Older tires with little to no wear. How old is too old?

[JWC86]

If your going to use them up in two years or less I would buy them given the info you have provided.

I have a set of winters tires that are 12 years old on my wife’s commuter car. It never sees the highway and still has 60% or more of the tread.

They are stored inside in the summer and the car is parked inside during the winter so they barely see day light.

They have zero signs of weathering, heck the tires on my truck that are 2.5 years old look way worse.

 

[RobA]

Lots of great feedback. Faster than I can keep up with. Thanks!

 

[RobA]

Years ago pick up four tires and wheels from a pic and pull. Tires looked almost new but 10 years old. Two of the four failed in two weeks. Never again called around purchased the cheapest new tires.

The asking price is almost too good to pass up, and the tires look good, but this is what I'm worried about.

 

[John105]

I got one truck I'm driving with 20 year old Michelins, but then, some here would call me a dumbass in that regard.

I have 2008 Goodyear ultra grips for my BMW. I have no worries. Cinderellas pumpkin coach had 12 yo wheels on it and she didn’t have any issues

 

[RobA]

If your going to use them up in two years or less I would buy them given the info you have provided.

I have a set of winters tires that are 12 years old on my wife’s commuter car. It never sees the highway and still has 60% or more of the tread.

They are stored inside in the summer and the car is parked inside during the winter so they barely see day light.

They have zero signs of weathering, heck the tires on my truck that are 2.5 years old look way worse.

They're not going on a daily driver so they'll probably dry out and crack long before they wear out. I'd like to get 5 more years out of them. For the price though, if I were to get 2 years I think I'd call that a win.

Honestly, if they were going on my daily driver it would be an easier choice because I'd burn them out in 2-3 years max.

 

[Chevyc10]

Many tire stores won’t mount or repair tire 5 or 6 years old. Ask the shop you were going to have mount them first.

 

[Tundragod]

Discount tires won't service tires 10 yrs or older.

 

[John105]

Discount tires won't service tires 10 yrs or older.

My hunch is Costco as well as the tech said your tires are from 2008 (in 2021, I remember it was when my wife left me [she came back]).

10 years is per the mfg. so where does an imaginary 6 arbitrarily come from. And mfg are very careful with wording. They say RECOMMENDED AS A PRECAUTION. They don’t mandate nor remotely suggest anything bad will happen if you keep using >=10 yo tires.

 

[atikovi]

Discount tires won't service tires 10 yrs or older.

Even if they are off the car? No used tire shops in your area? They won't even look for the date code.

 

[Tundragod]

Even if they are off the car? No used tire shops in your area? They won't even look for the date code.

Mine were off the car. I took two fronts in to re-balance because my wife hit the curb with the car. I bought the tires and wheels used with less than 1k miles on them but I stored them in the garage until I used up my other tires. With sets of snow and all seasons tires, I rarely go thru tires. I have not look for used tire shop. There might be some out there.

 

[atikovi]

Thanks goodness I bought a tire machine and balancer 20 years ago.

 

[CapriRacer]

so where does an imaginary 6 arbitrarily come from.

Long Version: Barry's Tire Tech: Tire Aging and Weather Cracking

Short Version: The 6 years comes from car manufacturers who observed tires failing in Arizona with severe weathering. There some logic in that temperature plays a big role in tire aging and tires in - say - Phoenix age much faster than tires in - say - Minneapolis.

 

[dumkid]

Tires in Phoenix definitely age fast, but I've never seen one fail from weather checking alone. Usually weather checking and then if you hit something the rubber will get deep cracks and shatter

 

[leadcounsel]

Practically new, 5 year old tires?! For 75% discount, you bet.

If not dry rotted, no cracks, damage, flat spots, repairs, etc. then run with confidence at 75% off retail costs. You have at least a few years left of life on them. I tend to buy tires like this, around $25-50 each. It's a great savings. My tire guy mounts them for about $15 each.

Rule of thumb is that around year 6 tires need to be considered for replacement due to wear+age, with about 10 years being the upper limit. It is situational dependent. Sun UV, extreme weather, etc. can shorten that but cool dry correct storage won't age a tire much. It also depends on intended use. Slow in town driving, versus high speeds on the highway, would influence my decision making as well.

 

[LDB]

IANAL, nor do I play one on TV, nor have I spent the night at Holiday Inn Express. If you read the literature at Discount Tire and other major providers there's a magic moment on the 2,193 day of tire ownership when the tires turn into dangerous garbage. That's day one of year 7. Tires are only good for 6 years. That's the official line.

So you have a chance at a good set of tires on a buy 1 get 3 free special. One way of looking at that is you are investing 25% of the usual amount. So if you get 548 days good life from them, 25% of the "official" 2,193 days lifespan, then your cost per day is equal.

Personally, I suspect their 2,193 day lifespan is part overly cautious in avoiding any problems and part a way to make more money selling more tires sooner than required. I plan to go 8 years and then evaluate on my tires.

None of this is suggestions for you, just my thoughts on the matter that I am comfortable with for myself. Good luck in your decision.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

BFG themselves say up to 10 years is acceptable if inspection is done yearly.

 

[Corollaman]

10 years is my limit.

 

[pghvolvo]

I'd say you should be fine if they are only five years old. Michelin says their tires are good for 10 years. I had a set that was 11 years old and never had a problem. I will say any quality name brand tire like BF Goodrich, should easily be good for 8 - 10 years.

 

[totegoat]

I have a set of OE tires that are 8yrs old but only have 15K on them. Planning to replace them this summer.