Is there a way to determine the age of a tire by looking at the numbers and letters on the sidewall? About six months ago a friend acquired a mint condition, all original '80 Cadillac Seville with 37,000 miles. This week when he was talking with the former owner, he asked when the tires had been changed, and was told the were the original tires. While they have plenty of tread, now he's concerned about dry-rot and tire disintegration while going 70 mph on the highway.
I, and probably many on the list have bought cars with tires that appear to be fine, but which in fact may be long past their freshness date. How big a concern is this, especially when the car is only driven perhaps 1000 miles a year? Am I being paranoid?