Vanagon EuroVan
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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
Comments: To: type2@type2.com
Comments: cc: westyvanagon@YAHOO.COM
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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