Selling a vehicle have question.

Joined
Dec 13, 2002
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North Carolina
I'm going to be putting my 2002 Silverado up for sale here shortly. The question is KBB is showing it is worth $5,700 to $6,000. The tires that are on it, Michelin LTX MS2's are down to the wear bars. Is it worth putting a set of new tires on it for $480 general no brand name AT tires or just leave it as is? Like most, I want to get the best price for it and think new tires would help keep it where I want to get for it. I tried to find used tires in good shape but I can't find anything close to me and it seems that 265/75 -16 are not as common as they use to be.

In case anyone was wondering: Black, 2002 Silverado LT extended cab, standard bed, 6.5', Z71 4x4, 5.3, 4L60e, 200,000 miles. It has both power 6-way leather heated seats in good shape, auto-dimming rearview, aftermarket Alpine stereo with a 10" sub under the back seat. (that really made a difference over the factory radio which I still have with the cassette player) Speedliner bed liner and a hard plastic tonneau cover. Just serviced the transmission 20k ago, Replaced the shocks at 103k with KYB. Front and rear diff's serviced about 40k ago. Fuel filter replaced every 30k, New coolant hoses at 140k, spark plugs replaced with AC Delco iridium, and have 51k on them. New plug wires, can't remember when but not long ago mileage wise. Alternator rebuilt at 160k. Replaced fuel pump at 120k. This is mostly off the top of my head. I have a logbook in the truck that I keep track of all maintenance. Which when I put it up for sale I will be more specific. Like when I changed wipers and cabin air filter along with engine air filter and such. Even every time Sam's club rotated the tires. I purchased new in Sept 2001. The LT package was the top of the line back then and I paid $30k out the door for it. Man have prices gone up since then.
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I have a friend that sells used cars for a living in that price range. He never puts new tires on. Just say tires have 20% of their tread left and leave it at that. Don't think the ROI is there for replacing the tires.
 
Originally Posted by KJSmith
You purchased your 2002 new in 1991???



Major brain fog. 2001. Sorry
 
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Originally Posted by Leo99
I have a friend that sells used cars for a living in that price range. He never puts new tires on. Just say tires have 20% of their tread left and leave it at that. Don't think the ROI is there for replacing the tires.


x2

I just got an 08 silverado and put $60 (for all four) used tires on it. If the seller had put new tires on, he'd have priced himself out of my market.

That said if you have state inspections and need to spend a couple hundred to pass, that'll pay itself back. Or if you can get it inspected and some paperwork indicating it only needs tires to pass.
 
I think this is a gray area--most buyers don't want to mess with tires, just buy and drive. You and I though we'd rather pick out the exact tire we want--but we're not part of the general population.
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If you aren't desperate I'd try to flip as-is. If no one is interested or they consistently walk away "because it just needs tires" then maybe toss a cheapo set on there. Or when you've had enough just let the last potential buyer knock you down $500 and be done with it.
 
Ditto what others say, price it at the high end of the range, if someone notices, knock off $500 for tires, or better yet, let them open up with an offer. Let the buyer decide. If you price it right, it will sell. New tires won't make that happen. Priced right will make that happen.
 
I would rather the seller not put tires on it and charge extra to make up for the tires. I might want different tires than they put on it. I might want mud terrain and you put street tires on it. Or I might not like Goodyear and that is what you bought. Leave it alone and sell with the tires on it.
 
I agree with others, don't replace the tires, just price accordingly.

$30k in 2001 is $43,500 now.
 
I wouldn't want to pay more for someone else's choice of tires.

You really ought to research similar private-sale vehicles in your area because KBB valuation is typically at least 25% higher than reality for older models (actual sale price not asking price), and possibly far more once a vehicle gets nearer 20 years old. Then again, condition is everything on a pickup but 200K mi is still going to deter some buyers.
 
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At 200k mi and almost 20 yrs, condition is not going to materially impact selling prices. AS others have stated, list as is and use it as a negotiation. If you put new tires, someone will point out something else.

