Sharp Auto
New member
At our shop we also sell new and used tires. How much mark up should be we be charging for both new and used tires? Do you consider the cost included for the mounting and balancing? Thanks
Tire mark up
- Thread starter Sharp Auto
- Start date
Rated ///M
Well-known member
I am really thinking all of this research should have done before opening your doors... Everyone in town sells tires... start calling around and getting pricing on a set of tires for your vehicles and you'll get a pretty good idea where you need to be after 3-4 calls.
Rely on the Manufacturer incentives/rebates as well because they will usually drive a good bargain... Also the buy 3 get one free works well to get people in the door even if you prices per tire are slightly higher.
Again, I am a bit worried you are relying on an internet forum to to your competitive research for you...
Rely on the Manufacturer incentives/rebates as well because they will usually drive a good bargain... Also the buy 3 get one free works well to get people in the door even if you prices per tire are slightly higher.
Again, I am a bit worried you are relying on an internet forum to to your competitive research for you...
Falcon67
Well-known member
Talk to your wholesale tire supplier.
383 240z
Well-known member
My tire mark up on new is anywhere between 17-31% That may seem like a lot of markup, but remember we buy/sell about 2 million dollars in tires a year. Tire sales is a whores business. they are all the same, and the guy with the lowest price will almost always win. Having them in stock is my best angle to get the sale, plus we are super competitive on price. Used tires, my advice is stay away from them, for the most part, people looking for a used tire, wont ever have the cash to be a good service customer, also, you sell and mount a used tire, it fails, the owner wrecks and dies, you will be working for them for the rest of your life trying to pay off, your, their lawyers and jury trial award to the plantiff. Keith
Murphy4570
Well-known member
Don't ever sell used tires to customers. Keep those for your own cars, and cars you put out on the lot to sell. People will still ask and beg and plead, send those cheapskates to the nearest junkyard. Used tires sell for $20 a pop at junkyards around here, just to give you an idea.
I mark tires up by 30-40 dollars usually. Say a tire costs me $80, I sell it for $110 or 120, plus labor. There is not much profit margin on tires, very hard work for little pay. My advice is don't be a tire specialist. Do them, but don't try to keep the lights on with tire jobs all day long. Not much money in it.
I mark tires up by 30-40 dollars usually. Say a tire costs me $80, I sell it for $110 or 120, plus labor. There is not much profit margin on tires, very hard work for little pay. My advice is don't be a tire specialist. Do them, but don't try to keep the lights on with tire jobs all day long. Not much money in it.
Northstar
Well-known member
At my shop, and in my area, tires are a commodity. There's 14 places within 5 miles of me all selling tires. Tires are the excuse for the service shop to take the wheel off and inspect the brakes, seals, shocks, etc. You can sell tires at $5 over cost and get away with it as long as you can consistantly sell needed (!) service work and make your money back with those labor dollars.
Our shop "is the home of the Buy 3, get 1 free deal", we are not a tire shop by any means, but we still sell several hundred a month. The 3 we sell you have a 30-35% markup. Check with your suppliers for volume discounts that are "back end" profits--dollars back to you on the invoice and then not calculated into the tire's cost. The larger your supplier, the better programs. Companies like American Tire (ATD) would be wholesalers to look into. Don't sell used tires. They will haunt you.
Our shop "is the home of the Buy 3, get 1 free deal", we are not a tire shop by any means, but we still sell several hundred a month. The 3 we sell you have a 30-35% markup. Check with your suppliers for volume discounts that are "back end" profits--dollars back to you on the invoice and then not calculated into the tire's cost. The larger your supplier, the better programs. Companies like American Tire (ATD) would be wholesalers to look into. Don't sell used tires. They will haunt you.
dolfans
Well-known member
I work at a tire store doing stock on used tires they are $25.00 and up mostly $35.00 Sets of used are $100.00 to $200.00. New tires from what i understand is 30% and mount and balance will be free aswell as valve stems(new tires). Mount and balance on used is free unless tire is 20 inches or bigger
I charge $30 a tire above cost for markup, mount & balance. $2 disposal on top of that per tire.
