That’s the life of a brand new set of tires: 40,000 miles. Average car ownership is around 60,000 miles, so odds are very good your keys will be in someone else’s pocket or purse 40k from now. Knowing this…does it make sense to spend $400 – $1000 on new tires? That’s like fueling your car for the next 40,000 miles, driving it for 10,000 miles, then gifting 30,000 miles of fuel to the next owner. Consider replacing your tires with…used tires. It’s not what you think. Read on.
Used tires are not USED UP.
When you hear “used tires” do you think of bald tires? There’s plenty of those, and they can’t be resold. The tires used tire shops sell have a variety of sources:
- Tires from customized cars. Owner buys new wheels. Old tires won’t fit new wheels. He sells his old tires, which are sometimes 80-99% tread.
- Tires from wrecked cars. The tires on a totalled car often have only 1000 – 10,000 miles on them.
- Prematurely replaced tires. Some owners replace their tires with 50% life remaining. The tires get sold into the used tire market.
Used tires are not dangerous or mismatched.
Used tire stores don’t want to sell you dangerous tires. You’ll sue them. You’ll tell your friends. You’ll tell the BBB. They check the tires, make sure they’re balanced, have no failing repairs, and will work all the way to their speed ratings. It’s good for business not to cause your customers pain. Also, more often than not, a used set of tires is sold as a full set of 4. And on that subject, yet another tire myth should be addressed: not all 4 tires must be of the same make and model. They must merely be of IDENTICAL SIZE and SIMILAR TREAD PATTERN. You could drive a car with 4 tires of different make/model and not detect a difference.
Per mile, used tires cost 25% as much as new tires.
An average set of new SUV tires will cost $650 and have a life of 40,000 miles. With a life of 20,000 miles, they’d likely sell for around $195. Per mile new: $.016. Per mile used: $.009.
Unless you’re selling your car to a family member, or you’re certain you’ll drive a new set of tires until bald, BUY USED.
There’s entire used sub-industry the public is mostly unaware of. They don’t have they huge advertising budgets of Good Year, Firestone, and Les Schwab. But they’re quietly saving money for their customers and saving good tires from landfills, and you should give the idea some consideration. If you’re in the Beaverton area, we opened Beaverton Tire & Brake 2 months ago and you can expect the same experience you received at Ace: value, professionalism, and attention to detail.