[centaur]

I have seen a few classifieds where in the seller has mentioned "unused stepney" as one of the USPs for that car in question (One example). This made me wonder if such cars would demand a better resale assuming that since the stepney was never used implies that the car was driven on good roads and taken care of or the owner/driver had to always lucky to have a flat tyre right in front of puncture repair shops for all the time that he drove the car. What is your take on this?

[dhanushs]

The logic behind these ads is that an unused stepny, which has more thread, hence the value of the tyre added to the vehicle. Just like quoting brand new battery as a USP.

But then, I would never find it as a USP, but a downer, because unused stepny means the owner is not rotating his tyres. Similarly, he might be skipping on simple maintenance like these. Also, an unused stepny, or old and hard rubber is as good as a worn out tyre. Sometimes worse.

[avdhesh15]

I think it's just a sales gimmick / negotiation tool and nothing else. More than the spare, it depends upon the condition of the remaining 4 tyres. Moreover, what's the %age of a new tyre compared to cost of car? Hardly 1-2%.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

But then, I would never find it as a USP, but a downer, because unused stepny means the owner is not rotating his tyres.

Not necessary - my current CITY comes with a non-alloy spare (the remaining 4 are). Hence, literally no chance of rotation unless I am prepared to change the rims. Honda service themselves don't recommend that

[rrsteer]

I bought an Etios from an owner who proudly pointed out that the stepney was never used in the 4 year old car. The car had done a measly 19k kms in 4 years. While I understood the low running may not have warranted a tyre change due to a puncture or something similar, but 4 years was too long a time for a tyre to be left unused. It was among the few points where I didn't let him have his way to rationalize his demand for premium pricing.

Foolishly, I retained the stepney when I changed the other 4 tyres. And when I did have to use it once, the tyre was rendered useless within 60 kms of usage.

[Sherlocked]

This is nothing. You'll not believe what weird things people mention while advertising their cars to justify the high listed price. Some which come to my mind are:

Dr. Driven - Now I have never understood how a doctor driven car could be an advantage. I mean it's a noble profession, no doubt but this doesn't separate them from the rest of us! And no offence to any doctors reading this, but I have observed many cars with Dr. symbol at the back either driven with both their ORVMs closed or driving in both lanes, poor parking etc. Now in India, majority of drivers are like this only but it's the Doctor sign on the car which catches my eye and I wonder why Doctor driven cars are listed at premium. Maybe the owner\dealer wants to convey, hey it's not a stolen car at least.


Music system with 2 front speakers - Some dealers install a cheap Chinese system or a replica one and mentions this in the title of their advt. Come on!! How much these things costs these days!!

50% tyre left- But the car is 4 years old already and doesn't matter if the car has run just 40k kms. Those tyres are gone!

Another thing which they mention very proudly is Lady driven. Now I don't want to go deep into that and spark a fury and get burned!

[dark.knight]

Tyres wear out in 2 ways, one by constant running where the tread will become thinner thus losing its gripping ability, and the second scenario where, whether its used or not, it will still become brittle, develop cracks and give a harsh ride when installed.

Rubber is a material that wears out due to time as well, most experts recommend that after every 5 years or 50k kms the tyres should be inspected and replaced if necessary. If not replaced they should be checked up every 5k kms. Anyone expecting better resale value on a 3-4 years old unused stepney would be disappointed. A brand new tyre costs on average Rs.4-4.5k, an unutilized stepney should cost way less than a quarter of that

[arun_josie]

I do a 4 wheel rotation. When there is a puncture, I inflate the tyre using portable inflator which I have and take the car to puncture shop. I would have got at least 5 punctures till now.

So, my stepney is unused for the last 70K Kms except for initial 10K Kms. In fact, stepney is still the OE one and other four are on the second set.

So, this doesn't mean that I drive only on good roads. In my opinion, this has nothing to do with the resale value of the car. Negotiate hard.

[NPV]

4 tyre or 5 tyre rotation aside, keep in mind that tyre life also depends on the age, so check the manufacturing date on the spare tyre / Stepney - even if unused (the seller is trying to highlight that the tyre tread is good as new but he is probably unaware of the age factor) may be unsafe to use it.

[procrastinator]

This reminds me of our AltoK10 with 27K clicks which we sold two years back.
The buyer was inspecting the car and walked to the rear.
He opened the hatch, lifted up the carpet and saw spanking new spare wheel.
He: "You have never got a flat tyre?!"

