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RBeau1954 · 05-10-2015, 07:21 PM

Went and got new shoes for the Moho, got home and started looking around at the tires and found some of the date codes to read that some of these tires were 4 yrs old, new but 4 yrs old. I called them up and said that was unacceptable and there first response was that they are allowed to sell tires that are under 5 years old. They probably figured most people do not check date codes and got rid of the oldest tires they had in there store. I told them this was not acceptable and expected tires that were not over a year old. Was I being unresonable? They did come through and replaced the older tires.

jacwjames · 05-10-2015, 07:33 PM

You were 100% correct. Considering that some tire experts suggest that you should run a tire more then 6-7 years, at 4 years old you only would have 2-3 years of useable life left in them. I would have been very upset if this happen to me.

The last tires I bought (Bridgestone) I was lucky in the fact that the dealer that I was using searched until he found me acceptable tires. He knew that I would question the dates.

Hope you have good luck with the Firestones.

Papa_Jim · 05-10-2015, 07:34 PM

In my estimation, you are right, and the tire dealer is wrong.

I'll bet that the tire dealer knows he's wrong, he was probably trying to pawn off some old inventory that he was stuck with. He was probably hoping you wouldn't catch on.

Oh. You did. Too bad.

Jim

Walt Bennett · 05-10-2015, 07:35 PM

Absolutely NOT unreasonable. I got Firestones for our 5er and insisted on less than six month old ones - got that, but the fools cut off my metal valve stems and put on wimpy auto rubber types that only last five years and make it really hard to put in 80 lbs pressure. I'd told them to leave the stems alone, but the idiots in the back didn't care.

djbmsu · 05-10-2015, 07:49 PM

Good for you that you looked as you or they have no idea as to how they were stored for those 4 years.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-11-2015, 05:44 AM

All the tire manufacturers claim their tires do not age in their warehouses, which [they say] are usually climate-controlled. I'm a bit skeptical, though.

Bridgestone (Firestone's parent company) says in their RV tire brochure that a 10 year old tire is "probably" too old for safe use but a 6 year old tire is "maybe" too old, depending on care and use. They probably would say their warehouse represented the best possible care and use (none), but that would still imply that a 4-year old tire had relatively little usable life left. Get the Bridgestone/Firestone RV Guide here:
http://www.trucktires.com/bridgeston...V_Brochure.pdf

Four years is extreme in any case, though. Is this a really oddball size? Hard to imagine any size that hangs around in the warehouse that long. Or maybe they were a couple the dealer had in his shop? Unusual, but who knows?

Problem is, you should have stipulated up front that tires needed to be less than a year old (or whatever you wanted). Once you accepted delivery, you are dependent on the dealer's good will, cause it is gonna cost him real money to swap them out, assuming he is willing.

the_vfox · 05-11-2015, 05:54 AM

You should specify before you buy. Checking later is like checking the barn after the horse has left the building.

Elf111 · 05-11-2015, 06:00 AM

The only thing you did wrong was not telling them up front that you would not accept old tires. I agree they should know better but you have to watch or warn them, I had one fellow argue with me I took my business down the road. You did the right thing you were paying the bill.

guardrail53 · 05-11-2015, 06:13 AM

As the others stated, you were 100% right! Its your money, you are spending it on NEW tires, not some that have been sitting around a hot warehouse for four years, and did they really say a climate controlled warehouse??? Really??? I'd like them to show me that!! Unbelivable!!!
Rail!

RBeau1954 · 05-11-2015, 06:29 AM

Update: I am working on the back of the Moho so I had the tires off, didn't drive in them. Prior to being part of forum and owning my first RV I never thought about tire age because I wore them out after 2-3 yrs. Firestone recommends annual inspection after 6 yrs so I told them am I expected to come back after 2 yrs to have them checked? Firestone doesn't say 6 yrs after installing them. The tires are 16" trans force HT. Probably the most popular RV tire. All the other tires at there store were dated the end of 2014 so I think they found the oldest tire in there store and never figured I would check the dates. I probably wouldn't have except I was treating the tires with 303 protectant before putting them back in. Firestone did replace them. As a side note they also tried to sell me a replacement warranty and I had to remind him it was an RV.

scenic route · 05-11-2015, 06:40 PM

What a great reminder/lesson, thanks for sharing this. At least they did do the right thing and replaced them...good catch. Personally, I don't think I'd do any further business with them. Ten bucks to a doughnut they knew what they were doing.

mavric65 · 05-11-2015, 06:51 PM

I just ordered new tires today from a local dealer {not firestone} and have appointment for Wednesday for installation and when ordering them I told him I wanted the newest date codes he had in the warehouse and didn't want a 2 or 3 year old tire and told him my reasoning and he agreed with me so I will see come Wednesday.