Lokmanya Tyres (Pune)

noopster · 21st April 2015, 17:44

Had my second pleasant transaction with the Lokmanya Tyres folks last weekend. The first is recounted here.

My Vento was running its second set of tyres- had upgraded to 195/60 R15 Yoko dB series after about 30,000 km on the stock Apollo Aceleres. The tyres are good but I've had an indifferent experience overall- Car Ax Baner guys installed the tyres against the direction recommended (they're unidirectional) and it was only discovered when I did my first alignment elsewhere at 10,000 km. Stupid I know- I should have checked- but you assume they'd get something simple as that right! I lost one tyre to a ballooning issue after 1,000 km (got a 25% discount on a replacement through Car Ax). That surely wasn't their fault but it somehow put me off from this set. Finally I had a suspension issue that ate into the inner tread of the front tyres that was detected at my 60,000 km service. By then the inner side of the contact patch had been worn smooth. The really sad thing about it is that the rest of the tyre looks good- deep tread even now.

Lokmanya offered me a super deal- 2 year/ 50% wear unconditional warranty on a set of Yoko Earth 1 in 195/60 R15s. I was skeptical at first because it seemed too good to be true. Double and triple checked that the size was even available (found out through NikhilB that it's a rare size but yes, it exists!); made sure the tyre was not old stock (turned out to be March 2015 manufactured); and finally called up some 4 other shops none of whom had that size in stock or that particular offer. So drove up there on Saturday morning after taking a phone appointment and sure enough, it was real!

I asked them to check if the other 2 tyres were good to last till the monsoons and they readily confirmed that yes- they have 8-10,000 km of life yet. Great news for me since the outlay was half of what I had planned. The spare is a 14" steel wheel, rarely used. Am planning to put one of my better old tyres on a used 15" steel rim next time around and use that as the new spare.

Cost me 5,000/- each, significantly cheaper than the dB I was using. Viddy swears by the Earth1's which he has on his Altis and Swanand Inamdar's Swift experience has been good as well, so I opted for the harder compounds this time. My alignment work is still pending (that's a disadvantage at Lokmanya since the alignment centre is at a different location and operates on a different schedule). Will get it done maybe today or tomorrow.

Staff are well-informed and courteous and they don't try to bullshit you. Stock even rare sizes and run exclusive offers as well, as I found out to my delight this time. Don't try to soft sell you any particular brand or size- they are quite professional. And they gave me an appointment and (mostly) stuck to it, which is not bad for a busy Saturday. Very customer centric as well- he got into a big phone argument with a Bridgestone dealer for delaying delivery resulting in a customer having to wait an hour and a half and this was after the customer had left the store so it wasn't for anybody's benefit.

Disadvantages: like I said the alignment centre should have been at the same location or at least close by- driving to Tilak Road is a pain. And I've heard the prices aren't the most competitive but that goes against my personal experience. 2% service charge on card payment is also a payment- there are several ATMs within walking distance but who wants to roam on a busy city street with 20 grand cash in their pocket!

comfortablynumb · 1st October 2015, 11:32

Has anyone been to Lokmanya Tyres recently? I'm planning to go there tomorrow and wanted to know if they're still charging extra for card payment. Tried calling their landline, but almost always getting a busy tone.

Cheers,
Vikram

Adi_k · 2nd October 2015, 22:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Has anyone been to Lokmanya Tyres recently? I'm planning to go there tomorrow and wanted to know if they're still charging extra for card payment. Tried calling their landline, but almost always getting a busy tone.

Cheers,
Vikram

Just in case you have not visited Lokmanya tyres today, they charge extra for card payment. Rather, all the tyre shops charge extra.

comfortablynumb · 2nd October 2015, 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adi_k

Just in case you have not visited Lokmanya tyres today, they charge extra for card payment. Rather, all the tyre shops charge extra.

Yup, I did visit them today - had to pay cash for the tyre purchase. That's the only flaw in the ointment in an otherwise smooth experience.

Cheers,
Vikram

AutoIndian · 2nd October 2015, 23:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adi_k

Just in case you have not visited Lokmanya tyres today, they charge extra for card payment. Rather, all the tyre shops charge extra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Yup, I did visit them today - had to pay cash for the tyre purchase. That's the only flaw in the ointment in an otherwise smooth experience.

