Feasability of group tire buy?

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oldbimmerguy

oldbimmerguy

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Joined
May 15, 2024
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17
Location
Az
This is aimed mostly at 20 inch i3 folks I guess. Since tire choice here is shite, and it is obvious Bridgestone is actively ripping folks off by charging near 300 for rubber bands, It seems we shoulnd attempt group buy. There r plenty of tire dealers on ebay UK with great prices, much selection etc. The kicker is freight of course. But it becomes sort of reasonable when amortized over, say 25 or30 tires. I have style 430 and am thinking hard to get 4 175/ 55 r20 and just forget the original fronts. Am in n az or socal. If somebody with a shed, small bldg or similar could accept delivery of 30, then others could pick up, or reship. Would this work. What problems do we see? someone needs to be money clearing house and of course we assume all I3 folk are trustworthy, good and upstanding individuals. It's this simply a thought exercise?
 
What is the potential liability exposure if someone is in an accident? These tires are not sold here I understand because they have not been through the [DOT?] required testing and acceptance for use in the US [Canada?]
Just asking as I would love to get a set of summer tires for less than $1,000
 
oldbimmerguy said:
This is aimed mostly at 20 inch i3 folks I guess. Since tire choice here is shite, and it is obvious Bridgestone is actively ripping folks off by charging near 300 for rubber bands, It seems we shoulnd attempt group buy. There r plenty of tire dealers on ebay UK with great prices, much selection etc. The kicker is freight of course. But it becomes sort of reasonable when amortized over, say 25 or30 tires. I have style 430 and am thinking hard to get 4 175/ 55 r20 and just forget the original fronts. Am in n az or socal. If somebody with a shed, small bldg or similar could accept delivery of 30, then others could pick up, or reship. Would this work. What problems do we see? someone needs to be money clearing house and of course we assume all I3 folk are trustworthy, good and upstanding individuals. It's this simply a thought exercise?
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It's a great idea. First we'll need a trustworthy tire dealer in Europe. He could set up an account where we pay individually? Once it gets to the volume needed for shipping then the dealer ships them. Of course the logistics will have to be worked out like a shipping destination etc.
 
Would it be possible to find a US tire dealer that can order a substantial amount of tires directly from the manufacturer? The logistical problem of distributing the tires to the end users all over the US may be better handled by a US dealer.
 
Was not expecting any Euro dealer to sell or ship to many Us buyers. The only way this works is if the Euro dealer can ship all to a single location, in crate or on pallets to get a lower per unit cost. Maybe central usa. The uk dealers on ebay seem to be able to provide a straight up cost for shipment and do not dissuade us buyers. then we worry about pickup or simple fed ex ground for two or 4 or whatever. It is easy and cheap to send tires in usa, simple banding or tape, without box. Tire rack has done this to me dozens of times since they began.
 
Dutchi3 said:
Would it be possible to find a US tire dealer that can order a substantial amount of tires directly from the manufacturer? The logistical problem of distributing the tires to the end users all over the US may be better handled by a US dealer.
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I doubt that a U.S. tire dealer would order tires that aren't approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.D.O.T.), similar to the E.U. approval for tires. About 10 years ago, I brought 4 new U.S.D.O.T. tires into Sweden as checked luggage on my flight from the U.S. Swedish customs didn't care, but some tire installers wouldn't install them because they weren't E.U.-approved. An approved tire has the approval embossed on its sidewall.

I doubt that the U.S.D.O.T. and E.U. tire requirements are very different, so it's too bad that they can't agree on a set of requirements and thus allow any tire approved by one agency to be accepted by the other.
 
alohart said:
I doubt that a U.S. tire dealer would order tires that aren't approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.D.O.T.), similar to the E.U. approval for tires.
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I understand. But perhaps there are tires not available in the US that nevertheless are approved by the DOT? I'll check my Pirelli tires tomorrow for some indication on the sidewall.
 
DOT2021 means year of fabrication 2021. I thought it is a US approval.

Nevertheless, here is an overview of available tires in 155/70 R19 (in mm's, standard 19" size for i3). I understand that there are various sizes for the various i3 models, that makes a group buy complicated, I guess. This supplier is one of the biggest in Europe. Maybe there is a way to figure out which tire has also US approval?

https://www.pneuslider.pt/pneu-auto-155-70-19/
 
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Does Dunlop make tyres for the i3 and i3s? If so, an appeal to Dunlop's owner, Goodyear, might prove fruitful. Goodyear is the last US-owned tyre company since they bought Cooper tyres a few years ago, but they own other tyre companies worldwide.
what is involved in getting US DOT proval for a tire?
did Bridgestone just have to get one size of a carcus/tread design approved and then all the other
this list is from Wikipedia
 
My original post was aimed at the 20 inch wheel folks, as outlined in the first sentence, but if there is a problem for 19 folks too, that could make it easier. Realistically, what bmw should really do, to make up for their bogus engineering, is to buy suitable tires in bulk and make them available for say 100 each . Would be a good will gesture for 300. 00 rubber bands or 15k ac compressors. Realize, that this is a German way of thinking. I was once sitting at a Mercedes service writer desk, their was an oil pump sitting on the table. I picked it up and identified the part. The service guy was absolutely stunned that I knew what it was. He then made an offhand comment about the many revisions mb had made to that part. I asked if mb was stepping up to assist owners since this is a major repair and potentially catastrophic for the engine. He looked at me strangely and stated, why, we do not make that engine or model anymore. Same attitude, BMW does not make the i3 anymore, why should they care.
 

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