[neerajku]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Got Vredestein Pinza ATs for my Fortuner. Will keep this thread updated on their performance.

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Kindly do let us how did the tyres do? I am planning to change my fortuner tyres in some time. I have a lot of highway driving. Was looking for a tyre which is durable and makes less noise. Original Bridgestones were really good, changed to Yokohama which are quite noisy and have lots of punctures. So want to try something different now.

[ssjr0498]

Hello All,

I want to give some feedback on the "unconditional warranty" claim on tyres from Vredestein India.

I recently, bought 4 tyres, of 225/50/18 and 255/45/18 size for my 330i Msport. Slight upsize from the stock because I couldn't find the original size in tubeless from any other brand and the Michelin ones were far too expensive.

The tyre dealer also pushed me to buy these tyres and said they have a 3 year unconditional warranty and a 5 year overall warranty, and that I won't face any problems. So, I switched from Michelin to Vred's ( turned out to be a big mistake!).

After installing the tyres, I liked the grip and the quietness, I was happy and elated to have saved a huge sum of money! Lol! But, this was short-lived and soon I started to get some faint smell of rubber from my tyres!

Upon inspecting all the tyres, I saw that the inner side of my right front had a strange wear pattern, like it was scraped by a cheese grater. This was confusing because my old tyres had no uneven wear or damage, and I had just done the alignment and balancing.
I checked the car with a friend at his garage and found nothing wrong with the car that could cause such wear on a new tyre and there were no signs of any physical damage that could have caused such a thing to happen. However, since the tyre came with an unconditional warranty, I confidently, contacted vredestein and opened a case hoping to get a replacement or at least a good discount on a new set.

The customer care asked me to send the tyre to the nearest vredestein dealer and then they would check it and tell me the outcome. This "checking option" as per me went against their "unconditional warranty" claim and I already had a bad feeling about this.

After 2 weeks, their case manager called and told me that they won't honor the warranty and they can't do anything for me. Upon asking for a good will discount keeping in mind the tyre had only done 50kms and was just a week old, he said that they do not have any goodwill/discount scheme and that I will have to buy another tyre at full price if I wanted too. When I mentioned the "unconditional warranty" that the dealer and the big boards promised me, they said the tyre doesn't meet the warranty criteria.

I knew there was no such thing as an unconditional warranty and it was a scam, but I expected them to at least offer me a decent discount on my next purchase, since my tyres were only 50km and less than a week old.

Hence, I would urge all the fellow members interested in buying Vred's to please keep this incident in mind and decide accordingly. This is no better than Michelin, when it comes to warranty claims!

For me, I will never buy a vredestein again.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by neerajku

Kindly do let us how did the tyres do? I am planning to change my fortuner tyres in some time. I have a lot of highway driving. Was looking for a tyre which is durable and makes less noise. Original Bridgestones were really good, changed to Yokohama which are quite noisy and have lots of punctures. So want to try something different now.

Hi Neeraj, unfortunately I have not been able to clock as many miles on the Pinza's as I would have wanted to, with life keeping me busy on multiple fronts. In the limited (~8,000 km) run that I have done on these, I am absolutely in love with them! On-road performance is amazing with excellent grip during wet conditions - multiple drives through Western Ghats during monsoon were a testament to this. Ride comfort has been relatively better compared to OE Bridgestone, although the term (ride comfort) has little significance when you are talking about a Fortuner . Haven't indulged in serious off-road stuff with these yet but done quite a few gravelly trails and they came out with flying colors. No punctures or sidewall issues yet. All in all, proven to be an excellent choice thus far. The only apparent glitch was that it took 2 attempts (one from Madhus and one from Toyota ASC) to get the alignment right after the swap - not sure if it was something to do with the tires. Will check during next WA/WB and report back.

That said, I have heard rave reviews about Apollo Apterra AT2 as well, and one can easily save INR 12-14K on a set of 4 compared to the Pinzas, while getting similar tread pattern.

Do check out my post here (SUV tyres for Indian Roads - Poll), if not already done so. Should give you a fair idea of available choices. Hope this helps.

[Artyom]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

For me, I will never buy a vredestein again.

Appreciate your honest feedback and I do have a few doubts and suggestions :-

1.What month was the manufacturing of these tyres. I am assuming they were a fresh stock. If not could these be the reason for them going kaput.
2. I see your profile says BLR-CCU. Can you contact Madhus once and check if they can help as they are authorized dealers.
3.I have got my Goodyear tyres replaced in the 1st year or ownership under the Unconditional warranty and there were no hiccups at all.
Its strange to see a premium product being denied a claim. Enduring so much pain even after spending a premium over other tyres which didnt even run for more than 50km. Man I feel for you.

At Last thanks for saving me from buying them . I had almost finalized them .

[neerajku]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hi Neeraj, unfortunately I have not been able to c

That said, I have heard rave reviews about Apollo Apterra AT2 as well, and one can easily save INR 12-14K on a set of 4 compared to the Pinzas, while getting similar tread pattern.

Do check out my post here (SUV tyres for Indian Roads - Poll), if not already done so. Should give you a fair idea of available choices. Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for your quick response. Very helpful and the link was also very good.
Question: with all these fancy names in the Indian market it is worth going for an Indian brand? We all grew up on Ceat, Dunlop, MRF and JK but now not sure if they can compete with foreign brands. What is your opinion? Thanks once again.

[ssjr0498]

1. 02/24 manufactured.
2. This was rejected by Vredestein India directly, not sure if Madhus could help here.
3. The ONLY reason why I got these over Michelin was that I was assured by the tyre dealer that these tyres have "unconditional" warranty!

I just feel bad about the fact that had they (Vredestein India) been a little clear on the unconditional warranty part, I would have just picked up Michelins again, consciously knowing that I am jumping into the well of no warranty and choosing performance over anything else.

Here, I feel bad and to some extent cheated, because neither did they honor the unconditional claim and neither did they even offer a single rupee discount even when I was ready to pickup another tyre from them

Anyway, I am glad that my experience helped a fellow bhpian!

Cheers,
Shrey

Originally Posted by Artyom

Appreciate your honest feedback and I do have a few doubts and suggestions :-

1.What month was the manufacturing of these tyres. I am assuming they were a fresh stock. If not could these be the reason for them going kaput.
2. I see your profile says BLR-CCU. Can you contact Madhus once and check if they can help as they are authorized dealers.
3.I have got my Goodyear tyres replaced in the 1st year or ownership under the Unconditional warranty and there were no hiccups at all.
Its strange to see a premium product being denied a claim. Enduring so much pain even after spending a premium over other tyres which didnt even run for more than 50km. Man I feel for you.

At Last thanks for saving me from buying them . I had almost finalized them .

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by neerajku

Question: with all these fancy names in the Indian market it is worth going for an Indian brand? We all grew up on Ceat, Dunlop, MRF and JK but now not sure if they can compete with foreign brands. What is your opinion? Thanks once again.

My apologies for a delayed response - not sure how this got missed.

Well, Indian tyre manufacturers are doing very well and dishing out some fantastic products like MRF Wanderer, Ceat Crossdrive, Apollo Apterrra, etc. which are quite cost effective and excellent VFM in my opinion. No harm in giving these a shot if you are a budget-conscious buyer

PS - Dunlop is not an Indian brand, by the way.