Cheers,
Vikram

That sounds a bit strange. One of my friends got 4 new Michelin XM2 tyres for his Chevy beat fitted from Lokmanya last week and I did ask him specifically if he was charged extra for swiping his credit card. To my pleasant surprise he said no.

@ comfortablynumb, did you purchase a single tyre or a set of 4/5?

comfortablynumb · 3rd October 2015, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

That sounds a bit strange. One of my friends got 4 new Michelin XM2 tyres for his Chevy beat fitted from Lokmanya last week and I did ask him specifically if he was charged extra for swiping his credit card. To my pleasant surprise he said no.

@ comfortablynumb, did you purchase a single tyre or a set of 4/5?

4 tyres for my Scorpio. As they'd told me about the CC charge during enquiry itself, I'd carried sufficient cash.

Cheers,
Vikram

asivan · 28th October 2015, 16:06

Had a nice experience today at Lokmanya Tyres.

My Duke's tyres were going off and i decided to get them replaced. Called up a few dealers regarding Michelin Pilot streets for both front and rear. After reading the reviews here as well, comparing the prices, decided to go to them for the change.

Reached around 10 in the morning, directly asked for PSR. The sales person was pretty knowledgeable, and didn't waste any time recommending other products. I was promptly shown the set, manufacturing dates were also good, so asked them to go ahead. The whole process took around 45 mins, everything was super smooth and I was out of the place by 11:00 AM. Got charged 8200 for the set + 2% for credit card usage, which I thought was a bit unfair. Didn't want to argue, so let it be.

Overall, a good experience

sukiwa · 5th November 2015, 20:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

had to pay cash for the tyre purchase. That's the only flaw in the ointment in an otherwise smooth experience.

We should have gone together.
I have been paying via cheque right from first transaction in 2009 at Lokmanya Tyres. Even for 2-wheeler tyres at outlet on laxmi road, I have paid via cheque after talking with owner.

MunnabhaiMBBS · 12th January 2016, 10:08

Can someone please recommend a 3D wheel alignment facility shop in Pune?

Thanks in advance.

ajay_satpute · 12th January 2016, 10:17

I had a pleasant experience at Lokmanya tyres. I got my S-Cross' JK Elanzos swapped for Michelin Primacy P3STs.

All our conversation was done on WhatsApp. Lokmanya guys sent me 3 options to choose from, besides Michelin on WA. I chose Michelin finally. All price negotiations were done professionally and warranty work was all online.

I got the best price for Michelin Primacy P3STs at Lokmanya, after checking out at 2 more tyre shops. So all in all,

HammerHead · 3rd February 2016, 22:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I had a pleasant experience at Lokmanya tyres. I got my S-Cross' JK Elanzos swapped for Michelin Primacy P3STs.

All our conversation was done on WhatsApp. Lokmanya guys sent me 3 options to choose from, besides Michelin on WA. I chose Michelin finally. All price negotiations were done professionally and warranty work was all online.

I got the best price for Michelin Primacy P3STs at Lokmanya, after checking out at 2 more tyre shops. So all in all,

Hi Ajay, could you please share more details about the deal?
I would be going for Michelin Primacy P3STs for my Grande Punto this weekend hence wanted to know.

I'm looking for 195/60/R15.

ajay_satpute · 4th February 2016, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by HammerHead

Hi Ajay, could you please share more details about the deal?
I would be going for Michelin Primacy P3STs for my Grande Punto this weekend hence wanted to know.

I'm looking for 195/60/R15.

I got Michelin Primacy P3ST 205/60 R16 92V for 6,900/- per tyre. I don't know the price of 195/60/R15. But Lokmanya gave me the best price compared 3 other tyre shops.

amit_purohit20 · 14th February 2016, 22:22

I had enquired with Lokmanya tires for 175/65 r14 tyres. Following prices were quoted :
Michelin Xm2 Rs 4500
Bridgestone 4300
Yokohama 4100
It included new valves and balancing and alignment with balance weights being charged extra.

