Tire Trade-in: Do Tire Stores Give Credit for Slightly Used Tires?

Tires are a necessity for all cars and trucks, but sometimes you want to change the size or brand after you get new tires. However, you don’t want to waste the tiers you purchased, you spent a lot of money on them. So, do tire stores give you store credit if you trade in slightly used tires?

Do Tire Stores Give Credit for Slightly Used Tires?

Some tire stores give people store credit when they trade in slightly used tires. However, they are few and far between. To find out if a tire store will accept used tires, call a local tire store and ask. They may ask to inspect the tires before they agree to give people store credit.

More information about which tire stores will give you store credit when you trade-in your old tires and what they do afterward is below.

Which Tire Stores Give Credit for Slightly Used Tires?

Discount Tire is one of the only tire dealers that publicly state that they will accept used tires if you want to trade them in.

They have a specific program to help you do so. However, some Discount Tire stores may not accept trade-ins. It varies depending on the specific store, the tread depth of the tire, and the condition of the tread.

If your local Discount Tire store does accept trade-ins, you may not get as much store credit as you expect, even if they haven’t been used for very long. They may not even accept your trade-in because most tire stores are extremely picky about which tires they accept.

If they see any flaws or damage on the tires you are trying to trade in, they likely won’t accept them because they can’t be used again by a different customer.

Sometimes, tire stores won’t allow you to trade in slightly used tires unless you purchased them at that store or at another location of the same franchise. This is to make sure they can ensure the quality of the tires and know all of the specs without having to contact another tire store.

If you are wondering if your local tire shop accepts trade-ins, call them and talk to an associate. It never hurts to ask, but don’t be disappointed when they say they don’t accept them.

Why Do Tire Stores Give Credit Rather than Cash for Used Tires?

Tire stores give you store credit rather than cash when you trade in used tires because they want you to come to their store again. 

They also need to make sure that they can contact you again in case the tires end up being faulty, so they get your information when you trade in the tires.

Tire stores also give you store credit because the tires that you traded in were not new, so they have less value. They have value to the store, but that value is not necessarily monetary because it is hard to find people that are willing to buy used tires, even if they are in good condition.

Most of the time, tire stores don’t issue refunds or give people cash, so they often don’t have any cash on hand. If they paid people in cash for the tires that they trade in, they may not have enough. 

This will make people frustrated and mad at the tire store, which doesn’t help their reputation or online rating. It is much easier to give someone credit, and it helps the business in the future.

How Much Credit Will I Receive When I Trade in Used Tires?

When you trade in your slightly used tires, you will receive $10-$60. However, the amount of store credit you are issued when you trade in used tires varies depending on the quality of the tires, brand of tires, the amount of tread left, demand for used tires, and the rates of the tire store. 

Unfortunately, tire stores that accept tire trade-ins don’t list what their credit rates are, even Discount Tires. Most employees can’t or won’t give you a credit estimate without looking at the tires in person.

What Do Tire Stores do With Used Tires?

Tire stores sell or send used tires to be recycled. When they send the used tires to be recycled, they can sometimes get a tax write-off, which helps them make money, even though they weren’t able to sell said tires and technically lost money.

Tire stores can sell used tires if they are not damaged or used very much. However, they can’t sell them for full price, especially if the tires are obviously not new.

If they tried to do so, people would get very mad at them and stop going to the shop. This could make them go out of business, so they sell used tires for a lower price determined by the brand, quality, and size of the tires.

Tire stores that sell used tiers sell them for a massive discount. They have been known to sometimes sell tires worth $100 for $50, which is a massive discount, especially when you have to purchase 4 tires for your car.

However, you will likely only want to purchase all of your car’s tires either new or used instead of getting a few that are used and a few that are new because they will wear down at different times.

Also, keep the following things in mind before you decide to purchase slightly used tires:

• It is hard to inspect used tires
• Stores don’t offer a warranty for used tires
• You won’t be notified if the tires are recalled because of safety issues

Overall, if you have slightly used tires on your car that you want to trade in for store credit at a tire store, you may not be able to. 

However, if you are able to, you can reap the rewards and pay less when you replace your tires at said store.

Unfortunately, most tire stores don’t allow you to trade in used tires, even if they are hardly used and are still of good quality.

They may even charge you because they may have to send them to be recycled, which costs money to ship. Call your local tire store before you take your slightly used tires to trade in.