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If you’ve been following my site for a while, then you’ll remember the day that I bought my 1997 GMC Pickup! This truck has been absolutely awesome. I’ve owned it for almost a year now and the only thing that needed replacing was the break line, which ran me $175. If I only had $175 in repairs each year on every vehicle I owned, I would be ecstatic!
The only drawback to this truck has been the tire wear. When I bought it last October, the tires were already quite worn, and I figured that I would have to put some new ones on before the snowy winter. Lucky for me though, it didn’t hardly snow and I never had to replace those tires! Well, now that I’ve put another 12,000 miles on them and we’re coming up on winter again, I figured that I’d better just suck it up and buy some new tread.
My Hunt For a Deal on New Tires
If you’re anything like me, you like to find a deal. Or, more pointedly, you just don’t want to feel like you got screwed on your recent purchase. So naturally, I turned to the Internet to find out how much these tires were going to run me. After visiting a few different websites for “discounted tires”, I realized that after the recycling of my old tires, and the installation and balancing of the new ones, I wasn’t going to be able to buy new tires for any less than $700.
How to Find Cheap Tires
Sure, brand new tires would most likely last me a few years, but a one-time cost of $700 didn’t sounds too exciting, especially if I decide to sell my truck soon after the winter season (which is a definite possibility since I’m doing more driving lately). So, just like many of my other deals, I turned my search over to Craigslist. I knew the size tire that I needed just by looking at the ones that were currently on my truck, so these are the numbers that I punched in: 265/75/16.
Initially, I found a few tires that might work, but then I realized that I would still need to take these to a shop somewhere to get them put on, which was still adding up to quite a large expense. But, what if I found tires that were already on rims?! I could change them out myself and wouldn’t have to pay an additional fee!
I altered my Craigslist search a bit: 265/75/16 rims. Lo and behold, I found rims that were identical to mine with the exact tire size I was looking for (and the tires still had about 70% of their tread left). The cost: $250. When I checked them out, the guy told me there was a slight leak in one of them, but it could easily be fixed for $15. With this extra cost, I offered him $200. He took the deal, and I had my wheels.
The Deal as a Whole
I know what you’re thinking, “Whoa whoa whoa, I thought you said you got your tires for $115? Well, remember the tires that were already on my truck? I’m putting these up for sale on Craigslist and expect to get at least $100 for them (remember, I can sell the rim and tires since I got a complete set of rims and tires myself). With my $200 purchase, the $15 fix, and the $100 sale of my current wheels, all in all, I only spent $115! 🙂 And, now I’m all set for at least 2 more years.
Sure, I could have just gone straight to the tire shop and got tires for $700, but my extra efforts saved me $575! I’d say that is completely worth it!
Have you ever found a deal like this? Do you think you’ll be hunting Craigslist in the near future?
AUTHOR Derek Sall
Derek has a Bachelor's degree in Finance and a Master's in Business. As a finance manager in the corporate world, he regularly identified and solved problems at the C-suite level. Today, Derek isn't interested in helping big companies. Instead, he's helping individuals win financially--one email, one article, one person at a time.
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My name is Derek and I am a no-debt kind of guy! Stick around and you’ll learn how to pay off your debt, buy houses for cash, and load up your retirement!
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23 Comments
That is a heck of a deal you got Derek! I just picked up a baby carrier backpack through Craigslist this weekend for only $20, brand new they run $80-$100! My baby already loves sitting/ riding in it and is now ready to head out on new adventures with Dad.
That’s awesome! Sounds like you scored an awesome deal too! 🙂
I’m not a big fan of used tires, but I hope it works out well for you. Craigslist is awesome though!
Yeah, I was a little leary about the used tires, but based on how cheaply I was coming out of this deal, I figured that I couldn’t lose! 🙂
It does sound like you got a really good deal. You have to love the internet and wealth of information that is available.
I sure do. It’s so much easier to find oddball things that I need these days!
Wow that’s a great deal!
It sure was! And, I actually posted my rims and tires on Craigslist for $150 and have gotten a few emails. Maybe I’ll sell it for $50 more than I thought, which means my new tires will only cost me $65! 🙂
That is pretty cool. I never would have thought of buying new rims but then again I never have bought a car with rims. I just get the standard steel tires with hubcaps.
Under normal circumstances if you are going to keep the car I wouldn’t buy used tires due to safety corncerns but if you are comfortable with that and plan on selling soon it definitely will save you money!
Yep. It definitely didn’t come to me right away, but it just made sense to look for tires on rims to save a $100 installation fee. 🙂
Derek,
Once again you show how creative thinking can save you big time.
I used Craigslist last week to buy flannel sheets for my son. I’d looked at prices at various stores on line, knew I’d have to pay at least $25 for low quality sheets. Once I knew that, I was thrilled to pay $10 for a nice set of gently used sheets a few miles away!
Thanks for another great idea!
Sounds like you’ve got some creative thinking yourself! 🙂
That’s a great savings! I don’t think I know enought about cars to know when something is in good shape or not. I’d probably get taken, but that’s awesome you knew what to look for.
I bet you have a friend that could help you! There’s always somebody that you could take along to give you a little extra knowledge.
Now that is thinking outside the box! Congrats on the deal.
Thanks krantcents! I enjoy getting myself out of the box once in a while. 🙂
Nice deal! We have to get new tires before winter too so hopefully I’ll get as great of a deal! My dad’s a handyman with cars so he & hubs will be putting them on for free. Maybe I’ll pay them in brownies.
I bet it’s pretty nice to have a handy dad! My dad-in-law is the handyman, and he has taught me a ton, and has saved me a lot of money in the process too!
Great deal!
It’s especially smart of you to sell the old tires. I think people forget to get rid of things they don’t need quickly. If you keep things around, that’s the start of clutter. But if you sell them, it’s a great bit of pocket money!
Very true. With my tiny garage, I don’t need to have 4 big tires stacked in the corner. It’s definitely better to get some bucks for them! 🙂
That’s some deal! Never bought anything on craigslist, but after this story, might have to try a little harder!
Craigslist isn’t too tough, and there are some great deals that show up once in a while. It can definitely be worth it!
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