Hello,

I'm looking at a set of winter tires & wheels. They have been used for approximately 10,000 miles the owner said. I can probably get these for like $300. Is that too much? Is 10,000 miles for winter tires & wheels too much?

The wheels are Sport Edtion E3 17" x 7"
The tires are Bridgestones, Not sure what type but winter tires (215/55/17)

 

You really need to look at the treadlife to guage if they are still useable. It also depends how many years they've been used. Winter tires lose their effectiveness quickly as the treadlife gets low

 

$300 doesn't sound too bad considering brand new wheels would run more than that.

 

Damnit I Lost The Auction!!!

 

Winter tires should never be used more than 1 season or down to 1/2 tread if maximum performance is desired.

Hard as a brick winter tires are as useless as new Summer tires in severe conditions.

 

I know you tend to fall on the very conservative side, Q45tech, but I've never heard the 1 season rule of thumb. Certainly tread should be the key consideration, and mileage is key too, but 1 season sounds extreme to me. I've used snow tires for 3 seasons, doing 2-3,000 miles during each winter season and have had no problems with traction. This included 3 years in Chicago. Here's what Tirerack says:

"Fortunately winter tires are typically molded with deeper tread depths than summer or all-season tires, and many of them also feature Winter Wear Indicators (also called Snow Platforms) to identify that a tire's tread depth remains suitable for beneficial snow performance. While Winter Wear Indicators are not intended to be a sign the tire is legally worn out, experience shows that the available snow traction has passed the point of diminishing returns when the tread has worn down to approximately 6/32" of remaining tread depth and the Winter Wear Indicators are seen connecting adjacent tread blocks."

Tha being said, to the OP, 10K miles on a set of winter tires sounds too high to me. But the wheels alone might have been worth it had you won the auction.