Not repairing tyres based on age?

flogen

I recently got a puncture and brought it in to get repaired - when I did the guy told me it was too old (8 years) and I'd have to get a new one.

The tyre itself is in very good nick - bar the screw recently lodged in it - I was actually surprised it was so old (it must be the car's original tyre) but I hadn't realised age was a criteria when it comes to repairs.

Is it, or was this guy just fobbing me off because they were about to close?

If it is the case that's fair enough - just don't want to spend extra money when I don't have to.

Assuming it can't be repaired my next question is where's the best place for me to go to get a new tyre (for a mk2 Punto) in Dublin? What price should I be looking at paying for one?

I'm anxious to get off the spare asap so any help on this is much appreciated.

Thanks.

If it's 8 years old it's more than likely perished. Anywhere will do for a replacement, price depends on if you buy a premium or budget tyre.

flogen

RoverJames wrote: »

If it's 8 years old it's more than likely perished. Anywhere will do for a replacement, price depends on if you buy a premium or budget tyre.

That's not what I need to hear - I'd bet the other three tyres are the same age!

The price they quoted was €70 for a premium tyre and €60 for a budget - if there's that small a difference in price I'm happy to pay the extra but I may have mis-heard him.

Tipsy Mac

Another thing you are not going to want to hear is that it is advisable to replace tyres in pairs on the same exle, ie change both front or both back to give a better balance of the car on the road.

Big Nasty

Rubber perishes with age, tyres get hard and form cracks and basically become unsafe. If the car is in regular use this slows the process down but if the car has been lying up for any length of time the tyres will be dangerous. Either way if they're 8 years old they need to be replaced - now!

flogen

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

Another thing you are not going to want to hear is that it is advisable to replace tyres in pairs on the same exle, ie change both front or both back to give a better balance of the car on the road.

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Rubber perishes with age, tyres get hard and form cracks and basically become unsafe. If the car is in regular use this slows the process down but if the car has been lying up for any length of time the tyres will be dangerous. Either way if they're 8 years old they need to be replaced - now!

Thanks for the info. I didn't even have the €70 to get a single tyre today so this isn't sitting well!

If it needs to be done, so be it. I just hope I get paid by someone soon so I can actually do it.

flogen

Is €70 for a branded tyre a good or average price? I'd hope I could get a decent deal if I went in asking for 4 too!

Big Nasty

flogen wrote: »

Is €70 for a branded tyre a good or average price? I'd hope I could get a decent deal if I went in asking for 4 too!

What are the current tyre dimensions?

flogen

14" tyre, 165/70, R rating... tyre also has 8 IT on it, not sure what that refers to.

Big Nasty

You should have no bother getting them for €50 max a corner for economy tyres. Where you located?

flogen

Are economy tyres worth getting or are you better spending the extra bit up front? Am I likely to have any more trouble with cheap tyres than with "premiums"?

I live in Santry, Dublin. The price I got was from the Fast Fit in Omni, their budget tyres were €60.

Noobie question here but if I go in and get four new tyres would I be best to get them to fit them and sort the tracking and alignment? I'm guessing the answer is yes.

Carawaystick

There's another tyre place up opposite santry demesne, you acces it from the road between the old airport road and the M1, turn left at the lights and backtrack in.


I'd say you'ld get good brand tyres for 55 a corner, I used to pay 60 or 55 for my corolla back in the day.

Failing that if you're getting 4, try newry. time and toll cost might still give you a saving.

Heroditas

flogen wrote: »

Are economy tyres worth getting or are you better spending the extra bit up front? Am I likely to have any more trouble with cheap tyres than with "premiums"?

Let me put it this way - the tyres keep your car attached to the road. Do you think it is wise to skimp on this item?

waraf

Heroditas wrote: »

Let me put it this way - the tyres keep your car attached to the road. Do you think it is wise to skimp on this item?

+1

Never skimp on tyres or brakes. My advice would be to buy an all weather tyre made by a well known brand.

BostonB

I've been shopping around for 165x60 14 tyres and been quoted 50~70 for brands I'd never heard of. Though every places tells you its the same as some known make, but then won't or can't give you a model number so you can research it. 80~100 Avon, Michelin, Continenal for a know brand, though again no details of model.

You might think I'm being picky but I only changed them just over a year ago, and couldn't get a known brand in stock anywhere. So ended up with a brand called Roadstone. While they are mediocre in the dry in the wet they are lethal. Recently they've got a lot worse, its like being on black ice when it rains. To they eye they look fine, loads of tread etc. They are just dire.