DARSHAN Tyres Magarpatta:
Xm2 4400
Bridgestone 4200
YOKOHAMA 3900
Continental CC5 4200
Apollo Alnac 3900
Ceat 3400
Balancing free, facility of wheel alignment not available , new valves

Shivshambo tyres GangaDham chowk Bibwewadi, Market yard:
Michelin Dealer
Xm2 4300
Yokohama 3800
Apollo Alnac 3900
Goodyear 3800
Ceat 3600

Including Alignment using 3D machine, Balancing with weights free, No free valves provided uses old valves if ok, Per new valve Rs 50
Doesnot buyback tyres.

Professional work done knows his job well. Showed me manufacturing tyre date before fitment. Has good facilities and space available. Location is not traffic prone like Lokmanya.
Owner not as courteous and knowledgeable like Lokmanya but was ok and better than many other shops. Had michelin information material loaded in touchscreen setup to impress customers showing kerb test of michelin tyres as well as other information. Was pestering me to buy michelin but didnot overdo it once I let him know I wanted Yokohama.
As per him my old 7 year old tyres would not fetch more than Rs 50 which were hardly driven 26k and had no cuts, cracks with ample tread depth so just disposed the old tyres without any buy back price offered.

One more thing to note is that has a very good collection of motorcycle tyres.

scarecrow · 11th April 2016, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

One more thing to note is that has a very good collection of motorcycle tyres.

Query - what brand of two wheeler tyres does he have? Specifically i am interested in checking out the Pirelli and Ceat off road tyre options for my Duke 390.

amit_purohit20 · 13th April 2016, 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarecrow

Query - what brand of two wheeler tyres does he have? Specifically i am interested in checking out the Pirelli and Ceat off road tyre options for my Duke 390.

He was having CEAT and Michelin tyres. I think he should have Pirelli too, just call and check. His no. should be available on just dial.

21st April 2015, 17:44	#46
noopster Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 9,269 Thanked: 13,249 Times View My Garage	Re: Lokmanya Tyres (Pune) Had my second pleasant transaction with the Lokmanya Tyres folks last weekend. The first is recounted here. My Vento was running its second set of tyres- had upgraded to 195/60 R15 Yoko dB series after about 30,000 km on the stock Apollo Aceleres. The tyres are good but I've had an indifferent experience overall- Car Ax Baner guys installed the tyres against the direction recommended (they're unidirectional) and it was only discovered when I did my first alignment elsewhere at 10,000 km. Stupid I know- I should have checked- but you assume they'd get something simple as that right! I lost one tyre to a ballooning issue after 1,000 km (got a 25% discount on a replacement through Car Ax). That surely wasn't their fault but it somehow put me off from this set. Finally I had a suspension issue that ate into the inner tread of the front tyres that was detected at my 60,000 km service. By then the inner side of the contact patch had been worn smooth. The really sad thing about it is that the rest of the tyre looks good- deep tread even now. Lokmanya offered me a super deal- 2 year/ 50% wear unconditional warranty on a set of Yoko Earth 1 in 195/60 R15s. I was skeptical at first because it seemed too good to be true. Double and triple checked that the size was even available (found out through NikhilB that it's a rare size but yes, it exists!); made sure the tyre was not old stock (turned out to be March 2015 manufactured); and finally called up some 4 other shops none of whom had that size in stock or that particular offer. So drove up there on Saturday morning after taking a phone appointment and sure enough, it was real! I asked them to check if the other 2 tyres were good to last till the monsoons and they readily confirmed that yes- they have 8-10,000 km of life yet. Great news for me since the outlay was half of what I had planned. The spare is a 14" steel wheel, rarely used. Am planning to put one of my better old tyres on a used 15" steel rim next time around and use that as the new spare. Cost me 5,000/- each, significantly cheaper than the dB I was using. Viddy swears by the Earth1's which he has on his Altis and Swanand Inamdar's Swift experience has been good as well, so I opted for the harder compounds this time. My alignment work is still pending (that's a disadvantage at Lokmanya since the alignment centre is at a different location and operates on a different schedule). Will get it done maybe today or tomorrow. Staff are well-informed and courteous and they don't try to bullshit you. Stock even rare sizes and run exclusive offers as well, as I found out to my delight this time. Don't try to soft sell you any particular brand or size- they are quite professional. And they gave me an appointment and (mostly) stuck to it, which is not bad for a busy Saturday. Very customer centric as well- he got into a big phone argument with a Bridgestone dealer for delaying delivery resulting in a customer having to wait an hour and a half and this was after the customer had left the store so it wasn't for anybody's benefit. Disadvantages: like I said the alignment centre should have been at the same location or at least close by- driving to Tilak Road is a pain. And I've heard the prices aren't the most competitive but that goes against my personal experience. 2% service charge on card payment is also a payment- there are several ATMs within walking distance but who wants to roam on a busy city street with 20 grand cash in their pocket! Last edited by noopster : 21st April 2015 at 17:46.
	(3) Thanks

