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Anyone who purchases used tires for their vehicle is either poor or has little concern for their vehicle.
or has other things they want to spend the extra money on. if you know what you are doing it's perfectly safe, As safe as using tires that are already on your car.
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No one I know who values their vehicle purchases $5 tires. Mine are used through use but were purchased new with warranties and quality control standards and not subject at the time of purchase to UV degradation or concealed damage from being sourced at a junkyard.
They aren't sourced at a junkyard, they are OEM takeoffs. My BMW 740iL runs 19" Pirelli P Zero Rosso ultra high performance tires that are takeoffs of a newer BMW 750 Sport. They cost $25 each and had 7/32nds tread depth, which is plenty:
They were on there for 3 years and are now being replaced with used (9/32nds tread) Sumitomo HTRZ III ultra high performance tires that are also takeoffs. In both cases, they balanced perfectly and were flawless tires. I simply saved $600-800 on the set. Money that could be spent on other areas I wanted to spend it on. I mean, it's a $75k car that was bought for $7500 because IT was used. The used tires fit it perfectly.
So now you know someone who cares about their car who also uses used tires on it.
Working at an office complex, the only beaters parked in the lot are driven by younger people. Even the older people working at relatively unskilled jobs (i.e. Janitors) drive cars from the 2000s and later.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,700 posts, read 58,022,681 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar
Working at an office complex, the only beaters parked in the lot are driven by younger people. Even the ...relatively unskilled ..(i.e. Janitors) drive cars from the 2000s and later.
Gotta love So Cal !!! BTDT ...
No doubt CA has too many cars, and WAY too many folks who get into the 'image' thing. Those 'frilly' girly boy pickup trucks are real embarrassing when they show up in WY, or any area that utilizes WORK trucks.
Gotta go with the gun rack, farmer fuel tank in bed, and a scroungy dog riding on top. A couple yrs of 'caked-on-mud' helps too.
Any 16 yr old farm kid worth his salt still has one (or more) of those.
Detroit had a real issue when kids started using Toyota 4x4's instead of US iron.
Shows you how little you actually know. Chips? Um, people have not 'changed a chip' for 20 years. The ECM's are programmable now and it must be tuned by a laptop.. Hyperchip has not made 'chips' in 20 years! lol.. And guess what? People still install headers, cams, heads, throttle bodies(in place of carbs) intakes etc, just like the old days..
BUT I do think the automotive market is flat due to the economy. Plain and simple. The people who still are 'car people' has gotten smaller over the years but the core is still there non the less. And we spend $$ on our cars.. Seems most of the kids today are preoccupied with other stuff and maybe are not as interested in cars as much as years past though, I can see that. We were at Carlisle over the weekend at the spring swap/car auction/car sale and I can tel you that the hobby is alive and well.
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Originally Posted by StealthRabbit
As Young Lose Interest in Cars, G.M. Turns to MTV for Help
Wrong place to turn for help G.M. (as usual) ....
Many good points on this forum.
Of what value / necessity is a car these days??? Culture has shifted gears, GM might want to consider that!! (for free, no MTV consultants needed )
So many (better) choices for the capital expense and head-ache of a NEW GM car Who wants a new GM car? (nobody I know) Many Cars are more expensive than some houses!!! (and kids aren't as keen on living in their cars these days, as VW & Chev vans in the 60's) Gas costs / month is more than Food (and FOOD is important, even COFFEE is more important than cars to GM's target market) Kids no longer tinker in garage (Many kids don't even have or care to have a garage much less; GREASY FINGERS!, or a parent who can mentor them in the fine art of auto repair) Cars are no fun to work on anymore How exciting is it to pay $300 and replace a 'chip' (Compared to Crane Cams, Hooker Headers, Edelbrock Tunnel Ram, Holley Double Pumpers...) Cars make less of a "statement", especially NOISE (current performance cars sound more like a sick vacuum cleaner, than a heart pounding, throaty roar)
If you absolutely MUST have a car (which would be RARE)... there are MANY better (& other) choices than a NEW GM. I bought one NEW vehicle when I was age 17 and very stupid. It was a GM and it was Garbage.
