've never owned a car less expensive to operate. I drive the heck out of it, it's got 175K on it now. I love that thing.

Scott
 
Originally Posted By: walterjay
Most dealers are just looking for a way to fatten the take. A cheap tire is in their best interest monetarily. It's just that simple


Agree, but again, used car dealerships and new car dealerships seem to have different tire brand/COO choices.

Scott
 
I think that comes from the expectations for a vehicle bought at a new car dealership. We get people coming into the service department demanding scratched or damaged trim replaced for free on vehicles they bought off the bargain lot($5000 or less).

One kid’s dad had an almost 200k mile Honda Civic towed in with the tow bill in the dealerships name because his son took the dash out to install a stereo system. In the process he broke a bunch of plastic pieces which they claim were super glued together from being broke before they bought it(could be true we don’t pull dashes to check trim piece integrity on vehicles) and he’s apparently got into some wiring that should have been left alone because now it doesn’t start. Of course daddy called up raising [censored] about how they’re not gonna pay any repair bills because they were sold a piece of crap.
 
Used car dealers hide things

Put a cheap new set of tires on a car so you don't notice the uneven wear due misalignment collision damage, ball joints are shot, tie rod ends, etc. It's a cheap trick and a dirty trick.

Steam clean the engine so you don't see the thing leaks like a sieve.
 
My "certified" used car from a new-car dealership came with new Chinese tires---and several other new easy-to-replace parts, including oil, oil filter, air filter, HVAC filter, floor mats, and wiper blades. The tires have been problem-free, but will need replacement due to wear next year.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Used car dealers installing the cheapest possible tires just so they can tell the buyer they're getting a car with new tires?


Yeah... who'd have thunk it?
 
Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Are they lease returns? If so, most people will buy the cheapest possible tires prior to lease return, just to not get dinged for returning a vehicle with worn out rubber.



Given the age of the Elements we've looked at (2009+), I do not think they are lease returns. Last year of production for the Element was 2011. Can leases be that long?

Scott

I misread your post initially and then went back and revised my answer. Your quote has my initial response in it. Please disregard. Sorry for the confusion.
 
My tires I'm currently running on my Jetta came from Sam's and
were made in Brazil. Go figure. My last set from Sam's ever.
I guess it's almost impossible to find decent customer service from
the big box stores or anywhere for that matter.
 
Originally Posted By: rtrdad
My tires I'm currently running on my Jetta came from Sam's and
were made in Brazil. Go figure. My last set from Sam's ever.
I guess it's almost impossible to find decent customer service from
the big box stores or anywhere for that matter.

Interesting, I've had tires installed by both Sam's and Walmart (and Costco for that matter) and every time it has been fine. What did they do wrong that makes it your last time?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

FordFETruck
On the search for new tires for mercury grand marquis
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
FordFETruck
D
Michelin tires with cracks and only 7k miles on them - safe to use?
2 3 4
Replies
69
Views
7K
TimeFlies
C
My winter tire musings for 23-24 - BMW 535 w/ mods
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
edyvw
L
  • Locked
So I got the Michelin Defender 2
2 3 4
Replies
72
Views
28K
Biscuit
Nick1994
Tires for the Sonata
2
Replies
30
Views
4K
Sequoiasoon
Back
Top