The short version
- Typical range: £30 – £300 — see the full car tyres value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Vehicles
Before you photograph it
Ten minutes here is worth more than anything else you will do. Buyers are deciding between your listing and someone else’s, and preparation is what visibly separates the two.
- Measure the tread depth across the whole width with a gauge, not by eye, and record the figure.
- Read the four-digit date code on the sidewall. Tyres age out regardless of tread, and buyers check this.
- Inspect both sidewalls for bulges, cuts, cracking and any previous repair. Any of these means the tyre should be scrapped rather than sold.
The photographs that sell car tyres
Four photographs do almost all the work. Shoot in daylight, near a window, with the item against something plain — and do not use the flash, which flattens texture and hides exactly what buyers are trying to see.
- The tyre whole, showing the tread pattern across the full width
- A tread depth gauge in the groove, with the reading visible
- The sidewall markings, including size, load and speed rating and the date code
- Both sidewalls in full, showing there is no bulge, cut or crack
Photograph the flaws too. It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover. Buyers who can see the damage stop imagining something worse.
Writing the title and description
Size, brand, tread and quantity: “225/45 R17 Michelin, 6mm Tread, Pair, 2022 Date Code”. The size is the search. State the actual millimetre tread depth and the date code — sellers who leave these out get endless questions and lower offers.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Full size marking, plus load index and speed rating
- Measured tread depth in millimetres, across the width
- The four-digit date code from the sidewall
- Whether ever repaired, and confirmation there is no bulge, cut or sidewall cracking
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about car tyres. Answering them in the listing itself removes the back-and-forth, and answering them well when they do arrive is what turns an enquiry into a sale.
Give the measured figure in millimetres, not a description. The legal minimum across most of Europe is 1.6mm, and most buyers want 5mm or more to be worth fitting.
Read the date code and give the week and year. Rubber hardens with age, and many fitters decline to fit tyres over about six years old regardless of tread.
Disclose any plug or patch. A correctly done repair within the permitted area is acceptable to many buyers, but it must never be concealed.
Pricing it so it actually sells
Start from the honest condition grade rather than the price you hope for. WishThrift listings use five grades — New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts — and what each grade means is worth reading before you choose, because grading up is the most expensive mistake sellers make. It does not raise the price; it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else.
The car tyres value guide prices all five grades for this item. Pick your grade, take the figure, and if you sit between two grades price toward the lower one. Items priced honestly sell faster than items priced hopefully, and on a free platform there is no fee eating the difference anyway.
What you keep, compared
On a £165 sale — roughly the middle of the range for car tyres — here is what the commission-charging platforms would take, and what you would keep on each:
| Where you sell it | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| WishThrift | £0 | £165 |
| Poshmark | −£33 | £132 |
| eBay | −£22 | £143 |
| Mercari | −£16 | £149 |
| Etsy | −£11 | £154 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026 — Poshmark: 20% commission on sales of $15 and above; eBay: 13.6% final value fee, plus a per-order fee; Mercari: flat 10% selling fee; Etsy: 6.5% transaction fee, plus a listing fee and payment processing. Percentages are applied to the sterling figure above; the fixed per-order and processing charges those platforms add are quoted in their own currency and are not included here, so the real deductions are slightly larger. Full breakdown: marketplace selling fees compared.
Timing and getting it to the buyer
Lifts in autumn as people prepare for winter and around MOT season. Common sizes with genuinely good tread sell quickly; worn or aged tyres do not sell at any price and should be recycled.
Heavy and awkward but not fragile. Collection is normal. If a tyre has less than around 3mm, sidewall damage or is more than a few years old, take it to a tyre centre for recycling rather than listing it.
WishThrift does not process payments or arrange delivery — you and the buyer agree both directly — so confirm payment has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.
Ready to list it? It takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and there is no commission when it sells — create a free account or see how selling works.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to sell part-worn tyres?
It is regulated rather than free. Part-worn tyres sold in the UK must meet specific requirements, including a minimum tread depth of 2mm, no exposed cords or serious damage, and being permanently marked “PART WORN”. Requirements differ by country, so check what applies before listing.
What are used car tyres worth?
Typically £30 to £300 a set, driven almost entirely by remaining tread, brand and age. See the car tyres value guide for the bands.
How do I read the tyre date code?
Look for a four-digit number in an oval on the sidewall. The first two digits are the week and the last two the year, so 2422 means the twenty-fourth week of 2022.
See also: what a used car tyres is worth · browse live vehicles listings · condition grades explained.