[champignon]

Last night I finally got around to ordering a set of Michelin PS4A performance snow tires on wheels, a square 18" set, for my M2. There is a rebate active now, plus I got a slight reduction on the wheels, and of course everything is cheaper by going down a size and staying square, which is a good idea with snow tires.

I placed my order with the Tire Rack, and on the order comments, put in that I wanted the "newest age DOT tires." Then for good measure, I called in this morning, spoke with a customer service agent, and made sure that the comment about the newest tires available was on the order. The lady said it was all in there and that's what I was going to get.

Just now, 3 hours later (today is a Saturday, also, so I don't think they are actually mounting tires today), I got a phone call from a guy who I am assuming is a more senior person than the lady I spoke with earlier. He said that the way their warehouses are set up, it's first in, first out on all tires orders. He said that there are about 500 of the specific tire in the specific size I ordered in the warehouse (in Nevada) where the tires will be assembled. He said there is no way that they can go through those 500 tires and pick out the 4 newest ones for me, plus they rotate their stock and that would defeat the purpose of doing that. He also said that the tires are stored in a cool and dark warehouse and that they don't deteriorate in that storage, without exposure to the elements and especially to light.

Further, he said that tires are good for 6 years on the vehicle (or less due to mileage and wear), that the clock starts when mounted and put on the car, and that as long as the tires are less than 4 years old when mounted you should still get the 6 years on the car that is considered normal, before dry rot sets in.

I asked him how old were the oldest tires of the type and size that I had ordered sitting in that Nevada warehouse. He said the oldest ones were manufactured at the end of 2016, so my tires could conceivably be as old as about 20 months at this stage. He then said that he wanted to be sure that I was comfortable with that before they proceeded on the order, and if I wasn't, that I should cancel it.

I left the order in place.

I'm not reporting this from the standpoint that I know anything about this subject, and that I necessarily agree or disagree with what I was told, I'm just putting this into the thread for the consideration of those who have read this far, and the experience of a current buyer.