Tire recs for aging car?

[Andre1969]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides I have once bought a 1-year old car, with 10k miles on it that was covered by a CPO inspection program with Audi. I have always bought new cars and then kept them as long as was reasonable. I did end up replacing those tires (the originals from the car) in less than 20k additional miles.

Depending on the type of tires, 30K miles is actually fairly reasonable. Especially if it's a sporty car, where the tires are going to be softer and more grippy, and therefore, wear quicker.

My first new car was a 2000 Dodge Intrepid. It had Eagle GA tires, with a treadwear rating of 300. I had those suckers down to practically racing slicks by around 30,000 miles. However, I also delivered pizzas as a second job back then, so my driving habits were more like the Little Old Lady from Pasadena, rather than the little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides You seem to be more enthusiastic than most others when it comes to used tires. That's fine. I'm not. There are places where I look to save money and places where I don't. I like the benefits of a new tire, and a new warranty, and road-hazard protection, etc.

I've never bought used tires in my life, I just said that in some cases it's an acceptable option.

Anyone that buys a used car is also buying used tires, but unless they're in bad shape most people will drive on those tires until they need replacing.

[ncbill]

All I can say is don't buy retreads!

Like a relative did to save a buck.

They found one where the belt broke & cut through the tire.

Fortunately failure occurred after parking...came out of work to find a flat tire with part of the belt sticking out.

[freedomatlast]

Not all used tires are a bad idea and not all used tires are a good idea. It all depends on the specific situation. Last year I bought a set of tires from a nearly brand new vehicle (4 months old with 1,823 miles) for about 1/3 of what they cost new. Just happened to be at the salvage yard when it came in and made the deal. I would not recommend buying a used tire without checking the date code. Someone above said they bought a used tire with raised white letters and couldn't find a date code. That would be a red flag for me since tires with raised white letters haven't been popular for many years and may mean the tire is fairly old.

I always run matched sets of tires. The hype you hear about replacing all tires every six years is nothing more than marketing material from tire manufacturers repeated and parroted often enough that people start believing and repeating it. Again, the amount of UV exposure, whether they were run at proper inflation levels, checking for cracking on the sidewall and between the tread, and checking for bulges in the sidewall among other factors are all more important than a one size fits all, rule of thumb, based solely on age.

[Koolau]

Clearly, we all have our own opinions about tires: Age, tread depth, used/new, replacement schedule, retreads, etc. I assume there is someplace which has general guidelines on this stuff, but it would be unlikely to persuade any of us away from our long-held beliefs. Sorta like our investment strategies.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau Clearly, we all have our own opinions about tires: Age, tread depth, used/new, replacement schedule, retreads, etc. I assume there is someplace which has general guidelines on this stuff, but it would be unlikely to persuade any of us away from our long-held beliefs. Sorta like our investment strategies.

I put every tire-age-denier on my ignore list and go on Twitter and Reddit's auto repair areas, broacast their user names, and encourage all service companies to disallow service to these terrible, terrible people. Cancel 'em. Let them rot along with their aging tires.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I put every tire-age-denier on my ignore list and go on Twitter and Reddit's auto repair areas, broacast their user names, and encourage all service companies to disallow service to these terrible, terrible people. Cancel 'em. Let them rot along with their aging tires.

Ah, yes. Now THAT's the JoeWras I remember.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I put every tire-age-denier on my ignore list and go on Twitter and Reddit's auto repair areas, broacast their user names, and encourage all service companies to disallow service to these terrible, terrible people. Cancel 'em. Let them rot along with their aging tires.

I'm curious how much of the aging process is UV related? Our cars are in the garage day and night (we are retired, no pun intended, so cars are not in a parking lot during the work-day).

My tires (and car) just turned 7 YO, and with my low mileage still look to have more miles on them. I know 6~7 is on the cusp, but with such little UV exposure, is it reasonable to stretch that a few years w/o incurring the wrath of JoeWras? (though the question is serious)

-ERD50

[HawkeyeNFO]

UV and heat. Both of those take a serious toll on tires as well as other components. That said, I use 7 years as a rule. If a tire is 7 years old it oughtta be replaced.

[Texas Proud]

Plus tires just sitting still... they get a flat spot on them... when you drive you get the thump thump of that spot until it gets hot enough to get back to normal...

[JoeWras]

I'm glad you all realized my "wrath" was in fun.

I don't know enough about how synthetic rubbers and plastics deteriorate to really talk about it a lot. I just know that a lot of these petroleum based materials do weird things after a while. And if you put them in the sun, forget about it, they fall apart real quick. Even if you have them in your house, they do weird things. Why is my white thermostat now yellow?