I currently drive a 35 yr old car that gets 50 mpg on free fryer grease, and it cost me $Thirty Five Bucks !!, yip, the WHOLE car complete with tires and wheels (aluminum)... $35.00. insurance is CHEAP, as are parts (rarely needed), Tires ($5 at junk yard), and it suits my needs fine!! (as It would yours).
I 'kissed the ground' the day the buyer drove off in my 10 yr old GM vehicle with 35,000 very troublesome miles.
No doubt CA has too many cars, and WAY too many folks who get into the 'image' thing. Those 'frilly' girly boy pickup trucks are real embarrassing when they show up in WY, or any area that utilizes WORK trucks.
Gotta go with the gun rack, farmer fuel tank in bed, and a scroungy dog riding on top. A couple yrs of 'caked-on-mud' helps too.
Any 16 yr old farm kid worth his salt still has one (or more) of those.
Detroit had a real issue when kids started using Toyota 4x4's instead of US iron.
Hopefully it'll change with the latest generation.. at least when it comes to cars. Still, it's cheaper to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to the latest gadgets and fashions than cars if that's what they choose.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,700 posts, read 58,022,681 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frankgn87
Shows you how little you actually know. Chips? Um, people have not 'changed a chip' for 20 years. ....
My newest car is a 97 and must be 'physically chipped' with an aftermarket IC in ECU. (My KW and Mack have to be 'physically' chipped too, tho some settings can be computer adjusted). My IC's cannot be re-flashed.
and yes, I use my Vagcom and laptop daily to tune mine and others.
Certainly not what I would call 'creative or skill intensive' as back in the days when we were hand porting and making performance modifications between heats.
There are still a few good motorheads as witnessed by enrollments and placement at Wyotech and the like. But generally the 'new-era' fleet mechanic is swapping out sub-assembly components, IF they can't heal it via their office and a satellite feed (As per some of my tractors while 'broke-down' in the field.) I'm pretty ole school, I prefer a wrench and NO plastic. (or electronics), tho I appreciate the benefits of technology in power and economy.
My newest car is a 97 and must be 'physically chipped' with an aftermarket IC in ECU. (My KW and Mack have to be 'physically' chipped too, tho some settings can be computer adjusted). My IC's cannot be re-flashed.
and yes, I use my Vagcom and laptop daily to tune mine and others.
Certainly not what I would call 'creative or skill intensive' as back in the days when we were hand porting and making performance modifications between heats.
There are still a few good motorheads as witnessed by enrollments and placement at Wyotech and the like. But generally the 'new-era' fleet mechanic is swapping out sub-assembly components, IF they can't heal it via their office and a satellite feed (As per some of my tractors while 'broke-down' in the field.) I'm pretty ole school, I prefer a wrench and NO plastic. (or electronics), tho I appreciate the benefits of technology in power and economy.
Nice post.. Im old school too but LOVE new cars and their excellent performance.. My last 'chipped' car was my 87 Grand National.
Lot's of suggestions about cost of owning which is true.
But more than that at least in cities, I wonder if part of it is the trend of people shacking up and being attracted to the city. The relatively higher rents + the less of a need to drive.
Like in my city where I'm about to move, walking to work is the same time as driving to work accounting for rush hour traffic. Why have a car if I'll walk to work daily or use metro?
The other thing is ridesharing and stuff like zipcar has become more affordable for the once in a while drive.
I'm not even hating on driving, it's simply that it's a luxury now not a necessity if you live in the city and don't have kids.
I still have a dream that one day I'll lease/own an Audi S4 or Audi A6. Hopefully they don't get killed with the US demise of the sedan!
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, or a parent who can mentor them in the fine art of auto repair)
