I'm looking to trade in my GTI in the next few weeks. Normally it would be the time of year to swap from stock wheels with snow tires to the aftermarket summer wheels. I guess to maximize my return, does it make a difference between stock wheels with the 'wrong' tires vs. the 'wrong' wheels with season appropriate tires? Or does simply come down to whoever is doing the evaluation that day and time?
I'd say keep the aftermarket wheels. Dealer won't care.
The last 3 cars I have traded in or sold to the dealer went on the OEM wheels with snow tires and I kept my nice aftermarket stuff to sell separately.
If anything they are more likely to care about the OEM wheels being installed than to care about the tires beyond them having a sellable amount of tread. Dealers generally dislike obvious aftermarket stuff with regard to trade in value.
In reply to pointofdeparture :
That's a good point. The next owner can't ever get the original wheels back, but tires are easy to change. Which is definitely worth something.
I guess I was thinking the dealer might want something that they could turn and burn with minimal effort more.
Puddy46 said:In reply to pointofdeparture :
I guess I was thinking the dealer might want something that they could turn and burn with minimal effort more.
That's why they sell Primewell and Ironman tires.
pointofdeparture said:If anything they are more likely to care about the OEM wheels being installed than to care about the tires beyond them having a sellable amount of tread. Dealers generally dislike obvious aftermarket stuff with regard to trade in value.
Very true, but only when dealing with the big, publicly traded dealerships. I worked at one and actually got a very cheap IS-F for this exact reason. Was traded in with aftermarket wheels. OEM wheels + tires was going to be a $4000+ proposition so they wholesaled it.
That being said, independent dealers will actually pay more for aftermarket mods in very specific circumstances (lifted trucks and Wranglers, primarily)
I usually give the same advice on this as a Realtor says when you're selling your house... Paint the walls beige or off-white.
When I used to work at a dealer, we had a love-hate relationship with things like spoilers, wheels, and other add-ons. We loved them because we never offered an extra penny on trade for them (and in fact we sometimes used it as a way to give LESS on a trade), but they also sometimes meant we had more trouble moving the car off the lot.
Anyone buying a car will fall into one of two categories: A person who wants an appliance (doesn't want the wheels anyway), and a person who is like us and buying their own aftermarket wheels is something they can figure out on their own, and they don't care that they'll be spending more money on it down the road to customize their purchase. If someone like me walks on to the lot and sees your trade with your aftermarket wheels, I see two things: 1) Hmmm... what else has been customized, and 2) I'm sure the previous owner loved those wheels, but I would have chosen [insert style] instead of [whatever you put on them]
Just like the walls in your house. If I walk into your house to consider buying it and see purple walls, it's a choice you made that I might not have. It's not a selling point, it's a hurdle.
Paint it beige. Stock wheels. Sell your good wheels and increase your cash on the deal.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Paint it beige. Good advise. The less that needs explained the better.
When I traded in my Golf R this past February I sent it off with aftermarket wheels and snow tires. They were on the car when the broker looked at it and they'd already sold the car to another dealer who didn't care. I did check with them to see if I needed to take the snow tires off and replace them with all seasons, broker didn't care. I kept my other set of aftermarket wheels with brand new Michelin PS4S tires on them to sell separately.
Are the tires the same size? Can you swap them between the rims?
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
They are the same size. Would like to avoid swapping tires though. Not sure the cost of swapping tires would translate over to a higher trade in price.
Just don't worry about it. I traded my Golf R with 3 of 1 tire and a different 4th because the 4th didn't hold air. They were all Continentals and no one cared. I kept the 2 other set of rims that came with the car and made another $1600 selling those off separate. Chances are, they aren't even going to say a word.
On the other end of this, I was looking at a fiesta ST at the combined Ford and Honda dealer today while my civic is there for an airbag replacement. It's priced at 14k, low for the comparables that I find.
Stock size is a 17 inch wheel, this car has some eBay 16 inch wheels with Ironman tires. No thanks.
You'll need to log in to post.
