“New†Tyres

russellp

Junior Member
Messages
66
I purchased two new rear winter tyres for my GTS from tyreleader.co.uk.
They arrived promptly but I was disappointed to find that they were 30 months old.
I questioned this and was referred to their terms and conditions which state that tyres manufactured in the last 36 months are considered to be new.
I didn't read the conditions so mea culpa.
To be fair they indicate the date of manufacture of tyres more than 36 months old on the website.
They would deduct £50 from any refund for collecting the tyres.
Even so, I will not be dealing with them again.
Am I being overly concerned?
Russell
 

russellp

Junior Member
Messages
66
As a matter of fact I had a similar experience with The AA last year.
The difficulty is the low demand for the MGT specification - they said.
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
I purchased two new rear winter tyres for my GTS from tyreleader.co.uk.
They arrived promptly but I was disappointed to find that they were 30 months old.
I questioned this and was referred to their terms and conditions which state that tyres manufactured in the last 36 months are considered to be new.
I didn’t read the conditions so mea culpa.
To be fair they indicate the date of manufacture of tyres more than 36 months old on the website.
They would deduct £50 from any refund for collecting the tyres.
Even so, I will not be dealing with them again.
Am I being overly concerned?
Russell

I would be concerned with this, and wouldn’t buy new tyres from someone if I thought I was going to get a tyre that had sat on the shelf for 3 years.

Rubber degrades with time, and whilst 3 years is probably not long enough to be a real problem, I’d rather pay a little bit extra and get one which I know is newer...
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,756
This summer I changed the tyres on my classic Merc SL. I discovered the tyres on it were 18 years old! Ooops! No wonder the grip wasn't very, er, grippy.
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
This summer I changed the tyres on my classic Merc SL. I discovered the tyres on it were 18 years old! Ooops! No wonder the grip wasn't very, er, grippy.

My brother is restoring a C Class 2.3 Cosworth. The tyres on it have plenty of tread on them so he thought that might save him a few quid. However, they are dated 1996.

I suggested he gets some new ones.
 

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
I wouldn't be worried about tyres that are 3 years old.

one of the reasons so much food gets thrown away is it has a date on it when there's nothing actually wrong with it apart from the shop wanting to sell you more, probably why tyres have a date on , my perfectly legal and serviceable tyres are 5 years old, I need to buy some more

Does the age of a tyre matter?
Tyre Safety: 5 Year Rule

Tyres are considered to be “new” and fit for retail up to 5 years from the date of production.

This is an industry standard based on the German BRV.

When in use, it is recommended that tyres are replaced when they reach 7 - 10 years old, (6 years in the case of caravans or trailers).
 

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
I wouldn't be worried about tyres that are 3 years old.

one of the reasons so much food gets thrown away is it has a date on it when there's nothing actually wrong with it apart from the shop wanting to sell you more, probably why tyres have a date on , my perfectly legal and serviceable tyres are 5 years old, I need to buy some more

Does the age of a tyre matter?
Tyre Safety: 5 Year Rule

Tyres are considered to be “new” and fit for retail up to 5 years from the date of production.

This is an industry standard based on the German BRV.

When in use, it is recommended that tyres are replaced when they reach 7 - 10 years old, (6 years in the case of caravans or trailers).

Em, that opinion on why foodstuffs have recommended sell by dates in them and relating it to them "wanting to sell you more" is simply not true my friend. The dates refer to laboratory tests which determine when the food could contain dangerous levels of bacteria, based on the rate at which common bacteria proliferate. The safe levels are determined by the Food Standards Agency and designed to keep the risk of food poisoning to a minimum. There are some foods where bacteria cause the perception of spoilage, particularly fresh foods such as salads and raw meats/fish, however the food is still safe to eat. Some examples would be the bacteria which causes browning of salad leaves or the aerobic strains that make meat smell bad when packaging is opened. In the case of salads, around 10% is wasted as it goes too far past the date to appear fresh as the bacteria take hold of the material. That 10% loss is passed to the manufacturer as the big monopoly supermarkets are bullies and that's the terms they impose. They are not looking to sell more, they want to sell high quality, or the perception of it, at the lowest possible price vs. margin model.

I don't know the data when it comes to degradation of rubber compounds however there will be some for sure. I'd therefore not profess to be an authority on the subject but I would say that common sense suggests that a newer product would be closer to the one that the manufacturer intends to market and so more likely to have the characteristics that they have spent time and money designing into their product.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Em, that opinion on why foodstuffs have recommended sell by dates in them and relating it to them "wanting to sell you more" is simply not true my friend. The dates refer to laboratory tests which determine when the food could contain dangerous levels of bacteria,

Yes, but that sounds rather like 'Use by' vs 'Best before'

C
 
Messages
1,687
It's probably apples and oranges, however, I bought a set of new tyres for my Grand Cherokee in 2008 which were a variation of Continental Sport Contact at roughly £200 each and these tyres still have around three quarters tread depth and look very fresh. Because I've mostly lived in cities, I've driven minimal miles since and never off road. Usually around 1,000 miles per annum. I haven't noticed any deterioration in the tyres, however at ten years old next summer, I am monitoring their physical state a bit more closely.
Because it's a turbo diesel and I'm not doing sufficient miles in it, it's going up for sale this week and the petrol fuelled Saab will be my daily driver.
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Well the 'Vreds' on my GS are aged out and it is noticeable, on the Spanish peaks in particular the hardened rubber would let go way too soon and on the longer runs they would give a tired jelly like feel when they had had enough. If I had had a spare £1k I'd have popped on a set of new Michelin 4's but now I have until LeMans to sort that issue. I have a set of winters coming from another forum member I'll be putting on my 4200 summer wheels I have in the garage so it will be a GS sitting on 18" 14 spoke rims at Christmas!