Alun

AFAIK 6 years is the recommended maximum safe age for a tyre. Had the same issue on my wife's '00 Yaris last year, when we had it serviced the dealer mentioned that there was some slight cracking in the side walls. It's apparently caused by prolonged exposure to UV light which causes hardening and then cracking. Otherwise there was nothing wrong with them (some kind of Bridgestone as originally fitted) and they had plenty of tread left, but we replaced them (like for like) anyway.

BTW You can find the age of a tyre from it's so called DOT code (see http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html scroll down to DOT Codes and the 6-year shelf life).

Greenman

I had Fulda tyres when i bought my second hand car. Fine while dry but in the wet dreadful. Ideal tyres if you live in a country with very little rain plus they take ages to perish.

I put on Uniroyal tyres and they seem fine.

flogen

Thanks for all the info everyone. I'm going to ring up on Monday and get a quite for four new tyres and all the bits that come with that like getting it tracked and balanced.

Hopefully I can scrape together whatever it is I need from there and just get this done.

If I heard they guy right there's a €10 difference between branded and budget, even if the quality was almost the same I can't see the point in saving that much for the sake of taking a chance

thanks again.

unkel

Let us know what you got at what price and from where. 14" tyres were still the standard on base small cars up until a few years ago, so I reckon a lot of people would be interested in your results

BostonB

I think once the tyres get old they may even look fine but the grip has totally gone. I know of two people who aquaplaned on old tyres which looked fine.

I was surprised the prices of tyres myself. Also the lack of stock of branded tyres. They only seem to carry the budget stuff. Personally unless I read a few good reviews of a specific tyre I won't buy a budget tyre again.

Uniroyal are a premium wet weather tyre Interestingly Semperit are their budget brand, Semperit are a class tyre too.

Tyre reviews are something I take with a grain of salt to be honest if they are from Joe Public.

thereitisgone

Flogen i used to work for one of the big tyre companies and 13 years was their cut off point on selling (new) 13 year old tyres, and if 8 year old tyres were unsafe the NCT would be having a field day. Its ten years since i worked in the industry so perhaps new rules have come in, but believe me tyre fitters want to sell you new tyres and not be bothered repairing old ones, or at least till you drive off with your new ones. Get a second opinion because its unlikely a 8 year old tyre will be perished, can you actually see any perishing, cracks, on the sidewall of the tyre?
Ring a few tyre centres in the morning and explain what you have been told about your 8 year old tyre, i think you might hear a different story.

Drummerboy08

thereitisgone wrote: »

Flogen i used to work for one of the big tyre companies and 13 years was their cut off point on selling (new) 13 year old tyres, and if 8 year old tyres were unsafe the NCT would be having a field day. Its ten years since i worked in the industry so perhaps new rules have come in, but believe me tyre fitters want to sell you new tyres and not be bothered repairing old ones, or at least till you drive off with your new ones. Get a second opinion because its unlikely a 8 year old tyre will be perished, can you actually see any perishing, cracks, on the sidewall of the tyre?
Ring a few tyre centres in the morning and explain what you have been told about your 8 year old tyre, i think you might hear a different story.

I think he wont. The above is stupid advise, and not to be followed. Are you trying to claim that the tyre industry have been illegally supplying un-roadworthy tyres to motorists for the past ten years?

I have a close working relationship with Fastfit as part of my work, and they have always put me in the right direction. I'd trust them with my own tyres, never mind the 3 thousand cars (give or take) that we have on the road.

OP, if the tyre centre told you it cant be repaired, i'd doubt it can be. They dont want to be responsible for you having an accident a mile down the road due to a tyre they shouldnt have repaired giving way. Shop around, get your prices together, and if you need any priced up, PM me and i'll check them out tommorow in work.

thereitisgone

No i am not trying to claim that the tyre industry have been illegally supplying un-roadworthy tyres to motorists for the past ten years, what i am saying is that the safe road worthiness of a tyre is a lot more than 8 years and before he goes out and buys a new tyre get a second opinion and even a third if he is still not sure on what he was told.

badabing106

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I think he wont. The above is stupid advise, and not to be followed. Are you trying to claim that the tyre industry have been illegally supplying un-roadworthy tyres to motorists for the past ten years?

I have a close working relationship with Fastfit as part of my work, and they have always put me in the right direction. I'd trust them with my own tyres, never mind the 3 thousand cars (give or take) that we have on the road.

OP, if the tyre centre told you it cant be repaired, i'd doubt it can be. They dont want to be responsible for you having an accident a mile down the road due to a tyre they shouldnt have repaired giving way. Shop around, get your prices together, and if you need any priced up, PM me and i'll check them out tommorow in work.

I had to get a valve on a tyre changed and the first place(fastfit) told me they wouldn't do it because my tyres were not road worthy (2 years old) and that they would be responsible should my tyres explode ,he was also surprised when I told him it passed the nct a month previous .

