I'd be very disappointed to find my newly bought tyres were that old, unless heavily discounted more than usual for a premium make, Tyreleader used to offer bargain prices on tyres that were around 2 or 3 year old stock (those were clearly marked with year of manufacture on the website) i don't know if thats still the case....for high mileage drivers likely to burn them out in a couple of years a useful saving.

If i had paid full price for these then they would not have to worry about me darkening their doorstep again and i would be telling the owner why.

As for harder ride, have you double checked the load rating is correct for your car, some XL rated tyres having higher load ratings may give a harsher ride, also double check the pressures are correct for your usual number of passengers and typical speeds, not all pressure stickers on cars are clear, older Mercs for example the first figure that stood out you would assume was standard but in fact that was for fully loaded and autobahn constant speeds and you were supposed to deduct 4 or so psi for normal driving, but that became only clear on close scrutiny of the sticker.

Those tyres might give a harder ride even if they weren't 3 years old, haven't used that make for years, even the highly praised Michelin sport type tyres i've had to remove from a hard sprung car before due to the excessively harsh and noisy ride, stuck Vredesteins on and it was much improved in both.

To put things in perspective, the winter set on our Forester must be 6 or 7 years old now, they only get used 4 months of the year, are barely worn and show no signs of ageing in appearance or grip or hardness of the compound, they spend time off the car clean fully inflated and in total darkness, incidentally Made in England...amazing we still made something in a factory here 7 years sgo.

Edited by gordonbennet on 06/01/2023 at 10:06

I believe they can be sold as new up to 5 years from the date of production. But at the same time, some sources suggest tyres be replaced at around 7 years from the production date due to the ageing effects.

This is not a new topic for discussion. I was interested to see a note in the Driver's Handbook issued in 1991 with my 205 :

"The spare wheel can show signs of aging ; use it with care. If a tyre is more than 6 years old, consult an authorised dealer" (so many things get referred to 'authorised dealers').

On a 205 the spare wheel is cradled outside under the boot floor, where it is shielded from direct sunlight but otherwise exposed to the elements. I have found spare tyres on 205s much more than 6 years old but still looking almost new. But certainly tyres on road wheels can look pretty tired by 6 years old, and mild cracking seems to be common even if pressures have been maintained.