Is it safe to buy 6 year old tires?

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Jan 14, 2017
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I'm curious as if it is safe to buy 6 year old tires.

My car has sat since March of 2019 in the possession of couple people. One of them noticed the driver front tire was leaking air and took it off to be repaired and never put it back on and lost the wheel and tire. The tire was brand new and the wheel was in good shape. Both front tires were only a month old when I went away.

I'm going to have to buy a new wheel and tire but I'm wondering if these tires are safe to buy; they look in good shape for being made in week 28 of 2015:


I can use the other tire for my spare steelie wheel that currently has dextero junk on it. The tires have been discontinued - When I called the dealership to see if they still had them in stock the sales lady panicked when I opted to go elsewhere when she informed me they couldn't get them for me and told me if I changed my mind to ask for her personally and she would give me a personal discount. Must be hard up for business.

Anywho, With winter coming up I'd rather have matching tires on both axles. My only option now is to either buy two new Pirelli P4's from the dealer I mentioned to put on the front or to chance these two P7 All Season Plus tires that are 6 years old. However given how much better the P7's handle I'd prefer them if they're still safe.
 
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As long as they aren't dry rotted or anything they'll be fine and the pics make it seem as if they were stored indoors so they're gonna be fine.

If they had weight on them and also sat then they'd be flat spotted but the description says they've never been mounted so id use them.
 
Since your user name is "3800Fan" and you're buying the size that fits most every full sized Buick out there... are these for a Buick?
 
I would run them, but I've never had a set of tires last me a year. How old do you think they will be when you replace them?
 
First line up someone that will install them. Many won't.

It just depends on many variables, build quality, miles on the tires, UV exposure, etc. Tires should be replaced in the 6-10 year range, generally speaking. I have a set of tires that are 9 years old but very low miles and they'll probably last into year 10 or 11 until replacement. I have a set of winter tires that I got at year 6 last year, but they were practically new. I mounted them on my truck for winter use and will continue to use them for low speed in town use for the winter, going into year 7 on those this year. Probably get a few years on them.

Use them smartly, don't push them to extremes for speeds, towing, cornering, aggressive driving, etc.

But look carefully for any signs of obvious issues, such as fading, cracking, budging, etc.
 
After poking around online I think I'll just have the dealership slap some P4's on it and call it a day. General Consensus is to get rid of tires after 6-10 years and it looks like I'm risking tread and sidewall separation even with regular driving at that age.
 
Oh, that's another point. For 6+ year old tires even if they passed inspection I wouldn't pay more than a few dollars for them, knowing they are at the end of their useful life, and I still have to mount then and later dispose of them, so about $20 per tire costs factored into the rest of their lives.

For that 6 year old near new winter set of Blizzaks I mentioned, I'm into those for $5 total, plus $60 for mounting and balance, and I'll ultimately have to pay $20 to dispose of them. So for a few years use, I'll spend $85 total. Not terrible.

The "real" savings on these is, of course, the deferred "new tire" cost of $800 for a set. Deferring that for 3 years is a win IMO, while I look for the "next" good inexpensive set to repeat this process. And ignoring road hazard for a minute, which isn't always terrible useful given the need to replace tires in sets, if road debris destroys on of my $1 tires, oh well. I replace it, throw the 3rd up as a spare, and buy a pair of new ones. I'm out almost nothing. But losing a $200 tire to similar, well that really stinks. I guess there's road hazard insurance but I am not much of an insurance payer type... too many scams. I prefer to self insure on many things.
 
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I've bought from this seller I bet 10 times over the years. Not only have the tires all been stored indoors, but if someone told you there were current year production, if I didn't know beforehand, I'd believe it. Every.Single.Time. Look at his feedback too.

I still have a set of his tires on an old truck that I bought probably 6 years ago that were 2009 production. Cue the "DANGER ON THE ROADS" shouting.
 
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