Buying used wheels and tires can save you alot of money, if done properly. My experience has shown that used tires and/or wheels are an area where the adage "Let the buyer beware" is the rule of the day. Probably more than 50% of listings for used tires and/or wheels are breeding ground for fraudulent practices, ones that can effect your safety as well as your pocketbook. Used wheels (type): Make sure, through independent research, that the wheels being offered are the right ones for your car. Numerous sellers state fitment applications which are totally wrong. Rim width, offset, and bolt pattern are the most prevalent areas of problems. The wrong bolt pattern will just make the wheel impossible to mount on the car--- end of story. Also you should note that hub sizes (centerbore) can vary within the same manufacturer (e.g. BMW) , which would mean that some of their wheels will only fit on certain models. Offset and width encompass crucial safety, as well as fitment, issues. Don't rely on the fact that the seller states that the wheels came off "such-and-such" make/yr/model. They may have been erroneously or improperly installed on that vehicle in the first place! If the wheels are claimed to be OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), make sure they are. Ask for and demand the identifying manufacturer part number which is bound to be engraved on the back of the wheel or on the front of the wheel. OEM wheels are more valuable, and usually a safer bet than some unknown "replica", "styled", or "copy" wheel, regardless of the claims to the contrary. Many sellers believe they have OEM wheels when they actually don't! (so the seller may be making an honest mistake).Many state that the wheels "came off of such-and-such make/yr/model, but fail to disclose that they bought that vehicle used, and the previous owner may have mounted "replica" wheels on the vehicle! Used wheels (condition): Many (if not most) used wheels sold on eBay have various blemishes, scratches, and defects. Many sellers do not accurately disclose or describe these, for obvious reasons. It is vitally important that you know if the wheels have any bends or cracks in them. Any bend would make the wheel difficult, if not impossible, to balance, and would therefore affect the ride quality (and possibily some safety aspects) of your vehicle. Any crack would affect the structural integrity of the wheel, and would also be a source of slow air leakage, resulting in a flat tire every couple of days or weeks! Generally speaking, the larger the rim size of the wheel rim (especially 17" and over), the morely likely it is to have sustained "bent rim" damage. However, keep in mind that even 15" and 16" rims can have this type of damage. Due to the relatively high cost of shipping wheels, and the shipping cost involved in returning wheels to a non-disclosing seller, you should try to determine if this type of damage exists before you purchase. You have to know your seller, or rely on previous feedback comments by other buyers of similar merchandise from this seller. Other types of damage, such as scratches, scrapes, curb rash, oxidation, and peeling of clear, are mostly cosmetic in nature. These types of damages or blemishes, if severe enough, would cause most buyers to feel the need to have the wheel(s) refinished by a reputable restorer, such as Wheels America. This could cost around $125 per wheel, plus the costs of round-trip shipping if a local location was not available for drop-off. The last condition I will mention is rust. Rust around the rim edge is a safety issue, as it could affect the bead seating, and cause a slow leak resulting in a flat tire at any time. If the wheel rim is of the 2-piece or 3-piece variety, the securing bolts tend to rust over a period of usage, especially in northern climates which are subject to snow/slush, and salting of roadways. This type of damage could necessitate the separation of the wheel, and the replacement, or individual restoring, of all of the securing bolts.Used tires (condition): The condition of used tires sold on eBay and elsewhere is most often misrepresented, whether it be out of ignorance or intentionally! One of the most important factors in determining the residual value of a used tire is the remaining tread depth. To accurately determine the remaining tread depth, one normally needs an inexpensive tread depth gauge (around $4 at auto parts stores) and a calculator (unless you're good with math). Now, keep in mind that there is a difference between the remaining tread depth, and the useable remaining tread depth. The important one is the useable remaining tread depth. What does this all mean? Here's how it works: Most tires start out with either 10/32" of tread or 11/32" of tread. You can easily find out which if the tire is a current model. Simply locate that tire at a major tire website, such as Tire Rack,, and click on the "specs" section, which will tell you the beginning tread depth (when new). Let's assume that for a particular tire the starting tread depth is 10/32". Let's assume that the tire in question now has a tread depth of 6/32" . Simple arithmetic might tell you that it is an easy compute to figure that there is 60% remaining tread, and 40% tread has used up. Well, you would be both right and wrong!! Those figures would be right for determining the remaining tread depth, but NOT the remaining useable tread depth. Why is this? Well, all the manufacturers have agreed that when a tire reaches  2/32" tread depth, it is no longer safe and no longer legally useable in most States. To this end, the manufacturers have built in, on every tire, "tread depth wear indicators" , which will easily tell you (visually) when the tire has actually reached  2/32" tread depth, without the use of a tread depth gauge. This is great! But now we have to factor in the fact that every tire becomes unuseable at 2/32" tread depth. Therefore, the tire that started out new at 10/32", only has available 8/32" of useable tread depth (10/32" - 2/32" = 8/32"). So, when a tire has reached the 6/32" remaining tread depth level, it has used up 50% of its useable tread, not 40%!! This would leave the remaining useable tread  at 50% , not 60%. So, the lesson is that you need to calculate your useable tread depth (and percentage) considering the fact that the last 2/32" of tread is unuseable! A seller that says he has 6/32" remaining tread (assuming that fact is true) and claims that represents 60% remaining tread, may technically be correct, but practically (and in reality) there is only 50% remaining USEABLE tread depth!! Following is a simple summary of remaining tread depth versus remaining useable tread depth for any tire which started life with 10/32" tread.

Remaining tread      % remaining tread      % remaining useable tread

10/32"                            100%                        100%

9/32"                                90%                          88%

8/32"                                80%                          75%

7/32"                                70%                          63%

6/32"                                60%                          50%

5/32"                                50%                           37%

4/32"                                40%                           25%

3/32"                                30%                           12%

2/32"                                20%                            0 (bald)