Larger tires (31") and up I charge $5 extra Mount and balance and I do not deal with anything smaller then a 45 series tire generally. We use a Coats 2020 and a NoMar style manual machine, so I am not equipped for low pros and I don't want to be (not enough profit to invest in a new machine).
I sometimes sell used tires we have... $35 a tire as is no warranty no guarantee.
Larger tires (31") and up I charge $5 extra Mount and balance and I do not deal with anything smaller then a 45 series tire generally. We use a Coats 2020 and a NoMar style manual machine, so I am not equipped for low pros and I don't want to be (not enough profit to invest in a new machine).
I sometimes sell used tires we have... $35 a tire as is no warranty no guarantee.
shampoop
Well-known member
Depends on a lot of factors. When I first started in the auto biz, I worked at a tire shop for a while. They definitely priced everything higher than the businesses around them, but because they were the only large tire place in the area and had such a long history with the community and always "did the right thing". Most of the time people had been buying tires from them for decades so they would just get whatever the shop suggested for their situation. Because it was a HUGE newer building, they had enough space to store used tires. They would sell them for super cheap, like $20-$50 out of the door per tire. They were great for customers without much money that had a blowout, or one super bald tire, etc, to keep their beater car going. They would also sometimes group sets of 4 used tires for a good price as well. Used tires were in big demand for the smaller car sizes. 13-15" used car tires were always in high demand. Everything above that we always had something in stock. They had basically every customer in the area covered.
Later on, next town over worked for a chain that also sold tires for much cheaper than the first place. However the town is much larger, they didn't have the reputation, and they didn't sell used tires. They were nowhere near as busy or profitable.
Later on, next town over worked for a chain that also sold tires for much cheaper than the first place. However the town is much larger, they didn't have the reputation, and they didn't sell used tires. They were nowhere near as busy or profitable.
Falcon67
Well-known member
>I sometimes sell used tires we have... $35 a tire as is no warranty no guarantee.
And be sure and write such on the repair order! Also note the condition of the other tires on the car and offer needed service. If the customer turns it down WRITE THAT DOWN TOO AND MAKE THEM SIGN THE REPAIR ORDER. You may still get sued but you have something in the files that will help your case. Real deal - guy I know in the business used to own a retail shop. Sold used tire, customer had 3 other problems on the car. All noted on the repair order. Customer sure enough blows out a tire - NOT the one purchased and mounted. Customer retains ****** lawyer and here it comes. Somewhere between $5000 and $10000 to defend ******** suit, now how much did you make on that $35 tire...?
And be sure and write such on the repair order! Also note the condition of the other tires on the car and offer needed service. If the customer turns it down WRITE THAT DOWN TOO AND MAKE THEM SIGN THE REPAIR ORDER. You may still get sued but you have something in the files that will help your case. Real deal - guy I know in the business used to own a retail shop. Sold used tire, customer had 3 other problems on the car. All noted on the repair order. Customer sure enough blows out a tire - NOT the one purchased and mounted. Customer retains ****** lawyer and here it comes. Somewhere between $5000 and $10000 to defend ******** suit, now how much did you make on that $35 tire...?
ken w.
Well-known member
I have found that the folks that would buy a used tire are the ones that want the most and want to pay the least.You'll never make profit on these people.It's better to pass them on the the used tire specialist down the road.There is a tire dealer 3/4 of a mile down the road from me that I buy my tires from wholesale.They have a great reputation for good service and good prices.The don't do repairs and we both send customers to each other all the time.It works out well.
carhunter
Well-known member
Gee, I hate capitalism
Just kidding.
There's money in used tires, if you want to deal with that clientele. You're selling to the lowest common denominator and to make money you need to sell a lot of tires, in an efficient manner.
Falcon, I understand the concern, trust me I have thought about it! Tons of used tire dealers in the area... We carry insurance which covers used tires.
As I said I don't sell many of them. But I have a set with 40%+ better tread, I will sell them. Sometimes we get customers wanting new tires due to ride issues (harsh tread pattern) even though their original tires are still serviceable.
There is just not a lot of money in tires for the work required. For me to properly mount & balance 4 tires, it takes about an hour and a half if it is all I am doing at the moment. I clean all the old wheels with a wire wheel, wipe down the rim, mount, balance, check for leaks, and inspect vehicles suspension & brakes.
