So I've recently been buying tires to sell them and make a profit, but I ran across a set of super swampers, and the guy says "they have been grooved", what does that mean?

Also, how much would you pay for a set of four 39.5X13.5X16.5 Super Swamper Iroks with 30-40% (grooved) tread? They come with four aluminum wheels (nothing to brag about, definitely not a cool looking wheel but it works I guess), not mounted, and also he says he would through in another Steel wheel (again, nothing special, this one is kinda ugly imo) 39.5x13.5x16.5 super swamper irok with around 90% tread. Has a side wall cut about 4" long.

He does not show the damage tire in the pictures, but here are pictures of the wheels and the other tires:

http://gyazo.com/ba367caf7ed7b17de75462076a515f73
http://gyazo.com/baaa5a52eb3092357b76649b39df820e

 

What bolt pattern do the wheels fit? That's a big factor for how much they're worth.

I have no idea what grooved means, unless he mean siping. I'd be interested to know too I guess.

 

They are an 8-lug wheel, the only thing he says about the wheels is:

"16.5x9.75 8- lug aluminum wheels and 1 - steel wheel same size/pattern"

He wants 50 bucks for the wheels, if he wont take about 400 - 450 for the tires, I'm thinking I'll just buy the tires, and get a toyota 5 or 6 lug wheel set at a scrap yard.

 

As far as "grooved" goes, could you mean siped? That's just the practice of cutting lines/grooves into the existing tread for more bite. I could be completely wrong, but it won't let me follow the link on this computer.

 

I think $50 for the wheels is really reasonable, assuming they aren't completely bent. But I think 30-40% tread on those tires is a bit on the optimistic side. I don't think they have enough tread to slap on a mud truck, which is what I imagine someone would use them for, because they're so low on tread.

 

So if you where in the market and seen these tires, what would you try to buy them for / what is a reasonable offer?

 

I don't know. How much are they new, like $400-500 or so cause they're for small rims?

I don't know what your market looks like, but I think it's pretty hard to turn a profit on used tires. Have you had good success buying and selling them?

 

"Grooved" sounds like they have been re-tread or cut into the existing low tread in an attempt to make the tread deeper to prolong the tire life. Personally, I'd stay away from them.

 

Johnboy is right. They're been cut deeper. Possibly to prolong their life but usually for more traction, especially in mud. It used to be a common practice here in Florida. But I think it's been outlawed, at least for street use.

Unless you have a ready sale for them and you KNOW that they'd be used strictly off-road, I'd avoid them. For one thing, you're opening yourself up to a large ****can of liability if someone used them on the street and got into an accident. Even if the tires didn't blow out or have other issues, they have a lot less dry traction than unmodified tires and if you're reselling them at a profit that makes you a dealer and you would have MORE than ordinary liability if something were to happen that involved them.

My 2 cents worth!

 

Yep, they guy just replied to me, he took a chainsaw to it to get more tread, so in reality they had about 10% tread. So with this extra money, I guess I'm going to get a 3" lift kit lol, thanks for your help everyone.

 

A chainsaw?! I really hope that was sarcasm . . .

 

Thats what he did lol he showed me pics of the groves the chainsaw made to get more tread, so defiantly not going buy them lol

 

I don't understand how a chainsaw could possibly be precise enough to do something like that, but yeah, definitely stay away from those! F that