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Keith’s Blog: The Dating Game

Keith Martin

Now that you have your portable air pump, let’s look at one more thing to pay attention to as you prep your car for spring. Take a second to check the date codes on your tires.

It’s also not a bad idea to make sure the spare holds air. You’d be surprised how flat that tire can get if it’s just sitting in your trunk for years.

Before the advent of online auctions, I’m not sure I had ever heard of a tire date code. In fact, I know when SCM Contributing Editor John Draneas and I bought a two-stroke Saab in Montana, we never thought to ask how old the tires were. The owner in his eBay Motors listing stated that “It ran great and needed nothing when we pushed it into the garage 10 years ago.”

When the right rear tire shredded itself 60 miles into our drive back to Portland, John and I had our only disagreement of the trip. “Let’s go to a local Les Schwab tire store and get four new tires,” said John. I disagreed. “Only one tire blew, let’s just replace that one,” I replied. Thankfully, I let John have the win.

Today, it’s expected that every online auction will include the date codes for all four tires. Further, good friend Matt Crandall, BaT premier seller 911r, suggests you put new tires on your car before you list it: “What message are you sending to a buyer when you list your car with tires with date codes that expired a decade ago?”

How much consideration do you give to tire date codes on your own cars or when you are bidding on one?

I look forward to reading your answers below.

Read my previous blog posts here.

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Keith Martin Avatar
Keith Martin
Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 37th year. Keith has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, has been an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity. He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrmann Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame, and more. He has served on the board of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar’s Award.

17 responses to “Keith’s Blog: The Dating Game”

  1. David Andersen Avatar
    David Andersen

    Re: tires and date codes…I agree completely! Funny (or not), but I’ve yet to purchase on old car that didn’t have badly or nearly out of date tires. It’s like owners don’t care about this very important detail, or maybe don’t know. Either way, it’s a pattern I see all the time and something I check before every car purchase, and stay on top of with my own cars.

    Reply
  2. Rick Mahrle Avatar
    Rick Mahrle

    There is always plenty of tread left as the tires date out because most of our cars are only driven 100 to 3000 miles a year. I usually try to push one year past expiration, but not further.

    Reply
  3. Ralf Berthiez Avatar
    Ralf Berthiez

    So what do you consider an expiration date for a tire? I’ve always thought five years, especially if I’m doing a rally or tour. Is it longer? I know the tire will last longer if kept in a garage and out of sunlight. It seems a small expense for your safety, especially your passenger.

    Reply
  4. Joseph Sweeney Avatar
    Joseph Sweeney

    I guess from managing tire centers for BF Goodrich and Goodyear in my 20’s and early 30’s, I have retained an awareness of the importance of staying aware of my tires, especially on my old cars. I saw too many separated and blown tires due to extreme aging.

    Reply
  5. Bill Avatar
    Bill

    This issue is like the local weather person announcing “ be careful driving this morning as it’s rained and the roads have fall leaves on them making it slippery “
    If you don’t know enough to consider your tires you deserve to learn too.

    Reply
  6. Captain Dave Avatar
    Captain Dave

    Funny thing about date codes. Try asking what they are at a major tire chain before you buy them. You’ll get blank stares at a lot of them. Problem is, if you believe 8 years is the useful life (some say 6, some 10 but agreement is not universal) and you buy a tire today with a date code of 0224, you’re already 25% of the way to “expiration.” That’s rarely an issue if you’re slapping new tires on a Toyota Corolla or car with a popular tire size, but if you’re scouting around for something more obscure, it can be hard to find “fresh” rubber. You wouldn’t buy a carton of milk if the expiration date was tomorrow. They should make it easier to shop for tires by telling consumers their manufactured date prior to purchase.

    Reply
  7. John Avatar
    John

    Ran a set of XAS tires on my 280SL for over 30 years. Tires still looked new when one gave out—-from a piece of steel in the roadway. Replaced all 4 tires then.

