Modern Buddy

Just bought a used 2012 buddy... 3k miles put on it tread is still fine .. tires are now over 8 years old ... should I replace them due to age ? Or do I have some time left ?

Can you visibly see cracks? Look real close. Are they holding air. Inflate them to 30 lbs now. Check them regularly for a while. If you do not see cracks, and they are holding air, Ride it until the rear is bald.

Yes, some continue to ride on a set of tires until the rubber rots or the tread is gone. I don't. Here's why. Rubber hardens as it ages. As it hardens it is less able to provide a good grip in the pavement, especially in corners and on wet days. I generally try to change out scooter and motorcycle tires every 5 or 6 years. My life is riding on those two little patches of rubber. My local auto and truck tire shop will not service any tires over 7 years old for the same reason, so my camper gets new tires whether I like it or not.

You'll wonder a lot of things about what could be going on with that scooter for the first few thousand miles of ownership.

Under those circumstances, "are these eight-year-old-tires going to be OK" is a dumb one to wonder about.

If that were me, I would toss them.

I heard that scooter tires are only meant to last five years from the date of manufacture due to the rubber deterioration.

In fact, in my other thread where my sister's dog bit my scooter tire and put a crack in the sidewall, I had to order a replacement from Scooterworks. They sent me a tire from the same lot as the one that I replaced a year and a half ago. So the date on the tire was 2017.

I wrote the sales team and said that it was ridiculous they sold me a three year old tire and that, because it was the rear which usually only lasts two years before the tread is gone, I would keep it. But had that been the front tire, I would have demanded a discount or a replacement. He said it was an accident and that they run through tires often enough that should not happen. He didn't know why I received a tire that old and said he was instructing his staff the check the dates on all the tires in the warehouse at that point.