Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 10:02:58 -0500
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Michelin Agilis 51/61 Tires- Dis-Information
Content-Type: text/plain
A recent post indicated that Michelin was not going to continue importing
the Agilis tires that work well on Vanagons and Westy.
I spoke with Tim in the Texas Regional Offices of Discount tire company.
He telephoned Christy with Michelin and she said that there was not a
recall, not any problems and the tires are available, although they are
not a hot item and you may need to order them in advance of your need.
-------------------------
Could you please advise me of how the following information may effect
the 4 Agilis Tires I purchased from your Forest Lane Store in Dallas.
Is there going to be a recall or similar event?
I've only got 1500 miles on my Agilis tires and I'm not looking forward
to paying out more adjustment fees.
Stan Wilder
214-352-5396
----------- Everything below this line is a copy---------
Today, I spoke with a Michelin rep (Kristy or Christy) at the national
customer number (800-847-3435) for Michelin. According to her, the Agilis
has been discontinued in the US and Michelin has not made a decision
about
what they will replace the tire with or if they will import the Agilis in
the future. My first thought was that she was mistaken since I purchased
five
Agilis 61 tires two weeks ago from Tire Rack. According to her, I was
extremely lucky to have received the tires and that Michelin was now
directing all Vanagon and Eurovan owners to call Nokian Tire North
American
Headquarters at 800-565-2525 and that Nokian was going to import tires to
fit the vans. Kristy never asked me if I had a Vanagon, she just assumed
I
had one based on my purchase of the Agilis 61 in the 185/14 size--I
suppose
that is the only vehicle the Agilis 61 is appropriate for in the US.
I called Nokian at 800-565-2525 and spoke with Al DiBaggio at Nokian
Headquarters in Nashville. He was extremely helpful and said that both
Volkswagen and Michelin customer reps had started directing Eurovan and
Vanagon customers to him. He is genuinely surprised at what is going on
and
told me he was not familiar with the Vanagon and is trying to decide how
many tires to import to meet demand. He asked VW for information on how
many Vanagons were produced so that he may estimate an appropriate number
of
tires to order, but as of this
afternoon, he hadn't heard back from VW. I directed him to the
www.vanagon.com site to get a feel for Vanagons, etc.
According to Al, he will have two tires in a 185/14 that have the load
carrying capacity for Vanagons. Al said the demand for these tires was
unexpected and that since he will now be carrying them, information on
the
tires will be added to his website http://www.nokian.com/ . He hoped to
have this information posted by tomorrow afternoon.
One 185/14 tire is a Nokian CQ with a load index of 100. He has 12-14 of
these in stock and will receive more. These are supposed to be a fairly
aggressive all season but more of a winter type tire.
Another 185/14 tire is a Nokian CS with a load index of 102 and he
expects
to receive them later this month.
We have all heard of Michelin reps in the past saying Michelin was
discontinuing tires when in fact the tires were just backordered. But, I
have never heard of Michelin reps directing customers to another tire
company. Based on my conversation with Al DiBaggio, he certainly believes
that Michelin has discontinued the Agilis in the US and is scrambling to
determine how many Nokian CS's and CQ's to import.
Thought I would pass this information along. If you need further
information, check the Nokian website tomorrow or call Al, or call
Michelin
and see if you get the same story I did. Al did say he was leaving for
Finland later this week or early next week--I forget which.
Now you know as much as I do.
Harold
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Harold Teer
Harrisonburg, VA
teerhb@hotmail.com
'91 Westy
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