1st October 2015, 11:32	#47
comfortablynumb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 2,070 Thanked: 3,641 Times	Re: Lokmanya Tyres (Pune) Has anyone been to Lokmanya Tyres recently? I'm planning to go there tomorrow and wanted to know if they're still charging extra for card payment. Tried calling their landline, but almost always getting a busy tone. Cheers, Vikram
	() Thanks

28th October 2015, 16:06	#52
asivan BHPian Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Berlin, DE Posts: 68 Thanked: 43 Times	Re: Lokmanya Tyres (Pune) Had a nice experience today at Lokmanya Tyres. My Duke's tyres were going off and i decided to get them replaced. Called up a few dealers regarding Michelin Pilot streets for both front and rear. After reading the reviews here as well, comparing the prices, decided to go to them for the change. Reached around 10 in the morning, directly asked for PSR. The sales person was pretty knowledgeable, and didn't waste any time recommending other products. I was promptly shown the set, manufacturing dates were also good, so asked them to go ahead. The whole process took around 45 mins, everything was super smooth and I was out of the place by 11:00 AM. Got charged 8200 for the set + 2% for credit card usage, which I thought was a bit unfair. Didn't want to argue, so let it be. Overall, a good experience
	() Thanks

12th January 2016, 10:08	#54
MunnabhaiMBBS BHPian Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: - Posts: 341 Thanked: 804 Times	Re: Lokmanya Tyres (Pune) Can someone please recommend a 3D wheel alignment facility shop in Pune? Thanks in advance.
	() Thanks

12th January 2016, 10:17	#55
ajay_satpute Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 1,957 Thanked: 1,711 Times View My Garage	Re: Lokmanya Tyres (Pune) I had a pleasant experience at Lokmanya tyres. I got my S-Cross' JK Elanzos swapped for Michelin Primacy P3STs. All our conversation was done on WhatsApp. Lokmanya guys sent me 3 options to choose from, besides Michelin on WA. I chose Michelin finally. All price negotiations were done professionally and warranty work was all online. I got the best price for Michelin Primacy P3STs at Lokmanya, after checking out at 2 more tyre shops. So all in all,
	() Thanks

14th February 2016, 22:22	#58
amit_purohit20 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 704 Thanked: 1,006 Times	I had enquired with Lokmanya tires for 175/65 r14 tyres. Following prices were quoted : Michelin Xm2 Rs 4500 Bridgestone 4300 Yokohama 4100 It included new valves and balancing and alignment with balance weights being charged extra. DARSHAN Tyres Magarpatta: Xm2 4400 Bridgestone 4200 YOKOHAMA 3900 Continental CC5 4200 Apollo Alnac 3900 Ceat 3400 Balancing free, facility of wheel alignment not available , new valves Shivshambo tyres GangaDham chowk Bibwewadi, Market yard: Michelin Dealer Xm2 4300 Yokohama 3800 Apollo Alnac 3900 Goodyear 3800 Ceat 3600 Including Alignment using 3D machine, Balancing with weights free, No free valves provided uses old valves if ok, Per new valve Rs 50 Doesnot buyback tyres. Professional work done knows his job well. Showed me manufacturing tyre date before fitment. Has good facilities and space available. Location is not traffic prone like Lokmanya. Owner not as courteous and knowledgeable like Lokmanya but was ok and better than many other shops. Had michelin information material loaded in touchscreen setup to impress customers showing kerb test of michelin tyres as well as other information. Was pestering me to buy michelin but didnot overdo it once I let him know I wanted Yokohama. As per him my old 7 year old tyres would not fetch more than Rs 50 which were hardly driven 26k and had no cuts, cracks with ample tread depth so just disposed the old tyres without any buy back price offered. One more thing to note is that has a very good collection of motorcycle tyres.
	(1) Thanks