When purchasing new tires for your automobile, you wouldn’t think it would be necessary to question whether the tires were actually new. A number of undercover reports, however, have revealed that tire sellers — large and small retailers alike — have been selling tires that are, at times, more than a decade old. You wouldn’t buy a new auto that is 10 years old?..would you?

What?

Purchasing old tires can have real consequences for consumers. Tires do not have an unlimited shelf life. Their Rubber you say!.. Read on..The longer tires sit unused, the more likely they are to dry out, lose their tread and start breaking down. Even more worrisome, these signs of degradation are usually not visible simply by looking at the tire. Unsuspecting buyers may purchase tires that appear to be in pristine condition, but in fact may be dangerously old.

Why?

Tires that are more than six years old are more susceptible to tread separation and blowouts, which can cause drivers to lose control. It is estimated that accidents caused by old tires have resulted in 1000′s of deaths across the country.

I took this one staight from a Tire Manufacture and Guess What?

No Date of Manufacture is Noted!!

Buyer Beware!.. Heres how to tell if your buying New or Extremely Old Tires?

Each tire that is manufactured is given a 12-digit DOT serial number, indicating when the tire was made, among other things. This number is imprinted on the tire’s sidewall. The last cluster of numbers — either a group of 3 or 4 — indicates the week and year the tire was manufactured. For example, if the last three digits are 429, it means the tire was manufactured the 42nd week of 1999. If the last four digits are 1405, it means the tire was manufactured the 14th week of 2005. You should always check the date tires were manufactured before purchasing them; be wary of purchasing tires that were manufactured more than six years ago.

Question?.. Why couldn’t they just put the date like? This tire was manufactured on say Nov 12 1999?
Answer.. Because they have been deceiving the public with hard to read labels, and getting away with it. At the expense of the consumer I might add.

A 2008 report by ABC News found that three of the nation’s top tire sellers — Wal-Mart, Sears and Goodyear — had tires on their shelves older than six years that they were attempting to sell as “new.” Currently, no federal law prevents retailers from selling old tires, and only a few states have taken steps to curb the measure.

What are you going to do? Probably nothing, but when I buy my new or not so new tires tomorrow I will be looking for their secret code!.. Might give me some bargaining power, that’s what I’m going to do!

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