Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ?

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 18:32
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Rusties
Gave my brother lift yesterday to view a used car, after looking for tyres myself recently thought to check the date codes of the tyres ( out of boredeom).

The tyres are Michelin XSE and look to be in good condition with around 5mm of tread but have a date stamp what looks like 2004

i.ibb.co/f8K0cF1/tyre1.jpg

Is it legal to sell the car with these tyres or is it safe to keep on them on the car as I thought tyres had a max shelf life of 10 years.

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 19:11
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Xileno

I don't think there's any legal age but I wouldn't have them on any car of mine. Brakes and tyres are two things I don't economise on.

Why has the car done so few miles? Is it a summer-use car or have these tyres been in storage for a long time?

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 19:27
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - mcb100
19 year old tyres are fit only for keeping the car off the ground. Certainly not for driving on.
The compound will have hardened and grip, particularly in the wet, considerably diminished.
And if the car has been parked up for a while, they’ll have flat spots.
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Tue 20 Jun 2023 19:35
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Rusties

Am I reading the codes correctly?

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 19:39
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Adampr

Am I reading the codes correctly?

After wondering that myself and checking, yes.

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Fri 23 Jun 2023 14:48
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Andrew-T
19 year old tyres are fit only for keeping the car off the ground. Certainly not for driving on. The compound will have hardened and grip, particularly in the wet, considerably diminished..

I'm sure such a tyre would be no worse than many sitting as an unused spare on many cars of that age, including mine. Those tyres - 'space-savers' anyway - are advised to be OK up to 50mph (not indefinitely of course). But I bet there are plenty which never get their pressures checked ?

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 19:56
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Engineer Andy

If they've been on a driven wheel (even on a low mileage car and one that had been garaged), then I would insist on any such tyres being replaced.

I wonder what Backroomers think if the tyre was a never-yet-used spare that has lived its life away from the elements inside in the underboot area? No dirtect sublight to degrade the tyre, but would there be any degredation due to heat and 'exposure' to the air (Oxygen mainly) to some degree.

I do have a vested interest here as my spacesaver is still the originally fitted one, which is probably about only a year younger (my car was built in Oct 2005).

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 23:51
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - Bolt

I wonder what Backroomers think if the tyre was a never-yet-used spare that has lived its life away from the elements inside in the underboot area? No dirtect sublight to degrade the tyre, but would there be any degredation due to heat and 'exposure' to the air (Oxygen mainly) to some degree.

as far as I know the recommendation on a space saver life is the same as a standard tyre, max 10 years, can`t say I know anyone who has thought of replacing one as they are never mentioned though I check mine once a month. standard tyres every week which is a habit after all these years...

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Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:42
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - John F

I wonder what Backroomers think if the tyre was a never-yet-used spare that has lived its life away from the elements inside in the underboot area?

The space saver on our old Focus, used twice AFAIR, was 21 yrs old when the car was scrapped. The spare in the boot well of my 1980 TR7 might be even older. This prompted me to check it, something I have not done for many moons. It is a Goodyear GP 70, 'Made in great Britain' - possibly at their Wolverhapton factory? I was gratified to find the pressure is 25psi (24 front and 28 rear is recommended) and there is no obvious deterioration of the rubber, e.g. dry cracking. The letters and numbers under the three letters stamped on the inside - DOT - are NBFM 6V2130. I double checked this as I couldn't decode it after an extensive on-line search. If anyone can decipher this I would be interested to know. It certainly isn't as old as the 21st week of 1930!

Edited by John F on 21/06/2023 at 10:43

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Thu 22 Jun 2023 09:13
Date code on tyres - 19 years old -Legal to sell ? - John F

Is it legal to sell the car with these tyres

Yes

or is it safe to keep on them on the car as I thought tyres had a max shelf life of 10 years.

This is a typical example of nonsense promulgated by those with a vested interest in selling tyres. There is no age limit for car tyres. Here are the relevant words from the MoT manual para 5.2.3.........

The check of tyre age applies to all vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats, other than vehicles of historical interest.

There is also no mention of failing a tyre with what tyre vendors like to nonsensically call a 'temporary' plug repair.

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