Last week I ordered a Magnum 500 wheel and tire package from CJ. The reproduction wheels are decent quality but not impressed with the tires. They are all over two years old, dated 1824 and 2424. Called customer service and their response was oh well, they are still new. Their policy is any tire up to three old are still considered new.
Just an FYI to question them on dates if anyone is considering buying a set.
Yeah, sub-issue: some new tire dealers WILL NOT touch a tire (unless of course you are buying new ones) that are older than 10 years. They say liability issues.
A few years back, NY put out update to inspection stations. Inspector MAY fail tire eight years or more old, even if it looks new. They are not required to date check tires, but can.
We use a great independent tire shop. They do suspension, brakes, tires and for some reason, minor AC work. Oil changes? Nope. Spark plugs? Nope. I went in to get 4 new tires for the wife's Honda. He checked his stock but only had 2. I got a ride home as he'd have to order the other two. About 2 hours later he called. I expect to hear "It's done, come get it or do we need to pick you up?". Instead he said "It's going to be another 2 hours. They brought us 4 tires, but three of them have date codes from 2 years ago. We won't put them on". That's the kind of people you want looking after your tires.
+1
The problem is those kind of places are very hard to find.
Tires over 5 years old will not pass inspection at some car clubs running HPDE or open track events. Best to read the fine print when you register.