Those KBB prices are inflated to help used car dealers. NADA lists yours at $5500 "clean retail". Typically you'll Get something between trade-in and retail. Id take the first offer at $4k. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
 
A new set of rubber and an alignment can make a world of difference on a test drive.
Heck, you might even keep it!
But for the buyer of your truck, perhaps a better price makes more sense...

Good luck!
 
That's a lot for a 2002 with that many miles-if it was perfect, $5K might be doable. I think I would throw on a good set of used tires, if I could find one, or even a new set of cheap A/Ts (Kumho, Primewell, Nexen, etc.).
 
Trucks are silly expensive, particularly extended cab ones. While "most" new trucks have room for a family, 20-year-old ones have more standard cabs. This will raise the price of "entry level" extra-cab trucks due to the shortage. Plus OP has 4x4 which of course everyone "needs".

And trucks are way more beat for the money for a given year/ price range than some boring sedan.

OPs truck will sell quickly on the rubber it sits on. A better-than-average vehicle at an average price will probably go to the first buyer, who's tired of lies and junk. Move the needle upwards from that average price, though, and people will avoid it because everyone needs to "win" a "deal". Anyone can judge tire depth-- people should be worrying about frame rust, engine/ trans issues, and cold AC -- eg, major repairs, in this point in the truck's life. The person to whine about tires should just hang up their man card and go to carmax.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to just sell as-is. No sense in putting more into it. It has been a rock-solid vehicle for sure. They don't make them like this anymore. Heck, the front breaks are still the original ones. I do have a set of pads for it that I got a long time ago thinking I would need to change them out but it looks like I don't. There is still the thickness of four quarters stacked.

I'll start a little high. I can always come down for sure. No hurry to sell either.
 
Originally Posted by WagonWheel
At 200k mi and almost 20 yrs, condition is not going to materially impact selling prices.


You are 100% wrong. Yes, obviously it will sell "as-is" but condition is everything on a vehicle that old. It literally makes the difference between a scrap yard steel weight value, and something people will pay more than $2K for. Make that $4K since it's a full sized pickup.

Condition matters far more than age. Mileage, if it were a unibody car that would detract a lot more but a well maintained pickup (from that era not new today) can easily have 100K+ mi left in it, but nobody will want to pay much for it if it's in crap condition.

I'm not even sure what universe you live in to not recognize this, because you too, will in fact judge a vehicle based on condition. There are lots of good buys at 20 years old if they don't have rust, engine, or tranny problems. On the other hand if the condition is such that you have to sink more money into repairing it than it books for, it's a lost cause unless this is just a hobby.

The bottom line is what the total cost will be to get it 100%, or at least to a tolerable level. That's real money, and/or real time spent. There's no arguing that.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by WagonWheel
At 200k mi and almost 20 yrs, condition is not going to materially impact selling prices.


You are 100% wrong. Yes, obviously it will sell "as-is" but condition is everything on a vehicle that old. It literally makes the difference between a scrap yard steel weight value, and something people will pay more than $2K for. Make that $4K since it's a full sized pickup.

Condition matters far more than age. Mileage, if it were a unibody car that would detract a lot more but a well maintained pickup (from that era not new today) can easily have 100K+ mi left in it, but nobody will want to pay much for it if it's in crap condition.

I'm not even sure what universe you live in to not recognize this, because you too, will in fact judge a vehicle based on condition. There are lots of good buys at 20 years old if they don't have rust, engine, or tranny problems. On the other hand if the condition is such that you have to sink more money into repairing it than it books for, it's a lost cause unless this is just a hobby.

The bottom line is what the total cost will be to get it 100%, or at least to a tolerable level. That's real money, and/or real time spent. There's no arguing that.


I actually agree with Dave9 on this one. All else being equal, I'll pay more for the one that looks nicer vs the one that looks like it went through a war zone.
 
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