    Reply
  8. John B Avatar
    John B

    I don’t think a seller needs to put fresh rubber on a car before a sale.
    Why?
    Unless you ate dealing with a very expensive car, the seller will likely put the least expensive tires he can find on it.
    Many enthusiasts will want to put their preferred brand on the car.

    I’d rather buy a car with old tires then replace them with what I want rather than having some new off brand (that I have never heard of) tires with the seller expecting me to pay more for the privilege.

    And as a practical matter, realistically, you are not going to get any more for a car with new tires. What works for a used Careers RS may not work if you’re selling a Corvair.

    And use common sense. The 34″ tires on my brass era roadster aged very well. Kept in a climate controlled, windowless.garage, they lasted forever.
    And I did check them regularly. I had no qualms driving at 40 mph for Sunday breakfast.
    Now if you’re in Phoenix and your daily driver 911 is outside all day, yes, you’d want fresh tires for long high speed drives on the interstate.

    Reply
  9. Frank Barrett Avatar
    Frank Barrett

    Always check the dates on any new tires you buy. A friend once ordered four Michelin X tires from Coker, but his installer refused to mount them. They were NINE YEARS OLD! Coker did make things right, but what were they thinking?

    Reply
    1. Frank Barrett Avatar
      Frank Barrett

      Please ignore this comment. Keith, may we please have an edit/delete option?

      Reply
  10. Frank Barrett Avatar
    Frank Barrett

    Always check the dates on “new” tires. A friend ordered a set of Michelin X tires from Coker Tire, but the local installer refused to mount them. They were NINE YEARS OLD! Coker made things right, but what were they thinking?

    Reply
  11. anatoly arutunoff Avatar
    anatoly arutunoff

    i have a friend who plays with his 911s in german events on 20-year-old top-of-the-line michelins. i tore the tread off a spare cinturato that had never been on the ground but was older than that in 3 laps of a vintage race at the memphis track. what got it was a slightly banked 210-degree right at the end of the straight that could be taken flat out in my appia zagato…

    Reply
  12. Gary Brush Avatar
    Gary Brush

    Excellent post on older tires, that is older than 5 years of age. What some folks don’t realize is that (as others have noted) the tire tread may still look good, but the underlying tire is aged out, I.E., the tire is dry-rotted, the carcass is stiff, and its grip is likely compromised and unreliable. Simply put, tires, like eggs, are better when fresh.

    Reply
  13. Lilly Avatar
    Lilly

    “You’re only as good as the tires you drive on” has been the best reminder for me. I always get new tires every 5-6 years and 6,000-10,000 miles. Having experienced 4 flat tires over the course of 3 days, after discovering no rim liners on the 1935 Triumph Gloria, finding a repair shop was a challenge in Santa Fe. Chihuahua Tire Shop!
    Good thing the Gloria carries 2 spares.

    Reply
  14. B.Mitchell Carlson Avatar
    B.Mitchell Carlson

    I concur with John B, since nothing says “I just want to get rid of this damn thing” like a car at auction with a fresh set of Chinese banana peel tires that cost less than the hamburger I’m eating while looking at them (and may last as long).

    Reply
  15. TLD Avatar
    TLD

    I’m the second owner of a ’56 Fairlane Victoria. Which I’ve had now for 50 years. In 1978 I found in a Nebraska barn five original Goodyear tires with the correct white wall and still in their spiral brown paper wrappings dated 1956. They are still on the car today, which is driven sparingly. Since the tires are pure rubber they have not aged at all. Still look brand new, though I don’t trust them over 25 mph and have tubes inside them. I love the authenticity!

    Reply
  16. Bob FitzSimons Avatar
    Bob FitzSimons

    I’m sure nobody else reading this is a cheapskate or a procrastinator. But I am. And, with “10 or 11” vehicles, I probably should be buying a set of tires every six months. None of my cars has been sitting more than a couple of years, but I’d rather buy the tires at the end of recommissioning than at the beginning, especially if the process is likely to be, um, leisurely.

    But I agree completely with Keith about the spare. Don’t drive farther than you’re prepared to walk before knowing your spare is good!

    Reply

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