If I buy new tires, should I expect them to be new?

So I just put the summer tires back on my wife's Mercedes GL63 and since the old summer tires looked worn, I bought a brand new set of summer tires for over $2,000 with all the alignment and balancing.

When I buy new tires, I would expect them to be pretty new, manufactured in the last few months and all from the same batch. What I actually got was tires from 3 batches that were between 9 and 13 months old. To be clear they were all "new" in the sense that they were unused.

Am I right to expect them to be newer than this and all from the same batch or is this acceptable?

Would like opinions please. Thank you.

 

Well, to be fair, they probably don't make these tires all that often, and they sell them even less often.

However, I just put new summer tires on my car and they were all from the current batch and maybe 3 months old. Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

Over 12 months old and you've effectively lost 20% of their useful life, at least according to the mfg who says swap them when they're 5 years old.

If you plan to dump the car or get another set in the next 48 months, well, then no harm no foul.

And, I seriously doubt you'll get anywhere with wherever you bought the tires. The time to bring up age is PRIOR to mounting, not after. Just like with women.

D

 

My local tire guy pays specific attention to source tires with a DOT production date not older than a few months. He may be a little bit more expensive than some other internet sources.

If one wants the cheapest deal, then there is some likelihood to get older tires. As always, you get for what you pay .

Cheers, Bernhard

 

I have a GL 450 with 20" rims, 275/50 R20 by Dunlap.....once I had to wait 5 months (and driving on bald tires too boot) from Tire Rack to get new ones...none in the USA...so I guess it is feast or famine....hope this is helpful...date code was within 2 months...

 

That could be passion inhibiting...............

IMHO of course

 

I never even knew about the manufacture week/year stamped on the tire before joining F chat. I always assumed I was getting a "new" tire.
In the future I will ask to see the "date" before mounting
Humor is food it keeps me feeling young and alive.

 

In fact in Germany it might happen to you that you get really old tires, if you and your local tire guy do not pay attention!!!

The German federal tire trade association officially states that car tires up to 5 years (!!!) old may be sold as "new" (!!!) .... TTIP, take that .... .

Cheers, Bernhard

P.S.: For all those who do not believe me : http://www.brv-bonn.de/verbraucher-start/reifenkauf/ (last paragraph, scroll down)

 

The tire sellers will tell you that the tires don't really deteriorate while sitting in their climate controlled warehouse.

And they say the tires really don't start aging until they go through the first heat cycle on the car.

Unfortunately, it happens most often with odd sized and higher performance tires because the market for these is small. The manufacturer will make a big run and then not make any more for a couple of years. Kind of defeats the purpose but that's reality.

 

Thank you for all the thoughts. I guess the takeaway is that next time I buy tires I will ask for date code in advance.

 

When I bought 4 tires from tirerack, 2 were new, 2 were a year old...

Asked for newer tires, and they said the same: they are run in batches...

Don't know if it matters. My 930 has 10 year old kuhmo's on the back. Put on pretty much right before I started working on the car and it wasn't used for a long time. Tires look fine, no dry rot, no cracking, handle fine, aren't slippery... The car was in a garage, no UV light, for years...

Bought new tires to replace them, but almost feel like its a waste...

 

dmn stuff is technically correct, but who among us has not asked questions AFTER mounting? (Tires, of course.) Sometimes you are so dazzled by the tire that you don't think as logically as you should ...

 

Old tires may look good on the outside but you can't see what has degraded beneath the surface. Michelin says 5 years and out. Probably ok for puttering about around town.
GTS Bruce

 

I experienced the same as you floridadoorman, seemed like one brand available, TR was out, all the retailers warehouses had stock of zero. I had my heart on a set of Michelins but couldn't get them on a firm date. I guess I'll buy them before I need them.

 

One year in storage is fine, in my mind...

OTOH I found some Goodyears unused, and the store warned me about the age, sure enough they threw chunks and were dangerous in a few months time.

5 years is the guidance on age. That's with all makes...

Goodyear is #1 in Racing..

 

Dunlop...

'Done lapped ' is what NASCAR guys do to Danica..

 

This thread was sure helpful when I read as I just ordered tires for my 599 and if I go with MPSS, I need to wait till june cause the distributor is out of stock on the rears... I must have repeated to him 10x , "I want the tires to be fresh !".

 

Tirerack is famous for selling year old tires.
Low production number tires = potential for date codes showing they are not 1 or 2 months old. I bought some 205/70 VR15 tires recently, and had a heck of a time finding any that were less than 2 years old. Even Coker pretty much said 'take it or leave it' when I inquired about the date codes. Purchased Blockley tires, which were 6 months old.
Don't know about sitting idle in a warehouse having any effect on the tire's life cycle.

 

No UV degradation in the shade.......

 

I think up to a year old is OK but the problem here IMHO is the variance on the tires you bought. They should be all from the same batch- or at least in pairs (front from one batch rear in another). I don't think the place selling the tires did right by you- unless these tires are just impossible to source.

 

Whenever, I order new tires (whether retail or online), I make a point of insisting on knowing the date of production and having that guaranteed to me --- and always request the newest ones they can get. If they can't get any newer than about 4-6 months, I shop elsewhere.

If you don't ask and request it at the time of purchase, you are not going to get it. In fact, most places will probably try to unload their oldest supply stock first.

Some states have laws about how old a tire can be and still be sold as "new". I have no idea what that max age might be. Also, that does not mean all shops / retailers are complying either.

 

Ugh - another thing to obsess about. I have started walked around all my cars checking the date codes on the tires ...

 

I just replaced the Michelins on my wife's grandmother's car. I checked the date code when I visited her last weekend and realized they were the same tires I put on it ten years ago! She doesn't drive much, but still.

The technician said the tires were definitely dry rotted. Looked pretty good on the outside.

Like some said earlier, I was slightly disappointed when I purchased tires from Tire Rack for my 308. I like the tires but the fronts were already two years old and rears eight months old when I received them. Will pay closer attention next time.

 

Roma1280 - not sure I would worry about the age too much on a GL 63 you will likely need new rear ones in 8,000 - 12,000 miles on an AMG car and new fronts in 16,000 - 20,000 miles. So age is not usually so much of an issue assuming the GL63 is a daily driver.

pbu699 - I had the same issue with my 930 tires which I don't drive a whole lot. My tire guy said fine on older tires if just putting to cars and coffee Saturday mornings but if you really want to drive the car like it was meant to be driven, 10 year old tires are just to old to trust during "sporty driving" days. So I ended up getting 4 new shoes even though my 10 tires looked fine. Perhaps he was just selling me new tires but I have dealt with him for a couple decades and has been a straight shooter in the past.

 

No on low perf 40k mile street tires. On race tires we ask.

 

Bought a new set of 4-yr old tires before. The car handled dangerous on the track. It ruined my track day. I thought maybe tire pressure?? Raised the pressure - did a few horrible laps, came back in and tried another pressure, went out, and it was just as bad. Climbed all over the suspension with mirrors. Thought a control arm was cracked, or maybe the rubber got extruded suddenly from a bushing somewhere????? Going nuts! Finally someone said casually, "Maybe the tires are old". But I just bought them. Couldn't be! Maybe breaking in?? Then I learned about the date code, and sure enough. 4+ year old "new" tires. It was a hassle between the tire shop and the manufacturer. Finally, the manufacturer sent me a new fresh set (many phone calls later). Mounted them up, and I got my car back! What an exercise! I figure 2 years is the outside age for a good track tire.

imho.

Let's start a new T-belt thread!