Drummerboy08

badabing106 wrote: »

I had to get a valve on a tyre changed and the first place(fastfit) told me they wouldn't do it because my tyres were not road worthy (2 years old) and that they would be responsible should my tyres explode ,he was also surprised when I told him it passed the nct a month previous .

One months worth of driving could easily cause a tyre to become unroadworthy. If your tyre thread was at 2mm during the test, they were legal, but after a months driving, they could be easily be below the legal limit.

The question is, were your tyres roadworthy in the opinion of a different tyre centre?

BostonB

badabing106 wrote: »

I had to get a valve on a tyre changed and the first place(fastfit) told me they wouldn't do it because my tyres were not road worthy (2 years old) and that they would be responsible should my tyres explode ,he was also surprised when I told him it passed the nct a month previous .

Why specifically were they unroadworthy?

I've seen bald tyres pass a NCT so I wouldn't hold the NCT as a measure of a good tyre. Maybe its improved.

badabing106

The next place replaced the valve on the wheel no prob , and to be honest I never asked the mechanic whether he thought it was road worthy or not .Allthough he did say that the brakepad on that side would need replacing so I presume in his opinion there was nothing wrong with the tyre itself .

BostonB

thereitisgone wrote: »

No i am not trying to claim that the tyre industry have been illegally supplying un-roadworthy tyres to motorists for the past ten years, what i am saying is that the safe road worthiness of a tyre is a lot more than 8 years and before he goes out and buys a new tyre get a second opinion and even a third if he is still not sure on what he was told.

I would guess its depend entirely on the specific tyre. I'm sure softer vs hardware tryes and different compounds all go off at different rates. Thus would have entirely different lifepan.

My experience is they don't all last 8yrs +. A lot less in fact.

BostonB

RoverJames wrote: »

Uniroyal are a premium wet weather tyre Interestingly Semperit are their budget brand, Semperit are a class tyre too.

Tyre reviews are something I take with a grain of salt to be honest if they are from Joe Public.

I actually mean official tests. That said if you see a lot of complaints from JoeP about a specific tyre thats not a good sign.

badabing106

BostonB wrote: »

Why specifically were they unroadworthy?

I've seen bald tyres pass a NCT so I wouldn't hold the NCT as a measure of a good tyre. Maybe its improved.

Because they were cracks in between the grooves I think is what he said .or that was at least where he was pointing .

BostonB

Cracks. Thats not good.

badabing106

I will have a detailed look at the tyre(s) ithis evening .Maybe i'll post a pic of it as well .

SalmoTheLeaper

Just bought two new front tyres last week for my astra, 65 quid a piece for firestones (175/65r 82t) in Ennis. The old contenintals I had on before them only lasted 12k before they were down past the bridge. The very next morning i was coming out of my estate, 2nd gear round a bend and the rear of the car spun right around to face the way i came!! :eek: Thank god there was nothing coming. Probably should've got the rears replaced too while i was at it

You're driving skills must be well lacking if that happened to be honest, you must have been going too fast.

SalmoTheLeaper

I'd say the rear wheels aqua-planed, conditions were terrible at the time. Having said that, I probably was giving it a bit more welly than usual, the new tyres probably gave me a false sense of security. First time it ever happened to me though, and slowed me right back down again!

Fey!

OP; if money is tight, you could change 2 tyres now and the other 2 in a couple of weeks when you have some more cash together.

Someone on here mentioned Roadstone tyres; I have these on the Hilux (they were on it when I got it), and while they wear well, they are horrendous in the wet.

flogen

Went to Fast Fit in Santry just there (the one near the M1, not the Omni one).

Was €70 for Goodyear "Duragrips", ended up only getting two (and getting the alignment sorted, which was another €30).

Will hopefully get the others replaced soon but they look to be OK - the one I got replaced besides the punctured one had a bubble coming up so was top of the list to get sorted.

Could have been nasty, potentially perished rubber with a bulge on one of them. Good thing you got them replaced anyway :cool:

flogen

RoverJames wrote: »

Could have been nasty, potentially perished rubber with a bulge on one of them. Good thing you got them replaced anyway :cool:

Once I saw the bulge on it I thought it best to replace. The others look OK and will hopefully do me until I get paid.

So I now have two brand-spanking Goodyears on the front, two 8-year old Firestones on the back.

BostonB

flogen wrote: »

Once I saw the bulge on it I thought it best to replace. The others look OK and will hopefully do me until I get paid.

So I now have two brand-spanking Goodyears on the front, two 8-year old Firestones on the back.

Personally I think that mismatch might be hairy.