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10 March 2009
Age: Good for Wine, Bad for Tires
Know the “Birthdays” of the Tires in Your Stock
When you sell your customer a new tire, is it really new? Or has it been sitting in a warehouse somewhere,gathering dust, until someone finally got to it and added it to your order?
Wine improves with aging, but tires definitely don’t—and if you’re not paying attention to the manufacturer’s date on the sidewall, you could be passing along a problem tire that could affect your customer, your supplier, and your business.
As you know, the tire manufacturer put the date the tire was made on its sidewall. Everyone in your shop should be aware of the codes, know how to read them, and understand their importance.
No regulations
While there are no regulations in either Canada or the U.S. on the shelf life of tires, Transport Canada recommends that tires should not be put into service if they have been in storage for more than six years, and that all tires should be replaced ten years from their date of manufacture.
If you’ve got a very full warehouse, it’s entirely possible that some tires might get overlooked, especially if they’re in a slow-selling size, and could sit until they’re close to the recommended expiration date. Stock rotation should depend not on the date you got the tire, but on the day it was manufactured.
A higher profile
You can expect this to take on a higher profile with customers, especially since ABC News prepared a special investigative report earlier this year. The network called aged tires a “ticking time bomb,” even as it reported that some tire companies and car manufacturers issue consumer warnings about using a car beyond a specified age.
ABC also reported that some of its “local reporters” went into tire shops, looking for aged tires sold as new. While the network didn’t say how many shops the reporters visited or how many tires they examined overall, they found seven tires, one at a branded tire store and the rest at Wal-Mart, made anywhere from 1999 to 2001 and sold as new.
That’s not a lot, but it’s seven too many when it comes to consumer confidence, and such stories quickly take on a life of their own.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that it has been examining the issue since 2002, but will not consider regulations until it has determined an accurate test to measure the effects of age on new tires, and has studied costs and potential safety benefits.
Tires deteriorate over time
Transport Canada says that it does not regulate shelf life “because the department’s investigations have not revealed a pattern of motor vehicle collisions caused by tire failure due to tire aging of the time of sale.” As well, “many variables come into account to evaluate a tire lifetime, such as environment (storage conditions, temperature, climate), the driven frequency, the composition and quality of tire, and vehicle maintenance practices (proper inflation pressure, wheel alignment, etc.). As such, many experts agreed that tires deteriorate over time, even if they are not used or driven on.”
In other words, it’s up to you to regulate your stock; just as importantly for your business, you need to keep your customer informed. It’s a good opportunity to build your goodwill by letting customers know that they’re getting fresh stock, by showing them how to read their tire codes and the importance of replacing old tires, even if they’re not badly worn, and to replace their spare tires when they get too old. Make their tires’ birthdays work for them—and for you.
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