17" Wheels; To Sell Or Not Sell?

[Damien7579]

Hi CT owners,

I'm debating selling the recently removed OEM lexus 17" wheels from wifes CT on eBay and wonder if I should do a no reserve and risk them selling for not much or hold out and do a buy it now ... They're in good condition with only 1 requiring some refurb on scuffs around edge. Is there much interest in second hand alloys and what's a sensible value as I can't find any similar items on eBay or just new ones?

BTW I hope this isn't breaking any rules. I'm not trying to sell them here; just looking for advice on how to proposition them on eBay for best sale value. I would advertise them on the buy/sale section here but can't quite justify £40 gold membership as I wouldn't get any further benefit as I live in the republic of ireland so it would be wasted sadly :(

[scudney]

hi,you are better off with a buy now I think,with a no reserve you run the risk of having them go on the cheap as the CT is fairly new,alternatively you could keep them and put them back on when it comes to selling the car and sell the after market ones instead,the decision is yours.

[chippy 52]

Hi Damien,

What did you fit in place of the 17" wheels? and what is the verdict if they are smaller?

Derek

[Damien7579]

Derek,

I got new original Lexus 16" from Lexus Birmingham who were selling them at significant discount and they shipped them with new balanced tyres (see below). They even shipped to Ireland for free. Class service.

Reasons for swap:

• Poor choice of tyre on 17". For example, in Ireland, you can get the Lexus fitted yokohamas for just under 200euros PER corner (this is from a cheaper tyre company and not lexus direct)!
• Poorer fuel econ and eco balance and due to poor choice can't improve it.
• Poorer wet handling as again poor choice.
• Expensive winter tyre options if you want them.
• Harsher and noisy ride.

Pros of 16":

• You can get the excellent new Dunlop Blue response tyres for around 60£ per corner all in. I can't stress how good these are. They're rated B for fuel eff, A for wet grip (needed for Ireland which is wet... all the time) and leading class in noise - 68db.
• If you get a puncture (common here in Ireland), replacing a tyre after using the goo if you have too is far cheaper now.
• Over 5 year ownership, they 16" will pay themselves back twice over if not more and if I can sell the 17" for near the price of the 16" alloys then bonus.

Feedback:

Wife finds rider is smoother, less fidgety and overall comfort improved. Waiting to see if there's a few mpg increase in econ too. The 16" look fine on car and being OEM parts shouldn't affect resale.

Whilst you could argue that the 17" looked sharper on the car etc I think having a sporter lower profile tyre on a CT is just plain uneconomical and pointless to some extent. They offer no real advantage. Very glad of the change and recommend anyone else to do the same if they want to improve some lacking aspects of the CT and to reduce long term tyre running costs and allow for more tyre choice!

References:

Tyre choices for Lexus 16": http://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p0/Car_Tyres_-_MPV_Tyres_-_People_Carrier_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_205_55_16_205_55R16

and for 17": http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s15p0/Car_Tyres_-_MPV_Tyres_-_People_Carrier_Tyres_-_17_inch_R17_inch_-_215_45_17_215_45R17

[Damien7579]

scudney: thanks for input. I've put the items on eBay as a buy it now so will see what happens.

[Silver Arrow]

Did you sell? If not get some winter rubber on them!