Aug 10 2018 August 10, 2018 August 10, 2018 1Comment by Scott Marshall

Getting good value when shopping for new or used tires

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Getting quality at a good price seems to be always on our minds. Just because you may have the money doesn’t mean you always need to spend it. Knowing we want good value is the easy part. Knowing where to find it can be the most diffcult part. Sometimes, the value is looking us straight in the face. Other times, run away.

I recently had to purchase a replacement tire for one of my vehicles. The tire popped as my son was driving close to home. After putting on a spare tire, it was time to replace the damaged tire as it wasn’t repairable. Luckily, I knew where to go for a quality tire at a good price.

I typically know what new tires cost so I had an idea of what I wanted. I decided to go with a used tire. When I was presented the tire, I examined the tread wear. It was deep and was worn evenly, plus there were no obvious damages to any parts of the tire. They gave me a price I was happy with so that was it, right? Wrong. There are other things you should check whether you’re purchasing new or used tires – the year the tire was manufactured.

Even if there are no signs of damage, the industry standard is to replace tires before they reach 10 years old. However, some tire manufacturers recommend replacing tires as early as 6 years after manufacture date, even if the tread wear seems good. So how can you find the manufacture date? It’s quite easy actually. It’s printed on the inner sidewall of the tire.

The numbers are in groups of 4, as this photo shows. The first 2 sets of numbers represent the week the tire was manufactured. The second set of 2 numbers is the year the tire was manufactured. In the case of the tire I just purchased, it was manufactured the 46th week in 2014.

The tire I purchased is in my plan for roughly 2 years. The tread depth is good that it matches the other 3 tires currently on the vehicle. When the temperature drops, I’ll switch over to winter tires, thus saving the all-season tires a little longer. But after 2 years, I’ll be inspecting the tires for cracks more regularly. Since most of the tire is made of rubber, they have a tendency to dry out. That’s when the trouble begins. When the chemicals and oils from the rubber dry out, the tire can’t flex as well to grip the road.

Even if the tire hasn’t been used before, it’s always a good idea to check the manufacturing date. The “great deal” may not be as great as you may think. It’s best to look for yourself. There are good deals out there. You just have to know what to look for.