Me(grinning): Spare is never used sir. ( Though car did get punctures which were timely fixed)

Apparently, it's a big deal for a common man to get brand new spare wheel with a used car.

[Rajeevraj]

Now a days, most manufacturers give the spare as a steel wheel even if the regular 4 wheels are alloys. In addition some manufacturers give a lower profile tyre as the spare. For Example, the VW Vento spare tyre is a R14,170 profile tyre meant to be used only on a temp basis. I have never had to use it. Wonder if and when I sell the car, an uninformed buyer will question as to why I have a new steel wheel as the spare and that too of a different size. Hope I don't lose resale value because of that.

[sukiwa]

Spare tyre lying unused for 5 years shouldn't add any value in resale price of car. Minimal use of spare tyre in puncture scenario would reflect prompt action from owner and shows good maintenance practice which should show up in other areas of car as well. Owner may get some benefit out of good upkeep but unused spare tyre alone doesn't command a premium on resale value of car.

[slicvic]

Originally Posted by centaur

I have seen a few classifieds where in the seller has mentioned "unused stepney" as one of the USPs for that car in question (One example). This made me wonder if such cars would demand a better resale assuming that since the stepney was never used implies that the car was driven on good roads and taken care of or the owner/driver had to always lucky to have a flat tyre right in front of puncture repair shops for all the time that he drove the car. What is your take on this?

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Dr. Driven - Now I have never understood how a doctor driven car could be an advantage. I mean it's a noble profession, no doubt but this doesn't separate them from the rest of us! And no offence to any doctors reading this, but I have observed many cars with Dr. symbol at the back either driven with both their ORVMs closed or driving in both lanes, poor parking etc. Now in India, majority of drivers are like this only but it's the Doctor sign on the car which catches my eye and I wonder why Doctor driven cars are listed at premium. Maybe the owner\dealer wants to convey, hey it's not a stolen car at least.

How I wish the above statements were true. It would increase the resale of my car.

It is doctor driven and in 7 years I have never got the spare tyre out of the boot, nor have I used the jack.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

But then, I would never find it as a USP, but a downer, because unused stepny means the owner is not rotating his tyres. Similarly, he might be skipping on simple maintenance like these. Also, an unused stepny, or old and hard rubber is as good as a worn out tyre. Sometimes worse.

I have had multiple punctures. But the tyre has never gone flat. Tubeless tyres and nitrogen meant that all those nails poking into the tyres meant that I could inflate them in 10 mins and get the nail removed at my convenience the next day or in one instance after a week.

14 inch alloys and a 13 inch spare meant that rotation was always a 4 tyre affair.

I know the spare must be brittle and weak right now. In fact i wonder why I even keep it on the boot anymore.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

Apparently, it's a big deal for a common man to get brand new spare wheel with a used car.

Exactly and if you actually see many people (especially those who dont get into forums like TBHP) might not even know that even if its unused, the rubber has a life and will start cracking. So if they find an unused (read new) stepney, its like an added feature for them

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Minimal use of spare tyre in puncture scenario would reflect prompt action from owner and shows good maintenance practice which should show up in other areas of car as well. Owner may get some benefit out of good upkeep but unused spare tyre alone doesn't command a premium on resale value of car.

Precisely the point I was trying to understand as well because if the spare has never been used, either the main 4 tyres never went flat (but a rare scenario) because of being driven on "good" roads or the car was maintained well and the flat one was fixed immediately. So good maintenance supported by an unused stepney could be an added advantage for the seller

Originally Posted by slicvic

I know the spare must be brittle and weak right now. In fact i wonder why I even keep it on the boot anymore.

Better to get it checked and replace it if required. You never know when you might need it and believe me that mostly happens the day you will keep the tyre out of your car.

[Divya Sharan]

IMHO, this is just an attempt at quoting 1-2% higher prices.

My car comes with 15 inch alloys, but the spare is on a 14 inch rim. Plus, its a thinner tire too. So, that is going to get used minimally. I wonder if I can ask for a couple of thousands extra just for that!

Any tire older than 4 years is dead and up for change.

[Tanveer_2558]

Unused stepney is surely a plus point which almost all the car sellers mention so that they can quote a little more high price, Anyone i guess buying the car too would be happy to get a brand new tyre instead of a used one, So it surely does affect the price of the car, Not by a lot but a little yes surely.