Is it legally acceptable to sell old new tyres?

deaglan1

Hi all,

I got an advisory note on my NCT printout today stating that my back tyres are older than six years. I bought them new off the shelf at a tyre service centre just two years ago so I was a little shocked. I queried this with the NCT inspector who told me that that the tyres were actually 14 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I suddenly found myself learning about DOT numbers, and yes, my back tyres have the numbers of 1605 at the end of the DOT code.

So two queries:

Do all manufacturers,' irrespective of country of manufactur,e follow a standard DOT code. I realise that DOT is a US Code system but I presume that the code is universal & that for my two tyres, this reads as the sixteenth week of 2005, and cannot be interpreted as the fifth week of 2016. The tyres are Korean.

Is it legally acceptable in Ireland to sell new tyres which in my case would have already been twelve years old when purchased? Several US sites state that tyres older than 10 years should not be fitted to cars. There seem to be several safety concerns regarding the chemical aging of the tyres and consequences thereof re the tyres fitness for purpose.

mikeecho

I always check DOT numbers when I get tyres.. either online or at a garage.

I've never gotten anything older than 1yr

tnegun

14 years old must look pretty rough lots of cracks etc? They're not 15 by any chance maybe the wrong code was stamped I can't imagine any main stream tire place having 14yr old tires knocking about. Are they an odd size and not from a franchise?

ruwithme

I,de say your right in thinking it's the fifth week in the year 2016.
some among us already telling me it's the 11/29/19
a very backwards people altogether.

CJhaughey

1605 is week 16 of 2005, that's the problem with buying tyres locally if you don't know the outfit you are buying them from.
Buying online I have never got a tyre older than a year, usually much less.
Most of the online tyre sellers have the date of production listed if they are over 2 years. They sell them but at a much reduced price.
If they are stored correctly up to 4-5 years is OK, but older than that starts to get a bit problematic.
Two years is a long time ago, I would take this as a learning experience and check all tyres that you buy from now on.

_Brian

Last year I took off two 2005 Yokohama tyres because of age and not wear, 75% thread left.

They looked perfect, no cracks, no obvious degradation at all. Right down in the bottoms of the threads was perfect. Guy in tyre centre couldn’t beleive their condition.

But rubber changes over time and I couldn’t risk a blowout.

mondeo

Surely the NCT will start failing cars with really old tyres despite their condition. I had a Honda civic a few years back with 10 year old rear tyres, they were perfect.

coylemj

mondeo wrote: »

Surely the NCT will start failing cars with really old tyres despite their condition. I had a Honda civic a few years back with 10 year old rear tyres, they were perfect.

Advisory Pass applies where the date of manufacture is obvious on the tyre, a tyre older than six years.

P.70 ...

https://www.ncts.ie/media/1027/nct_manual_july_2018_v4.pdf

elperello

OP you should return to the seller with your receipt and demand a full refund.
They sold you 12 year old tyres which are not of merchantable quality.
If they don't play ball lodge a case with the small claims court.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

jimbis

Out of interest what brand are the tyres?

Del2005

elperello wrote: »

OP you should return to the seller with your receipt and demand a full refund.
They sold you 12 year old tyres which are not of merchantable quality.
If they don't play ball lodge a case with the small claims court.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

The OP has got 2 years out of them and they aren't a safety issue as they have passed the NCT. So what is the OP getting the refund for?

elperello

Del2005 wrote: »

The OP has got 2 years out of them and they aren't a safety issue as they have passed the NCT. So what is the OP getting the refund for?

They wiped his eye selling him 12 year old tyres without his agreement.

If they were a hard to get type or size and they were up front offering them to him that would be a different story.

Do you honestly think it is ok to sell 12 year old tyres in this manner?
Are we all supposed to check the age of the tyres we buy now?

The NCT role is to advise on age.

Del2005

elperello wrote: »

They wiped his eye selling him 12 year old tyres without his agreement.

If they were a hard to get type or size and they were up front offering them to him that would be a different story.

Do you honestly think it is ok to sell 12 year old tyres in this manner?
Are we all supposed to check the age of the tyres we buy now?

The NCT role is to advise on age.

There's no law against selling old tyres and as they aren't illegal for road use then as always "Buyer Beware".

Victor

Del2005 wrote: »

There's no law against selling old tyres and as they aren't illegal for road use then as always "Buyer Beware".

They still have to be of merchantable quality.

Auguste Comte

Victor wrote: »

They still have to be of merchantable quality.

How would you show that they are not?

Del2005

Victor wrote: »

They still have to be of merchantable quality.

Considering they are 14 years old, have spend 2 years on a car and have just passed a periodic safety test I'd say that they are of merchantable quality.

elperello

Couple of points.

The NCT test just looks for obvious damage ie. poor repair, split sidewall and a date check. They don't have access to the inner carcass to check for deterioration. That they advise 6 years is clue enough that age is a factor in tyre safety. These tyres were 14 years old before they even got that first limited check.

There is a question as to how these tyres came to be in stock at the dealers in the first place.
It's almost impossible to overlook 4 tyres same brand and size for 9-10 annual stock takes.Did they come from another customers car maybe a classic or an older persons car that was laid up?

When consumers part with hard earned cash for goods they expect them to be fit for purpose not already 6 years older than the advisory limit at NCT.