Just a general question here. I went to Belle Tire and had a slow leak repaired. They fixed it without charge but the salesman said I should think about replacing my tires due to age. To me the tires look fine and they have about 24,000 miles on them. I bought the car new in 2013. Opinions on this?

 

I've read a range of 6-10 years depending on the source. Michelin says 10 years max. You should replace the tires regardless of age if you notice dry cracking in the rubber or having less grip and the rubber has less grip as they age.

 

Yeah, those tires are definitely long in the tooth; check the manufacturing date on them (instructions on how to check the date are available via your favorite search engine); they could easily have been a year or more old when your car was built.

 

Different take here: in 8 years you've driven car 24,000 miles, so 250 miles per month average.
For low usage, around the town driver they'll work, just don't speed in the rain and expect to stop as short as in the old days.

Few years ago I had a Subaru with ~ 9 year old tires and I could tell the reduced grip in winter rains (mtn pass with curves) at 65 mph - so got them replaced.

 

Thanks for all your responses. I'll definitely keep a close eye on them.

 

Checked the manufacture date: 5112, which means the last week of December 2012, so they're 8 plus years old.

 

Has the car been primarily garage kept? If so then the tires are probably okay for local work, however, ain't no way I'd take a long trip on them.

My guess is, if you take a close look at the sidewall near the rim you're going to find a series if small cracks in the rubber all of the way around; these cracks typically show up when cars don't get driven much (rubber is odd in that it needs to be exercised to remain supple); especially if the tires have been exposed to lots of sunlight.

 

The car has been in the garage except for the few months it spent on the dealerships lot. I drive it every day, but usually very short distances - a mile or two.