"Club Tires"

[bairjo]

I have an appointment tomorrow to get four Michelin Defenders at Sears. Why Sears you ask? Well, I usually deal with a local Michelin rep but I was told by them they no longer make the Defender in the size for a Yaris and they can't get them. When I told him that Sears has them he told me Oh, those are "club tires" and that they have a slightly different part number if you look close at them. I pointed out they have the same warranty and all. He said they will have something just a little different about them, though it was a small difference.
My concern here is should I stay clear of club tires? Can anyone here expand on the pluses and minuses of tires from Sears, Sams Club, and the like?:iono:

[IllusionX]

Just watch out getting old new stock.
If they are discontinued, that probably means the tires are at least a few years old.

[bairjo]

Thank you...Any idea how to confirm the age of a new tire? A serial number or date stamp? What is considered old?..A year, 2 years?

Actually I'm not sure the club tires are discontinued...just the ones the dealers sold.

[WeeYari]

Any idea how to confirm the age of a new tire?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

[IllusionX]

I find anything more than 2 years old... Quite old. Especially if you don't drive that much and won't change tires in the next 6-8 years.

[bairjo]

WeeYari....Awesome man... thank you:thumbsup:

By the way I did check the Tire Rack web page when I was looking and they as well did not have the size I need. Kinda seems like the manufacturers are screwing tire dealers with these "club" tires they are supplying Sears while at the same time cutting them off from the "dealer" supplied tires.

Thanks again....

[bairjo]

I find anything more than 2 years old... Quite old. Especially if you don't drive that much and won't change tires in the next 6-8 years.

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. I do a lot of freeway driving daily. I have 70,000+ on my 2010 at this time...that's partly why I wanted the 90,000 mile tire. My daughter has these tires on her Accent and I really like the ride and feel they have compared to OEM tires she had. I'll see how it shapes up tomorrow...
Thanks again...

[IllusionX]

I'm not sure what your dealer refer to as "club tires".
Michelin website only shows the defenders available in 185/60R15. ie, no other models available in this size..