FMCA member discount for tires, what's the story?

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
A buddy of mine is deadly close to replacing the 11 year old 255 80R 22.5 Michelin tires on his '06 Meridian. He's looking at maybe a few bucks over $4100 for 6 new Michelin XRVs which, are the same as he has now. Before any one suggests Toyos or, Good Years or any other brand as an alternative, he's already done some exhausting research on multiple brands and, proximity sizes. He's pretty much settled on the XRVs. I myself am running around a set of 6.5 year old XRVs. Mine are showing ultra minor cracking near the rims.

So, seeing that price he's come up with, I've been reading on here for quite some time about this "FMCA membership" discount. May I ask, what's the entire story on that?

That is,

1. Do you have to be a member for a given amount of time before you're entitled to any form of discount?
2. What kind of a discount are we talking here?
3. What's the procedure for using the discount? That is, do you just present a membership card when purchasing them etc.?
4. Are you dictated to purchase the tires at any particular tire establishment or, do you have full control over that?
5. Has anyone had any "issues" with FMCA concernig this discount? I mean, I don't know what kind of issues anyone would have but, I'm also maybe not knowing all the details of a deal like this.


Now, for NORMAL tires, as in our pickup, Jeep, boat trailer etc., we just buzz on down to Discount, give them the keys and, pick up our vehicle in an hour or two with new tires on it and, for the most part are happy with the business deal we just completed. But, we're talking right close or over $4K worth of tires here so, I'm thinking it's going to pay to learn as much about this kind of thing waaaaaaaaaaaay before we make the deal he's looking at in the next week or so. Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks
Scott

P.S. We both live here in Lake Havasu City AZ and, well, there's just not that many larger tire dealers or service centers in our immediate area. (Now, if you want a boat, we got zillions of those) About the closest larger cities to us that would have multiple large tire centers would be Vegas to the NW and, Phoenix to the SE, both 2.5 - 3 hours away. The deal he's leaning on is right here in Havasu. Not only is there a convienience factor here but, we're both are thinking of "after the sale service" too. To be able to go to a place in your local town to remedy a potential issue is of top priority.
Scott

P.S. 2, By the way, if any of you have purchased a set of Michelin XRVs, in say the 255 size lately, how happy with them are you, in terms of how does your coach handle, ride, stop, corner etc. with the new ones on there, as opposed to the older set you just replaced? Thanks
Scott

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Gents,
A buddy of mine is deadly close to replacing the 11 year old 255 80R 22.5 Michelin tires on his '06 Meridian. He's looking at maybe a few bucks over $4100 for 6 new Michelin XRVs which, are the same as he has now. Before any one suggests Toyos or, Good Years or any other brand as an alternative, he's already done some exhausting research on multiple brands and, proximity sizes. He's pretty much settled on the XRVs. I myself am running around a set of 6.5 year old XRVs. Mine are showing ultra minor cracking near the rims.

So, seeing that price he's come up with, I've been reading on here for quite some time about this "FMCA membership" discount. May I ask, what's the entire story on that?

That is,

1. Do you have to be a member for a given amount of time before you're entitled to any form of discount? No
2. What kind of a discount are we talking here? Depends on the tire model and size, it's not a % off
3. What's the procedure for using the discount? That is, do you just present a membership card when purchasing them etc.? NO, you need to register your CC with FMCA, good for 30 days. You also have to add the Federal excise tax, disposal fees, mounting and balancing to their prices. You will pay the mounting, balancing and disposal fees direct to the dealer at the time of install. The tire bill will be charged to your card and FMCA will send the bill through to your CC carrier
4. Are you dictated to purchase the tires at any particular tire establishment or, do you have full control over that? Any Michelin dealer that works with the Michelin program, check first not all do.
5. Has anyone had any "issues" with FMCA concernig this discount? I mean, I don't know what kind of issues anyone would have but, I'm also maybe not knowing all the details of a deal like this. Just used it last November and saved around $300 per tire from list. 4 365/70 and 4 315/80's


Now, for NORMAL tires, as in our pickup, Jeep, boat trailer etc., we just buzz on down to Discount, give them the keys and, pick up our vehicle in an hour or two with new tires on it and, for the most part are happy with the business deal we just completed. But, we're talking right close or over $4K worth of tires here so, I'm thinking it's going to pay to learn as much about this kind of thing waaaaaaaaaaaay before we make the deal he's looking at in the next week or so. Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks
Scott

P.S. We both live here in Lake Havasu City AZ and, well, there's just not that many larger tire dealers or service centers in our immediate area. (Now, if you want a boat, we got zillions of those) About the closest larger cities to us that would have multiple large tire centers would be Vegas to the NW and, Phoenix to the SE, both 2.5 - 3 hours away. The deal he's leaning on is right here in Havasu. Not only is there a convienience factor here but, we're both are thinking of "after the sale service" too. To be able to go to a place in your local town to remedy a potential issue is of top priority.
Scott
I had mine done at a Les Schwab in Junction City OR. Could have gotten it done in Portland OR but I needed new SmarTire internal sensors and they were the only dealer that had the special equipment. That tire dealer installed the original systems for Country Coach too. I was into it something over $8,000 out the door.

