My dealership has three older vehicles that will require new sets of tires this week.
2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid : 215/60 R16 (127k miles)
2007 Honda CR-V : 225/65 R17 (169k miles)
2003 Kia Spectra GS : 185/65 R14 (Only 11k miles)
I did a comparo between Discount Tire and eBay.. with a small bit of Walmart Black Friday deals tossed into the mix.
eBay pretty much crushed it with the larger tires in the CR-V and other large tire sizes. Not only were they about half-price, but if you stick to well regarded brands and sellers with high feedback ratings, you're bound to get ahead.
As for the smaller tires? Discount Tire was anywhere from 80% to dead even with a similar used tire brand.
The final tally was just under $600 for the three sets of used tires vs. $764 for new tires with the CR-V nearly making up all the difference.
I also looked at Walmart vs. Discount Tire. Walmart has a ridiculously long list of brands to choose from even in the less popular sizes such as the Kia's 14's. But Discount Tire seems to always have one tire brand that has enormous price aggression. Mohave's. Sentury's, These aren't premium tires. But they will get the job done if you rotate them on time and plan on selling the car within the next three to four years.
In my unique situation there was also a $100 discount if you spent $799. That narrowed down the difference to only $65. Since I have a commercial account my installation is only $10 a tire with a $2 tire disposal fee which pretty much made the pendulum swing even more towards new. Throw in lifetime free tire rotations and flat repairs for my customers... and it was an easy choice.
One last piece of advice. If you need to buy two sets of tires Discount Tire and the Indy shops will usually work with you on the installation costs. That's how I ended up getting the $10 a tire rate in the first place.
If you have larger tires, look at used. If they're smaller, stick with new unless you have a unique size that is rare and difficult to find.
2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid : 215/60 R16 (127k miles)
2007 Honda CR-V : 225/65 R17 (169k miles)
2003 Kia Spectra GS : 185/65 R14 (Only 11k miles)
I did a comparo between Discount Tire and eBay.. with a small bit of Walmart Black Friday deals tossed into the mix.
eBay pretty much crushed it with the larger tires in the CR-V and other large tire sizes. Not only were they about half-price, but if you stick to well regarded brands and sellers with high feedback ratings, you're bound to get ahead.
As for the smaller tires? Discount Tire was anywhere from 80% to dead even with a similar used tire brand.
The final tally was just under $600 for the three sets of used tires vs. $764 for new tires with the CR-V nearly making up all the difference.
I also looked at Walmart vs. Discount Tire. Walmart has a ridiculously long list of brands to choose from even in the less popular sizes such as the Kia's 14's. But Discount Tire seems to always have one tire brand that has enormous price aggression. Mohave's. Sentury's, These aren't premium tires. But they will get the job done if you rotate them on time and plan on selling the car within the next three to four years.
In my unique situation there was also a $100 discount if you spent $799. That narrowed down the difference to only $65. Since I have a commercial account my installation is only $10 a tire with a $2 tire disposal fee which pretty much made the pendulum swing even more towards new. Throw in lifetime free tire rotations and flat repairs for my customers... and it was an easy choice.
One last piece of advice. If you need to buy two sets of tires Discount Tire and the Indy shops will usually work with you on the installation costs. That's how I ended up getting the $10 a tire rate in the first place.
If you have larger tires, look at used. If they're smaller, stick with new unless you have a unique size that is rare and difficult to find.
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