Sun and UV are a factor. I've heard ozone is a factor. Ever try to use zip ties outside? They don't last.

Rubber bushings, washer fluid hoses, coolant hoses also deteriorate. But a washer fluid hose that leaks is far different than a tire blowing out on a highway.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 My tires (and car) just turned 7 YO, and with my low mileage still look to have more miles on them. I know 6~7 is on the cusp, but with such little UV exposure, is it reasonable to stretch that a few years w/o incurring the wrath of JoeWras? (though the question is serious)

Do you feel lucky?

Seriously, you may be OK for a few more years...or not. You need to do your own risk assessment and decide if delaying the expenditure makes sense to you. It would not to me, but YMMV.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Do you feel lucky? Seriously, you may be OK for a few more years...or not. You need to do your own risk assessment and decide if delaying the expenditure makes sense to you. It would not to me, but YMMV.

I'll probably push the "7-year rule" a bit since we rarely exceed 50 mph - and that's if traffic is light. We have road-side assistance on our insurance, so changing the big ol' tires should be a snap if it should come to that. I haven't looked into the cost of new tires, but shudder to think what it might be. I have one more year to age 7, so I'll put off the decision until then. The tires look brand new and we keep them in a parking structure when not driven. Our ozone is low and UV is only high when we're outside. I guess we'll see...

[RetiredAt55.5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeNFO UV and heat. Both of those take a serious toll on tires as well as other components. That said, I use 7 years as a rule. If a tire is 7 years old it oughtta be replaced.

Perhaps 7 years makes sense for hot southern states like Florida and Texas, especially if the car isn't garaged.

IF heat and UV are the major threats, than my garage queens should last noticeably (twice as long?), in Pennsylvania. The Continentals on the one are approaching the 10 year mark and have LOTS of tread left. The sidewalls have no visible cracking at all.

I do appreciate the tire age issue. I'm just trying to apply some logic to it

[REWahoo]

One more thing...

Those of you who are seeking extended life on your tires need to be sure you have verified the date code on each of your tires. You may know when they were installed but unless you look for that code you won't know when they were manufactured.

I recall being at a tire store a few years ago and while waiting to have tires installed, checking out the date codes on some of the new tires sitting in inventory. Some were three or four years old.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 Perhaps 7 years makes sense for hot southern states like Florida and Texas, especially if the car isn't garaged. IF heat and UV are the major threats, than my garage queens should last noticeably (twice as long?), in Pennsylvania. The Continentals on the one are approaching the 10 year mark and have LOTS of tread left. The sidewalls have no visible cracking at all. I do appreciate the tire age issue. I'm just trying to apply some logic to it

I swap tires twice a year...8 months summer, 4 months winter. The ones not being used are stored in the garage. In addition, my car is always parked in the garage when I'm home. I doubt the summer tires are exposed to sun any more than 30 total days a year.

[Texas Proud]

Our tire store is not pushing the 6 year tire life...


I have not heard of 7 before, but have heard 8 years (the tire store used to say 8)....



I have read that if the tires look good, not cracks etc., that you can go 10 years...

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud I have read that if the tires look good, not cracks etc., that you can go 10 years...

A few years ago I replaced the 7 year old expensive (Michelin, $600 each) tires on my motor home. They looked great, lots of tread and no sign of any cracking. Once they were removed I was surprised to see severe cracking and "zippering" on the inside of all the tires. That experience is why I don't go longer than six years.

[RetiredAt55.5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Our tire store is not pushing the 6 year tire life... I have not heard of 7 before, but have heard 8 years (the tire store used to say 8).... I have read that if the tires look good, not cracks etc., that you can go 10 years...

Continental's website recommends after 10 years -
https://www.continental-tires.com/pr...0%9D%20symbol.

"Continental is not aware of any technical data to support the removal of service for tires past a specific age. But the same principle applies to the tires of your vehicle as it does for any other part of your car – age matters.

Together with other members of the tire and automotive industries, Continental advises that all tires (including spare tires) made more than ten years ago should be removed from service and replaced with new tires."

[indiajust]

I have lived within a mile or so from used tire shops since 1999. I get spares at the junkyard for 10-30 bucks installed and balanced. I used to shoe the entire Jetta for 120.

Now in crusty northern n.e., so the 94 truck gets knobbies from Walmart, after a set of used winters gave up. They were discontinueds, but first new tires since 95.

Mismatched pairs of beautiful used tires from picky AWD cars are my favs. Free to a good road.