How to Flip Tires and Wheels

Caleb Foster

Apr 21

2 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

Tires are a great flip because there are always buyers. Every car needs four. And a lot of tire and wheel listings are terrible, which means they sit and get cheap.

One of my favorite flips was a set of wheels with basically new tires. The listing was awful: one bad photo, no details, priced high. Nobody messaged. I offered $500, they countered at $800, I waited, checked back after it kept sitting, and got them for $550. That’s the “dig” method from Three Ways to Find Deals.

What sells best

Sets of four with matching brand and size
Wheel and tire packages (already mounted)
Common sizes for popular cars, trucks, and SUVs
Winter tires right before snow season
Truck and off-road wheels with good tires

Singles and pairs sell too, just slower and for less.

How to check tires

Tread depth. Use a tread depth gauge (they’re a few bucks). Or stick a penny in the tread upside down. If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, the tread is worn out.

Tire age. This is the one people miss. Dishonest sellers will put 10+ year old tires with fine tread on cars. Find the DOT code on the sidewall. The last four digits are the week and year it was made (“2321” = 23rd week of 2021). Old tires hurt the price a lot, even with good tread.

Damage. Look for sidewall cracks, bulges, plugs or patches near the sidewall, and uneven wear (which can mean alignment issues buyers will ask about).

How to check wheels

Size and bolt pattern. Know these so you can tell buyers what cars they fit. It’s usually stamped on the back of the wheel.
Bends and cracks. Look at the inside and outside of the lip.
Curb rash. Cosmetic, but it affects price.
TPMS sensors. Note whether they’re included. Buyers ask.
Lug nuts and center caps. Included or not.

Cleaning and listing

Clean the wheels with a wheel cleaner and dress the tires so they look sharp. Take photos of the full set, each tire’s tread, the DOT date, and the size on the sidewall.

In the title and description, put the exact size, the brand, tread depth, tire age, bolt pattern, and what cars they fit. Tire buyers search by size, so being specific gets you found. See How to Take Photos and Write Listings That Sell.

Finding deals

Set alerts for “tires” and “wheels.” Look for people selling cars who are also listing the “extra set,” people who just upgraded, and badly listed sets that have been sitting. See How to Set Up Deal Alerts.

Timing

Winter tires sell in fall. All-season and performance tires sell year-round, with a bump in spring. See Seasonal Flipping.

If you get good at tires, cars are the natural next step. See How to Flip Used Cars.