# What do I do with used tires that are in good condition? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799 "2009-03-17T20:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/1 "2009-03-17T20:55:25Z")
It’s a long story, but I have come into possesion (legally) of 4 used low profile/performance tires. I have no use for the things, they won’t fit my car and I really wouldn’t need such nice tires anyway. It seems a waste to junk them, as they still have nearly all of their tread depth. Is there some kind of used tire outlet that buys them, like used books or CDs? Would a dealer or tire shop be interested or would they think I was crazy for asking? Could I donate them and take a tax deduction? Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/2 "2009-03-17T20:59:14Z")
Put them on Craig’s List. I would put the price at 1/3 of the retail value. You’ll find someone to take them within a few days. All the usual cautions about Craig’s List apply ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/3 "2009-03-17T21:20:01Z")
I don’t know about where you live but around here there is a used tire shop on just about every corner. You could probably get a better price selling to an individual on Craigslist, but a tire shop might be less hassle. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/4 "2009-03-18T02:04:57Z")
I know several people who buy and sell car parts, especially tires, on Craigslist. I would definitely try selling them there. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/5 "2009-03-18T04:05:27Z")
Any junkyard will be glad to buy them, I don’t know if they’ll pay much though. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/6 "2009-03-18T20:43:51Z")
I put mine out with a free sign. I thought I would have to pay the garage to take and dispose of them (I didn’t think they’d trust them to be resellable) and wanted them taken away anonymously with an implication of as is, where is. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/7 "2009-03-18T22:41:09Z")
I’ve bought used tires from newspaper ads before. Sometimes people have perfectly decent tires at a bargain price due to extenuating circumstances. Folks like me will gladly pay 1/3 of the cost of new tires if the tread looks fine. Of course include the size (e.g. P225/75R15) in the ad. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/8 "2009-03-19T10:51:22Z")
People with no money are always looking for cheap replacements. Craigslist or e-bay or a sign on your tree out front will get 'em sold. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/9 "2009-03-19T20:19:37Z")
I put them on Craigslist (with size, brand, and other specifics) soon after I posted this. So far, 4 people have emailed to ask if the tires will fit on their car. Wishing to avoid a small claims appearance if someone were to somehow damage their car with wrong-size tires, I have politely told them to check with the dealership. Then there was the guy with the 1998 BMW 3-series (so he said) who insisted that I was obligated to find out for him. I thoughtfully opined that I had no way of knowing what wheel option his car was originally sold with, much less if it now had differently sized aftermarket wheels. He threatened to report me to the FBI (maybe he meant the FTC) for ‘internet fraud’. I humbly suggested that he could go out to his car and read the size off the side of the tires himself. Haven’t heard back from him. ---
**Author:** ![Category5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Category5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Category5)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/10 "2009-03-20T03:23:02Z")
BMW drivers read craigslist? ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/11 "2009-03-20T14:43:04Z")
It’s only one data point, but yes, delusional ones who never learned about punctuation. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/12 "2009-03-20T15:46:53Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > I put them on Craigslist (with size, brand, and other specifics) soon after I posted this. So far, 4 people have emailed to ask if the tires will fit on their car. Wishing to avoid a small claims appearance if someone were to somehow damage their car with wrong-size tires, I have politely told them to check with the dealership. > > Then there was the guy with the 1998 BMW 3-series (so he said) who insisted that I was obligated to find out for him. I thoughtfully opined that I had no way of knowing what wheel option his car was originally sold with, much less if it now had differently sized aftermarket wheels. He threatened to report me to the FBI (maybe he meant the FTC) for ‘internet fraud’. I humbly suggested that he could go out to his car and read the size off the side of the tires himself. Haven’t heard back from him. And that’s why I put mine on the side of the road. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/13 "2009-03-20T16:39:46Z")
“Life is just a tire swing”. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-used-tires-that-are-in-good-condition/489799/14 "2009-03-21T04:35:45Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Then there was the guy with the 1998 BMW 3-series (so he said) who insisted that I was obligated to find out for him. I thoughtfully opined that I had no way of knowing what wheel option his car was originally sold with, much less if it now had differently sized aftermarket wheels. He threatened to report me to the FBI (maybe he meant the FTC) for ‘internet fraud’. I humbly suggested that he could go out to his car and read the size off the side of the tires himself. Haven’t heard back from him. Which once again points out the difference between porcupines and BMWs. Porcupines have the pricks on the outside.