Mother had a puncture, local tyre place (not part of the usual chains) said not fixable and sold her a new Michelin tyre, a few weeks passed and I looked at the other front tyre and thought it was worthy of replacement. Thought best to buy same as the new one but after a few phonecalls found it was unobtainable and had been discontinued a long time previously. After some internet research found out that there is a date stamp on the tyre wall of all tyres and this revealed the 'new' tyre was in fact made in March 1997, not illegal but highly inadvisable. After long debate with tyre shop manager he agreed to refund the money and take the 'new' tyre back.
Moral in this story is when buying tyres check the date stamp on the tyre wall to check the tyre is no more than a year or so old...
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There will be a new EU law soo, that requires all tyres to be replaced after 5 years, regardless of wear. They will use rfid chips which store the date made, factory, and ratings. I think HJ mentioned it in the Sunday telegrap a few weeks ago. I got the rfid bit of the tyres online website.
Did they say how they could still have it after so long?
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In case you did not know.in some country`s I cannot name them as I cannot remember the laws are a tyre has to be replaced at a certain mileage/depth.Usually to do with cabs.what has been happening is a person open`s a shop buy`s the old or worn tyre`s from these supplier`s and sell`s them off at a reduced price.But making a good profit.I thought It was common knowledge that it is/was going on.Not a good idea to buy second hand/unless you know whom you are dealing with.And know you ain`t going to be conned
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Ian, I wonder if the tyre place was buying them off unused spares from a salvage yard or something?
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Not sure Sooty, they are far from a back street garage and are to the best of my knowledge very reputable, maybe it came from their supplier and they did not notice it was old stock. The tyre manager said it was not uncommon to receive tyres 2 or 3 years old (sound unlikely to me). I rang Michelins technical helpline and a very helpful chap said they would not let tyres go if they were over 3 years old even though he did say that theoretically a 6 year old tyre stored in the right factory conditions may be ok. Without knowing anything about the 7 year old tyres history then obviously a no-no
Ian
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Two tyre fitters told me that the tyres on my Capri, which had been on axle stands in my dark and dry garage for 13 years, were usable, the exact phrase being "they should be alright" in both cases. There was no visible evidence of weakness in the tyres (or the tyre fitters). I nevertheless played safe and replaced them, although I have retained them for emergency use, replacements of the exact size (205/60/13) being increasingly difficult to find. I've since seen HJ say something to the effect that rubber over five years old is a liability. I can see the sense in this and would encourage everyone to play safe. In the case of my old tyres, it's the darkness factor that I find most reassuring. What view should one take of the completely unused spare, which has always been in total darkness in the boot?
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When I needed to replace a tyre urgently on my old trailer I was told it was an obsolute size. I went to a specialist tyre man in Cardiff and he dug a brand new one out of his store. It was only 30 years old.
The inner tube, being 50 years old and made of red natural rubber, would, in his opinion, last forever.
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I would have no qualms, personally, fitting this tyre, aslong as it exhibited no perishing.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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The advice given to caravanners is that even if the caravan tyre shows no signs of tread wear (they rarely do given the relative lack of use) is to replace tyres after 5 years ideally and certainly after 7 years even if wheels are removed and stored when van not in use. It's advice I have followed since finding a nasty bulge on the inside of a 9 year old tyre several years ago. I also replaced the rear tyres on an old Citroen which had little tread wear but wre 7 years old. For the price of a tyre is it worth the risk?
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The rear tyres on my car were showing signs of sidewall perishing at 2.5 years from first registration (although 3.25 years from date of build) so I replaced them.
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Where is the date found on them?
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I rang Michelins technical helpline and a very helpful chap said they would not let tyres go if they were over 3 years old even though he did say that theoretically a 6 year old tyre stored in the right factory conditions may be ok.
If I buy a secondhand car, say 5 years old, should I therefore immediately change all the tyres?
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If I buy a secondhand car, say 5 years old, should I therefore immediately change all the tyres?
That would depend on whether or no the previous owner has ever changed them prior to you buying the car.
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To establish the date of manufacture of a tyre look on the sidewal, and there will be a series of letters and numbers starting with DOT (for Department of Transportation) of the following format:
DOT XB/FU XJJD 2302
The last three (up to 1999) or four (2000 on) numbers indicate the date of manufacture and these numbers are usually stamped in an ellipse
ie 2302 is week 23 of 2002
147 is week 14 of 1997
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Interesting, Ian - I'll look at mine out of interest.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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