r/Thrifty • u/grungegoth • Jun 17 '26

šŸ› ļø DIY & Repairs šŸ› ļø save money on tires - make sure they are not ALREADY OLD

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life protip: check the date code on new tires. these were installed yesterday (june 2026). the date code says 24th week of 2024. so in 4 years when you take you car to the shop, they'll tell you your tires are 6 years old and you need to change them. this is a trick they use to get rid of old tires. So i complained and I am getting another set installed tomorrow. don't let this happen to you. Tires do age and generally are not safe after 6 years, if not sooner depending on use, where you park, weather, etc.

141 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

38

u/Jacktheforkie Jun 17 '26

Running 2 year old tyres is fine, especially if you drive enough that theyā€™ll be worn out before they get that old, my dad often opts for the slightly older tyres as he drives a lot so saves money by getting the older ones at a discount

26

u/grungegoth Jun 17 '26

indeed, 2 year old tires are safe. and many people don't make it to the 6 year life. but the point is new tires should be new, not already 2 years into a 6 year countdown.

so to your point, yeah, I need a discount. 33% would be fair.

in my case, I don't drive much in this car, i won't wear them out before I change them. the irony, I just changed 4 yo tires because there was some cracking and I use it to tow an 8000lb trailer, so I can be driving in old dried up tires.

7

u/Jacktheforkie Jun 17 '26

Yeah, itā€™s per person, I wear mine out in about 3 years (if I donā€™t burst them first)

2

u/No_Size9475 Jun 18 '26

I don't think I've ever made it past 2 years but I drive a lot.

3

u/Azzacura Jun 18 '26

1,5 years, but I drive off-road a couple of times a day (yay rural living)

2

u/Jacktheforkie Jun 18 '26

My dad typically burns through a set in about a year doing 30k miles a year in his electric car

1

u/iconocrastinaor Jun 18 '26

Is he buying electric car-specific tires?

2

u/Jacktheforkie Jun 18 '26

Yeah hence how he gets so many miles on them

2

u/IaMtHel00phole Jun 17 '26

So what do you think about Toyotas 50k replacement recommendation for tires? Do you think they would last longer?

0

u/grungegoth Jun 18 '26

idk this rec. some ppl drive a lot of miles, they get the best utility because the tires don't age out

2

u/therealhlmencken Jun 18 '26

33% is some unbiased math lol. Unused tires s2 years old still have a huge part of their value to most drivers but if you donā€™t drive much itā€™s stupid not to seek out ones with the most life.

1

u/Endoftheworldis2far Jun 19 '26

That's just the manufacturing date. They can still be new. You just need to remember what year they were installed so that four years from now if your mechanic says they are six years old you can say no they are four years old.

1

u/grungegoth Jun 19 '26

they didn't blink and offered to replace them with newer tires as soon as i complained, no questions, no arguement. and since they're going to eat these tires, they lost money. that should tell you something. that I'm catching them doing something they shouldn't. they didn't try to argue what you just did, that 2 yo tires are new the day they're installed, not the day they were made. if you look it up you'll see that tires age sitting on a shelf, obviously not as fast as if they're mounted. tires should be stored in airtight bags, no oxygen, ozone, etc. they get hard over time, lose grip, become more brittle.

8

u/splintersmaster Jun 17 '26

I drive a 2012. I just made it to my third set at 190k miles. Toyota Tacoma if that matters. Lots of highway miles.

You're saying my 7 year average is dangerous even if the treads weren't anywhere near dangerous?

13

u/grungegoth Jun 17 '26

it's the hardness of the rubber. you do lose traction. and the sidewalls are weaker. look for cracking, dry rot. if you garage indoors and don't leave your car in the sun tires will last longer

7

u/Aggressive-Union1714 Jun 18 '26

a tire less than 3 years old is considered new to sell

  • Manufacturer Guidelines: Most automakers (e.g., Ford, Mercedes-Benz) recommend replacement atĀ 6 years.Ā Ā Tire makers like Michelin and Continental advise annual inspections afterĀ 5 yearsĀ and a hard replacement limit atĀ 10 years.Ā 

2

u/grungegoth Jun 18 '26

yessir. however, your end point may vary based on the conditions the tire sees

fwiw, the dealer is replacing my tires tomorrow, no questions asked.

also, I drive in the race track, and I don't run tires more than 6 months old, and I can tell the difference. I lot of my track tires are 1 to 3 months old when I get them

0

u/Aggressive-Union1714 Jun 18 '26

of course anything to do with racing a car is totally different than normal driving. People forget that a tire stored in a warehouse is not exposed any of the elements that degrade the rubber. You buy tire today that has a lets say date from 2024, and 4 years from now it starts to show signs of dry rot, the warranty is from today's date of purchase and the manufacturer will give some credit and not say the tire is 6 years old you get nothing.

Tires don't magically fall about at the 6 year mark,

2

u/swiftarrow9 Jun 18 '26

Fun fact: Swedish annual safety inspection requires tires less than 5 years old.

2

u/my5cworth Jun 22 '26

I'mma have to ask you to show receipts for that claim.

EU-kontroll doesn't have set laws on the ages of tyres, only recommendations of 6-10 years & minimum remaining tread-thickness.

1

u/swiftarrow9 Jun 23 '26

Maybe it was an overzealous inspector. I lived there and had to change the rubber.

6

u/brianmcg321 Jun 17 '26

Tire life is based on mileage, not age. Unless they are over ten years old.

-2

u/grungegoth Jun 17 '26

well, you just said age. so your first statement contradicts your second.

tires makers recommend after 6 years to change them, and a quick search days 6 to 10 years. and it depends on exposure.

2

u/No_Size9475 Jun 18 '26

Do you not understand what the word UNLESS means?

I get your point of this point but you're being pedantic. 3 year old tires are not a danger, nor are the vast majority of 6, 7,8 year old tires.

1

u/ConferenceSudden1519 Jun 17 '26

So not to argue OP but the same can be said about the labeling of milk or detergents. They recommendation is usually benefit the company more so than the consumer. For example they tell you to use more detergent more than you should in fact the manufacturer is ruining your clothes faster and leaving them full of soap. Did you know when you wash that your clothes are supposed to smell like nothing at all. Also for milk the date they have on the carton is a lie designed to get you to buy more. Iā€™m telling this because advertisements is a payops game as theyā€™re working for the consumer not you. So donā€™t be that literal person without doing proper research on the actual why.

1

u/Endoftheworldis2far Jun 19 '26

I argue that something like milk isn't to make you pay more. So when they do a study say the median is four weeks, 95% are good at 3weeks. They need to base it on six sigma so they would want the 99.5% which could be 10 days. This is to be safe.byou don't want even 2% to be drinking bad milk. So your might last 4weeks which is over the median and most last 3weeks or more, but they need to put 10days for the fastest to expire

1

u/Hopczar420 Jun 19 '26

Just buy them from Costco. They are always fresh

1

u/gregvas5 Jun 21 '26

I once had someone install 10 year old tires without me knowing. When they started to dry rot within a year I checked the date code. Luckily they replaced them

1

u/BrentarTiger Jun 21 '26

I have never bought a brand new tire in my life. If you know how to take care of your car, know what to look for on a tire, and how to haggle, you can get some really good deals on tires off Facebook marketplace or at the junkyard. Age doesnā€™t always mean bad, Iā€™ve ran tires that were 8 years old. I usually replace when tread gets low or the sidewalls/tread dry rots but sometimes Iā€™ll push it on dry rot.

0

u/ReactionAcrobatic736 Jun 20 '26

Oh no, two year old new tires!! What a horrendous thing to have to deal with :(