3 1/2 year old Coker tires sold as new

My solution for the problem of spending a ****** fortune on wheels and tires up front when the rest of the project's got maybe $500 into it thus far:



A little exterior plywood, a little CNC router time, and voila. They'll suffice for mockups and measurements and rolling the frame around.

 

You're fine with bias plies, they don't have steel chords in them that rust and make the belts separate like radials do. Not that I recommend it, but my buddy had a full kustom Dodge one time that had bias plies on it that were literally from the 50's and he drove it almost daily, including 80 mph on the freeway. On the other hand, I woudn't do that on a radial that was more than 6 years old.

 

Just think of the hundreds of Hot Rods and Antique projects that have been under construction for TEN years or more that had NEW tires put on them only to sit around unused. I never knew there was a date code on tires until this thread was started. Bob

 

i still have this "bald" Coker.. it was my spare.. but now its just an extra.. this picture was taken 7 years ago... before my buddy gave them to me.. it was on his truck for 2 years. This tire is outside as we speak.. no cracks and still holding air.. your tires are just fine. i will always buy from Coker, and have had zero problems with the tires or the service.

 

The problem is that when you are building a car from the ground up it really helps to have the final tires and wheels on it so you can dial in the stance and ride height you are after. I have always ordered my tires at the beginning of the project, mounted them, and by the time the car is on the road they might be 3-5 years old, but brand new. So far I have never had any issues with tire failure due to them being a little older when finally put into service.

Don

 

Back in the mid 70s I bought a set of Goodyear Double Eagle www's
a friend and his dad had stored in a warehouse after closing out a
service station in 1960. They were still wrapped in that brown paper
stripping stuff. So they were about 15 years old when I got them.

They were fine in appearance and I had no problems with them during
the several years I used them. Did not drive the car very much....was
still working on it but it was sort of usable. Finally replaced them as the car
had to sit out over time, and the white wall part began "checking", kind of
getting grainey looking. The tread still looked like new. Still using one for
a spare.

So, some tires will hold up for a lot of years.......but I don't recommend
doing any high speed driving with them.

I didn't know about the manufacture date thing.....so will be looking
for that in the future.

I would think a more freshly manufactured tire would be desirable in
the case of the OP......since some drive their cars more often and
perhaps faster--- because they can. (Ain't that why you put those
big, souped-up motors in there????)

 

what,,you want them hot off the press,,,3 years is nothing for a "warehoused" tire

 

My only complaint would be to get the 3-1/2 year old price. Now listen to you guys. Say...You buy a brand new (this year) set of tires for your new build.... Install them and run them for 1-3000 miles per year. You're telling me you would be concerned after 3 years and 9000 miles on them??? How many of you would change them for another set??? Get real boys,,,, I will be buying two of these tires this spring and I don't give a rats *** if they have an older date on them providing they aren't 6 years or older. But I will ask about the price.

 

What is funny is the fact that if someone advertised a set of four NOS 1928 Model A tires on here, over half of you guys on this bandwagon would be fighting over them for your car, and not care anything about date codes. And when questioned, the reply would be "They have the "correct look", and I am only going to run them a few miles".

 

I can understand paying for new tires and expecting new tires. I'm not saying that tires don't deteriorate even when stored in a friendly environment. But, around 1988 Don Garlits toured the country giving exhibition p***es in Swamp Rat I. I watched him run 160+ on slicks he said were made in 1959(29 years old). Don said he was taking it a little easy because of the tires. While I'm not saying it was a good idea, or that it wasn't dangerous, it's a counterpoint to the presebnt panic over tire age.

I needed some old and worn out tires mounted to use as rolling jack stands on a car I am building. Due to legal concerns I couldn't find a tire store willing to mount them, even if I signed a statement indicating they would not be used on the road. I had to do it manually myself. Businesses like propane companies, welding regulator parts suppliers, and ladder manufacturers get sued all the time by people who have done something stupid. Tire stores don't want that to happen to them.

 

Safe or not 3 1/5 years is not new. You should have been told

 

Absolutely!

Throw them on the car and enjoy the ride.

 

I agree, definitely people posting up coddling coker balls, facts are facts and they are old tires sold as new.
I'd be bummed myself with the lack of proper response, but then again, Corky knows, if he starts to make things right on one complaint, he has a whole ****load he has to correct if he starts, kinda like a snowball effect.

 

I have heard that using tires keeps them fresher. There are chemicals in the rubber that "move" as the rubber flexs through use. I am not saying that Coker isnt storing them properly as I expect they are. I wouldnt compare that to the spare we all tend to ignore.

 

Lawsuit? Looks like lawers are involved in the whole tires go bad after x many yrears thing. Never used to be a problem. I would like to see how they proved the blowouts were caused by deteriorated tires due to age and nto wear, improper inflation, improper repair etc etc. I also wonder if the EPA mandated the removal of something used in tire manufacturing that is causing this problem. Lots of conjecture, not many facts.

 

Maybe this entire thread is good for all of us to learn to ask questions before making any purchase of an item that cost this kind of money.

I think it would also make for better customer relations to explain the age problem to each customer who is buying your product.

