Check DOT when buying new tyres - OLD tyre stock being sold as new!

HalfordsTyreCustomer

You may or may not know that it is recommended that tyres are replaced between 6 and a maximum of 10 years for safety.

I wanted to replace my tyres as they were nearly 7 years old and the tread nearing legal limit. Ordered 4 new tyres to be fitted at home from Halfords but when the arrived, bearing in mind I'd spent ~£800 even after discount of 20% for buying four. When checking the DOT date of manufacture, I discovered it was (2721) in other words week 27 of 2021 or 4.5 years old!

So I'd have only gotten 6 months of driving before having to ensure they were regularly inspected, even Halfords own website says tyres should be replaced every 6-7 years

I refused the tyres to which Halfords response was to just cancel the order, great Customer Service NOT.

Whomever you're buying your tyres from be sure to look at the manufacture date so as to not get caught out as I nearly did.

ButterCheese

Not a surprising response from Halfrauds.  Can you not use a specialist tyre centre or a local independent garage?  

MyRealNameToo

ButterCheese said:

Not a surprising response from Halfrauds.  Can you not use a specialist tyre centre or a local independent garage?  

Went to a local independent recently (not in UK) who tried to give me 7 year old tyres... independent doesnt automatically mean trustworthy

Keep_pedalling

There is a big difference in aging for new tyres kept in storage and those already fitted. 

Tyres are considered to be ‘new’ and are suitable for retail sale for, up to 5 years from the original date of production with recommended storage guidance from tyre manufacturers.

The industry standard for tyres, based on the German BRV recommendation, is the ‘5 year rule’ for new tyres.

IOWJJBTM2025

A lot of good information - I had never thought to check. Thanks for posting this.

I have a one year old electric car. Manufactured in August 2024 and first registered in December 2024.
The tyres are dated 0523 (May 2023)
Even though both my car and the tyres were manufactured in China, the tyres were still over a year old before being fitted to the car.

A few years ago I spent some time working in Greece - I remember having various hire cars every weekend and the tyres were often cracking on the sidewalls. The locals just laughed and said it was because of UV and heat. Tyres never last long. Where I was working near Athens there was a big storage yard of brand new tyres stacked up. I was amazed that they were open to the elements.

A tyre is ok and considered new when 5 years old.  This should be providing that it has been stored correctly and getting proof is not possible I would imagine. What would be the age of a tyre that we should accept to be fitted? and how do we know that it has not been stored for three years in a dockyard near Athens?

facade

Industry practice is that tyres under 5 years old that have been stored correctly can be sold as new.

(You can tell if they have been stored correctly as they won't be covered in surface cracks) 

e.g. https://www.kwik-fit.com/guide/when-should-i-change-my-tyres

So you can expect 2 to 5 years out of them.

(I'd buy 5 year old tyres if they were half the price of 3 month old ones to reflect that they will only last half as long, but I wouldn't pay full price for them!)

MyRealNameToo

IOWJJBTM2025 said:

A lot of good information - I had never thought to check. Thanks for posting this.

I have a one year old electric car. Manufactured in August 2024 and first registered in December 2024.
The tyres are dated 0523 (May 2023)
Even though both my car and the tyres were manufactured in China, the tyres were still over a year old before being fitted to the car.

A few years ago I spent some time working in Greece - I remember having various hire cars every weekend and the tyres were often cracking on the sidewalls. The locals just laughed and said it was because of UV and heat. Tyres never last long. Where I was working near Athens there was a big storage yard of brand new tyres stacked up. I was amazed that they were open to the elements.

A tyre is ok and considered new when 5 years old.  This should be providing that it has been stored correctly and getting proof is not possible I would imagine. What would be the age of a tyre that we should accept to be fitted? and how do we know that it has not been stored for three years in a dockyard near Athens?

Tyres may be a particular problem because the materials generally have a finite lifespan but it's not unique to tyres. Plenty of stuff is produced periodically in batches and then held for months or years before the next batch is created. Whilst other stuff survives the aging better it can still have impact on electronics and various other components. 

A family member had issues when their new microwave broke down and the manufacturers engineer said they couldn't help as it was 8 years old. Clearly sat in some warehouse for a very long time 

cymruchris

HalfordsTyreCustomer said:

Whomever you're buying your tyres from be sure to look at the manufacture date so as to not get caught out as I nearly did.

You didn't nearly get caught out - the dates are within standard manufacturing/sales tolerances. The recommendation for replacing tyres is from the time you've first fitted them. Some brands/tyre profiles are made in batches week after week after week as they are popular sizes and specs - other brands/tyre profiles might only be made once every couple of years or so and it'll take a while to sell them through - the laws of demand and supply versus the cost of manufacture/batch sizes. 

Unlike some independents - Halfords only obtains tyres either direct from tyre manufacturer or from one of the countries biggest trade suppliers. For mobile fits as you booked - the tyres are delivered directly to the fitting hub on the morning of your fitting and loaded onto the mobile van that day - the tyres don't hang around in a Halfords warehouse somewhere for years at a time. 

The tyres supplied would have been perfectly good - but understand you chose to refuse them based on having some knowledge - but not necessarily knowing the full picture. 

HillStreetBlues

cymruchris said:

hang around in a Halfords warehouse somewhere for years at a time. 

The tyres supplied would have been perfectly good - but understand you chose to refuse them based on having some knowledge - but not necessarily knowing the full picture. 

Could have been, the issue will always be how well were they stored which in an unknown.