As I said I don't sell many of them. But I have a set with 40%+ better tread, I will sell them. Sometimes we get customers wanting new tires due to ride issues (harsh tread pattern) even though their original tires are still serviceable.
There is just not a lot of money in tires for the work required. For me to properly mount & balance 4 tires, it takes about an hour and a half if it is all I am doing at the moment. I clean all the old wheels with a wire wheel, wipe down the rim, mount, balance, check for leaks, and inspect vehicles suspension & brakes.
crabjoe
Well-known member
I got tired of waiting (I'm talking 2+ hours even with an appointment) for tires to be mounted and balanced, so I bought my own rim clamp and wheel balancer.. This also keeps me from having to deal with the bogus you need new brakes, alignment and what not they always try to sell.
BTW, I don't know what the markup on tires were, but a buddy of mine use to manage an NTB. He use to sell me BFG AT/KO's LT315/70R17 for $155 and said he was still making a profit, when the best local price, else where, was $190 + mounting and balancing. Ok.. I'm cheap, what else can I say?
BTW, I don't know what the markup on tires were, but a buddy of mine use to manage an NTB. He use to sell me BFG AT/KO's LT315/70R17 for $155 and said he was still making a profit, when the best local price, else where, was $190 + mounting and balancing. Ok.. I'm cheap, what else can I say?
This is good sound adviceand information
Falcon67
Well-known member
>As I said I don't sell many of them. But I have a set with 40%+ better tread, I will sell them.
Just saying the cheezers will cheese until they run it all out.
I used to deal with a used tire dealer here once in a while - he made the effort to cull the junk from the good and for a little used vehicle, you could find a real good tire or two if you didn't want to buy new.
FWIW - if you had a big pile of decent used 235-75x15 LT light truck tires, you could ask $75 a pop and be out of stock in a day around here. I needed one for a junk truck just to move it around and after asking the tire shops and tire biz buds for 6 months I gave up and just got one that was sorta close. They all said those don't sit around long enough to cool off.
>There is just not a lot of money in tires for the work required.
Agree - in retail, you'll need to do the customer right so they come around for other service. How often does Customer Z really buy tires? If they only have one car and you sell them just tires, you won't see them again for 3-4 years, if then. There was a time when the joke around our house was "The X needs tires. Well, I guess it's time to trade!" because we had a cycle for buying/trading cars just about time the tires hit the wear markers. So up sell and additional services are a legit business activity, unless you are blessed with a very high volume tire business.
Just saying the cheezers will cheese until they run it all out.
I used to deal with a used tire dealer here once in a while - he made the effort to cull the junk from the good and for a little used vehicle, you could find a real good tire or two if you didn't want to buy new. FWIW - if you had a big pile of decent used 235-75x15 LT light truck tires, you could ask $75 a pop and be out of stock in a day around here. I needed one for a junk truck just to move it around and after asking the tire shops and tire biz buds for 6 months I gave up and just got one that was sorta close. They all said those don't sit around long enough to cool off.
>There is just not a lot of money in tires for the work required.
Agree - in retail, you'll need to do the customer right so they come around for other service. How often does Customer Z really buy tires? If they only have one car and you sell them just tires, you won't see them again for 3-4 years, if then. There was a time when the joke around our house was "The X needs tires. Well, I guess it's time to trade!" because we had a cycle for buying/trading cars just about time the tires hit the wear markers. So up sell and additional services are a legit business activity, unless you are blessed with a very high volume tire business.
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I am not sure what shops you were going to, but most of the shops in my area are pretty reputable. Most cars that come in for oil changes & tires DO NEED front end work. In northeast Ohio, just about every car that goes up on the lift needs a tie rod end, ball joint, sway bar link, bushing etc... The Roads are rough and people drive their cars even rougher.
85% of backyard mechanics can't properly test or install these componets, and 98% of drivers don't notice loose front end parts as long as the car starts, drives, and the wheels are not falling off.
dankicksass
Well-known member
Think this guy writes into Ladies Home Journal for advice on where to find an available woman who owns her own home?