Hi all,

I'm selling my 2015 Honda Fit EX (manual transmission) as my family size can no longer comfortably fit in the Fit :-( I'm wondering, while I'm doing a vehicle trade-in for the Fit itself, what do I do with the snow tires? What do snow tires usually go for (Minnesota here)? Does age matter, or just tread? My Fit has low miles for being 9 - 54,500 - and I've owned the snow tires since the first winter. Math it out, and it's approximately 22,700 miles on snow tires. Tread is still good and they're on steel rims.

 

If you've had the tires since 2015 they probably shouldn't be used anymore regardless of miles or tread depth.

Different manufacturers have different guidelines but to my knowledge all recommend a useful/safe lifespan of <10 years. You will also run into the issue that most tire shops don't want to touch tires that old (e.g., mount/unmount, repair) due to liability concerns.

That's not to say that plenty of people don't run tires that old or try to sell old (used) tires to unsuspecting consumers. In my area, it's pretty common to see decent looking tires offered for free or a very low price. Generally the seller is very good at avoiding the date code in the pictures they post. Once you get them to tell you the date code to confirm that the tires are 10+ years old you realize that the seller doesn't want to use them but also doesn't want to pay the tire disposal fee we have here, which is $10/tire in my town.

If your rims are in decent shape they are worth something, although fewer and fewer vehicles on the road have the same 4x100 lug spacing or use small (14- to 16-inch) wheels. If they're not rusty you might get $20-$40/rim. If you leave the tires on the rims I would be clear about their age and any potential buyer can decide for themselves whether they want to chance it.

 

Take a look at the tires and see if there's any age related cracking noticeable in them. If not and if there's good tread on them somebody will buy them. Problem is this is January and anyone wanting winter tires has probably got them by now.

 

I bought a set of Fit Black Sport wheels from Facebook Market Place that had a set of Pirelli Blizzack Snow Tires.

I sold the tires on Facebook Market Place for 200 dollars.

 

We've had so little snow around the Twin Cities this winter that it's more than possible a Fit driver using useless "all-season" tires just found out their current tires weren't getting it done and want better tires. But age will be critical. A lot of tire places won't install tires older than 6-8 years. I just picked up a set of Blizzak WS90s on Mini wheels, with two winters on them, for $150. I think that was a fair deal or better. If the wheels are in good shape, consider selling them with "rim protectors" (the old tires) on them.

 

Thanks all for the feedback, I really appreciate it. Sounds like being upfront about the age of the tires and basically just trying to sell the wheels is the way to go. Although I've never posted on this site before, I've referenced it a BUNCH over the past 9 years when I have questions about the Fit, I really appreciate everyone's knowledge and candor!