Tire Rack Sent me Tires that are nearly 2 Year Old; RESOLVED
10-01-2010, 02:01 PM
#31
Race Director
If Chuck drives 15,000 miles a year, the older tires won't matter, but if he puts on 5,000 miles per year, that's a user life of 6 years, so I think that two year old tires make a difference in terms of "aging" the tires by another two years. It gets worse the less miles he puts on the car per year. Tires definitely have a shelf life unlike, say, an exhaust system, suspension arm or brake rotor.
10-01-2010, 02:13 PM
#32
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And the saga ends..... Tire Rack has agreed to send me two new tires that were manufactured in 2010. Thanks again for all the responses.
10-01-2010, 02:18 PM
#33
Rennlist Member
I called customer service this morning to check the status of my call last night. A different representative told me that the warehouse hadn't gotten back to them yet. She also told me that Tire Rack took possession of the tires in March of this year. That leaves a year and four month gap from when the tires were manufactured and Tire Rack got them.
Consumer interest in the performance tire sector has increasingly grown to demand 'fresh from the mold' dated tires. Countering this, the mere dynamics of this sector of rapidly changing technologies and dimensions make 5 year storage unrealistic anyway. As reasonable an expectation as that may be ( week old 'fresh'), a two year old tire drawn from proper storage will perform (IMHO) as well as one made last week.
And, BTW, the customer is always right: if a 2 year old tire is uncomfortable to wear, it should be exchanged or refunded without penalty. I do however, not understand the logic behind other posts positioning , "take it at 50% price" argument ..... if the tire is believed to be lacking in either safety or performance, then it should not be installed at any price.
EDIT: Aha - successful conclusion while I was 5 min. slower on the keyboard - good conclusion!
Last edited by Garth S; 10-01-2010 at 02:39 PM.
10-01-2010, 04:28 PM
#35
Drifting
A happy ending! I know first hand that 10 year old tires can deteriorate extremely quickly. I had good tires when I bought my car in Phoenix (PPI and everything) and they were all shot by the time I drove the 1700 miles home. That is when I discovered date codes. 
10-01-2010, 06:11 PM
#36
A comment about buying from Tire Rack:
Although I feel that TR is a good company and has a wide choice of tires, I've discovered that most all decent local tire shops will match TR's prices. They also can get any of the tires (and more) that TR sells, although sometimes it can take an extra day depending on the distributor's inventory.
The only difference is state tax. And you still have to pay for DOT, mounting/balancing, and disposal fee whether it's TR or local.
In the past several years I've been shopping local instead of TR.
Although I feel that TR is a good company and has a wide choice of tires, I've discovered that most all decent local tire shops will match TR's prices. They also can get any of the tires (and more) that TR sells, although sometimes it can take an extra day depending on the distributor's inventory.
The only difference is state tax. And you still have to pay for DOT, mounting/balancing, and disposal fee whether it's TR or local.
In the past several years I've been shopping local instead of TR.
10-01-2010, 10:44 PM
#38
Three Wheelin'
Well since we're all chit-chattin about TR, I'll say I've had some great (anecdotal) experiences with them.
Twice, I went to shops near my house and no one could get the Potenzas I wanted, either at all or within four or five business days. One call to TR and they had the tires shipped and to the install shop on the second day following that.
Another time I asked to return a tire that I believed was out of round. No problem getting an RA and ship label to send it back at no charge to me. They even sent me a replacement tire prior.
dave
Twice, I went to shops near my house and no one could get the Potenzas I wanted, either at all or within four or five business days. One call to TR and they had the tires shipped and to the install shop on the second day following that.
Another time I asked to return a tire that I believed was out of round. No problem getting an RA and ship label to send it back at no charge to me. They even sent me a replacement tire prior.
dave
10-02-2010, 11:17 AM
#39
Nordschleife Master
).
10-02-2010, 03:08 PM
#40
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Lucky people you are. Try buying 13" Kumho race rubber. The newest available is 2005 date codes. Rack sent me 4 of them in 2009. I got very upset and call them on it. They agreed to either take them back or give me a pretty significant gist certificate for future purchases. They also put the date code warning on their web page after our conversation.
So, this was not too bad of an experience, though unpleasant. But I feel that Rack is slipping lately. They did cancel an order for RE-10s that they took for my 993. no explanation given, just a not that order is cancelled. I've been buying from them since early 90s. They were better before.
So, this was not too bad of an experience, though unpleasant. But I feel that Rack is slipping lately. They did cancel an order for RE-10s that they took for my 993. no explanation given, just a not that order is cancelled. I've been buying from them since early 90s. They were better before.
10-02-2010, 04:06 PM
#41
Race Director
06-23-2011, 11:35 PM
#42
Three Wheelin'
I just received my second set of tires for my 993 from Tire Rack. The newest of the four were 3 years old and the others were 4 years old. I don't think I will be ordering from them again, regardless of storage practices, if I can get competitive pricing on newer tires through tire companies that will match prices. Just my $.02.
06-24-2011, 12:43 AM
#43
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It's pretty telling that Rack reps tend to jump into topics where Rack is being praised and have zero interest in dealing with complaints.
Still a good company, but slipping significantly compared to 10-12 years ago. Lack of competition, I think, is catching up with customer service. I have not bought from them in a couple years now, come to think of it. Try to find alternatives. So far discounttiredirect.com has been pretty good to me. If I need Hoosiers I buy them directly.
Still a good company, but slipping significantly compared to 10-12 years ago. Lack of competition, I think, is catching up with customer service. I have not bought from them in a couple years now, come to think of it. Try to find alternatives. So far discounttiredirect.com has been pretty good to me. If I need Hoosiers I buy them directly.
06-24-2011, 01:12 AM
#44
Three Wheelin'
I just wanted to give others a heads up.
Best of luck to all of you when dealing with them.
06-24-2011, 01:26 AM
#45
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During my ordeal I spoke with a TR Representative that was able to tell what the dates were on the tires I needed at the various TR warehouse across the nation. Once she found ones that had a newer date code she ordered them from that warehouse. I went through three reps until I found one that would do their job.
And, I agree with Mike. I tried to contact the Damon, the Rennlist TR site sponsor for help. He would never get back to me. Now, if I wanted to place an order, I am sure he would have returned my call.
And, I agree with Mike. I tried to contact the Damon, the Rennlist TR site sponsor for help. He would never get back to me. Now, if I wanted to place an order, I am sure he would have returned my call.