One would think buying a couple Goodyears would be easy, but... I hit some road debris and one of my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 met a violent death. The other three aren't that worn, so I thought I would buy a new pair. However...Goodyear doesn't make the Eagle F1 GS-D3 any more and the replacement model doesn't come in my size. (And it's only been a couple years since I bought those, but don't get me started!) Is there anyplace to find new 'discontinued' tires out there? My local shop could find any. I need a pair in 235/45ZR17 for my 2002 530 5spd sport. Thanks!
Only set that came up on ebay in your size searching "Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3." Perhaps more could be found with a broader search. But, for $190 you'd have one to use, and a 50% spare. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PAIR...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories There were 3 listings for 245/45-17's, enough for a set of 5 tires. Two listings for 235/40-17's, enough for a set of 4 tires. Ok, searching by size where seller also lists brand - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GOOD...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a0a919855 Lots of LS-2's, darn few GS-D3's in your size, at least searching that way.
MGarrison: I don't have much faith in eBay. And for a set of used tires from a south-LA warehouse... I gotta sleep on this one. Thank you very much for your research! John: Tirerack is where this all started. I had my indi-dealer call to see if they could find some that weren't listed online. No luck. Thanks.
My experience with EBay purchases has been positive, by and large. With one of the sellers having been on ebay for five years and with a 100% positive feedback record, and the other for 6 years with nearly 3300 transactions & 98% pos. feedback, personally I'd feel reasonably confident about their legitimacy. Sellers are unlikely to risk their feedback record built up over that long, over a $200 sale, imo. I understand your caveat emptor wariness, however, as you never know absolutely until something's in hand. I look for sellers with well-presented, straightforward, un-verbose ads, avoid those with little to no feedback or sub-par feedback ratings, and am very rarely disappointed. You might call the Tire Rack &/or Discount Tire, it's not unheard of for them to have an oddball tire or two not listed on their website due to its discontinuation &/or having less than 4. I think EBay is about as close at it might get for a national level used/discontinued tire clearing-house. Craigslist maybe? Too bad that Craigslist doesn't offer a custom search area. Best of luck w/ the search!
Greg, You didn't mention where you'd looked, so I stated the obvious! I was looking for some 13" options for my 2002 and stopped by my local Goodyear shop - was surprised that they had access to some choices that didn't show up at the big web dealers.
Thanks again guys. After reading some more online I bought the pair of tires off of ebay. My spare is 9 years old so I will toss that one and put the 'extra' one on that rim. Happiness of a full sized spare. Then in three weeks, I'll put my snow tires on anyway! Thanks again, wish me luck.