Even if you explain this first to the customer and then they decide not want to purchase the tires they will also respect you for being up front with them before they made the purchase.

The most important lesson for anyone selling any type of product is to be honest with the customer first.

Many people think the most important thing is making the sale but what's really what's important is having a happy customer who will come back again and make another purchase from you and the way you do that is really simple.

Always be honest and fair and give them more then they thought they were going to get.

Maybe someone at Coker simply forgot to inform the customer about the age of the tires or to explain that they could still be used without any problem or maybe even offer them a discount once they are over a certain number of years old.

No company I know wants to have unhappy customers telling all their friends about a bad experience!!!!!!!!

Just my two cents. Jimbo

 

***yawn***

 

Their traditional.

 

Since tire date codes, and safety concerns have been brought to the public eye, people are now aware, and concerned about their age..is it justified?..Yes, if a tire shop refuses to mount them, or a blow out occures, because of it.
We as a group are merely consumers, we buy based on the cool factor, cost, ride, accessability, etc.
The manufacturers on the other hand, are the experts, it is their industry, therefore they should, and do know the rules, concerns, and liabilities.
For a manufacturer, armed with this information, and to still sell border line, or close to expired date codes, is an injustice, and irresponsible.
Now, to play the devils advocate, say, each of the manufactures employed people in their warehouses to dispose of tires as they become say eight months or older. How much more would we all be paying in cost, and in time for that new set of tires?

 

Wake up Larry.

I was looking for 17" Firestone tires for my lightning when I found some NOS 500- 16" Firestones still wrapped in the paper banding that they used back then for a 100 bucks a pair. That was about 5 years ago but they are perfect for my Deuce.

The mounted 15" tires on my 56 are all checked and I'm pretty sure they are newer than my 16"ers. I'll buy new.

I may be wrong but I don't believe that a tire suddenly explodes when a timed fuse runs out. My point is that you need to look at your tires no matter when they were made.

 

You might be right about them being better off getting used rather than sitting in the garage or in my case mounted in the spare tire carrier, but I'll say this. A friend gave me 4 used Goodyear tires in 1994, they were probably 3 or 4 years old then. I had them on and off my Mustang since then, 10 years of which they did nothing but sit in the garage, and they were still holding air and held up fine to me driving on them in 2011 and 2012 when I got my car all back together and on the road. Now I have 2 of them still mounted on wheels to use as rollers. So thats around 22+ years for name brand tires, and they do show dry rot around the edge where the tread meets the sidewall, but the Cornell has no excuse for dry rotting to the point of air escaping through the sidewall after 5 years.

 

The amount of blatant disregard for personal safety on the Hamb is staggering - it gives credence to the old adage 'you can't fix stupid'. The OP has every right to expect recently manufactured tires when purchasing from a reputable company. That's why there are consumer protection agencies and organizations. It is also why you should use a major credit card to purchase. Then you let the credit card fight with the supplier and that way you will probably get your return freight paid. After all the OP did not request three year old tires when he placed his order with half their usable life already consumed when delivered. Drama - no, common sense, yes....

 

This deserves to be repeated.

 

Don't start that, you made me start yawning.

 

Xs 3

 

I'd like a cheeseburger happy meal please

 

I just received a set of WWW's to mount on my '51 Ford club coupe from Coker. I am replacing the tires now on it that I installed in 1987. I figured it was about time. A couple of the tires are getting a little worn, but they all look fine in a close inspection. I guess I better check the date codes on my "new" tires.

On the other hand, the original BFG Silvertowns on my 1948 Seagrave pumper with 3500 miles on it still seem to look and work good. I just don't drive it very fast or very far anymore.

 

Can I have your old ones? They sound fresher than the ones I bought yesterday.

 

I recently chunked the tread on one of my "made in 2006" white stripe radials. So I bought a new set of "made in 2012" white stripe radials for $340 from discount tire.
I travel alot of high speed highway miles and I would be pist if I found out my "new" tires were actually 3 years old.

 

I called Coker Tire Co. this morning to address these issues and our concerns. Coker Tire Company stated they do not go by the DOT code stamped on the tire. He said they currently have tires in the warehouse that are 4 years old that will be sold as new.

Instead Coker Tire Co offers a Life of Tread Manufactures Warrenty. Of course they check the tread depth and deduct from there. Also, tires will be prorated after 15 months according to treadwear. Some limits of liability, exclusions, and owner obligations apply.

I explained to the Coker Rep that I was somewhat aggravated that I was sold tires that were 4 years old on the date I made the purchase. He said, "I ***ure you there's not a safety issue". Also, "Your tires are not going to detread". He said that may be a concern for m*** produced tires, but not "specialty tires" and they stand behind their tires.

I told him I want to exchange my "new" 4 year old tires and he said, "There's not a warrentable issue".

I informed him of this thread and he said he would p*** it along to the Vice President.

When ordering tires you CAN request tires with a recent DOT Code. In the future this is what I will be doing. For all the idiots on here that want old tires, they have 4 year old tires for you, too. (It's not my fault you have a low I.Q.) As for me, I'll be requesting newer tires.