P.S. 2, By the way, if any of you have purchased a set of Michelin XRVs, in say the 255 size lately, how happy with them are you, in terms of how does your coach handle, ride, stop, corner etc. with the new ones on there, as opposed to the older set you just replaced? Thanks
Scott

See answers above

[G.G.]

You can also get the discount for tires on your cars if you're a member. As Mr. D stated, go to a Michelin dealer who works with the program. They'll know the process & take it from there.

[Mac99]

Current FMCA price is 496.00 each plus tax, mount and balance, etc
You get the price information from the FMCA link, your
local dealer will do the mount and balance. You will
pay Michelin directly thru FMCA.

[Robmat]

If you friend that has a Winnebago Meridian is a WIT Club member they offer access to the Michelin Advantage program as one of their benefits also.

[FIRE UP]

Thanks gang,
I (and my buddy) surely thank all of you for assisting us here. He's pretty close to making a deal. He's not a member of any club, FMCA or WIT or anything else. But, I'll inform him of the information all of you provided. Thanks again.
Scott

[Ray,IN]

The FMCA webpage also has a caution to check local pricing and compare to the FMCA program because sometimes you can get a better deal locally than the Michelin FMCA program.

[Pirate]

My local dealer asked me if I was in FMCA but when he compared their discount to his price, the savings were almost the same.

[jim27358]

All good answers. You can go on the Michelin website and get the price of tires they offer, it will also give you a list of dealers that are part of the program. Just my 2 cents worth, I would opt up to the XZE instead of the XRV.

[luckyd]

We are Canadians
We joined FMCA because we were told about the Michelin tire deal
and felt that was a good deal.
We returned home to Canada and went to the Michelin dealer to get
new tires. We were told that they do not honour the FMCA tire deal.
We called FMCA and told them what happened. They said that Canadians
do not qualify for this.

This year....we went to Quartzsite and talked to the people at FMCA
counter. The one lady said we qualified, she asked her boss, he said we did not.

I received a call today from FMCA to renew my membership. I explained to the gentleman what had expired and he told me he would check it but he felt it was not true. He called back and said there was a dealer in our city that was on their list that would honour the deal....BUT....it had to be payable in US funds.

I said why would we pay 37 cents exchange to get a deal. He did not say that the dealer would honour FMCA discount, he just wanted to be a right fighter.

I would happily belong to FMCA if I got the same benefits for the same dollars.
Why should I pay the same membership as my US counterpart and receive less that they do?

[rgvtexan]

Scot
Check Costco, they can order the tires but you will need to find an installer. They and FMCA offer some good deals.

[dons2346]

Originally Posted by luckyd

We are Canadians
We joined FMCA because we were told about the Michelin tire deal
and felt that was a good deal.
We returned home to Canada and went to the Michelin dealer to get
new tires. We were told that they do not honour the FMCA tire deal.
We called FMCA and told them what happened. They said that Canadians
do not qualify for this.

This year....we went to Quartzsite and talked to the people at FMCA
counter. The one lady said we qualified, she asked her boss, he said we did not.

I received a call today from FMCA to renew my membership. I explained to the gentleman what had expired and he told me he would check it but he felt it was not true. He called back and said there was a dealer in our city that was on their list that would honour the deal....BUT....it had to be payable in US funds.

I said why would we pay 37 cents exchange to get a deal. He did not say that the dealer would honour FMCA discount, he just wanted to be a right fighter.

I would happily belong to FMCA if I got the same benefits for the same dollars.
Why should I pay the same membership as my US counterpart and receive less that they do?

Sorry but you got bum dope from the FMCA booth. If you had bought tires in the US, all you had to do was pay in US funds. Sorry your dollar is low but I think you can see why you would have to make the exchange rate at the current time.

[ByeTheWay]

FMCA could not beat my local dealers price, he was less and I did not have to join FMCA.

[coachmanjay]

Check out the benefits of FMCA. The included emergency travel and medical insurance is worth the $60 annual fee, even if you do not buy tires. The Michelin tire warranty can be honored at any Michelin tire dealer