[tsk13]

Hi all

I've searched for this particular topic and found only a Michelin specific one. For me, Grey market refers to the unofficial imports and smuggled goods, so respected Mods, please edit the title in context of the query if needed.

I started this topic only because of a tyre dealer fooling my cousin for a lucrative deal on tyres and alloys. The dealer mentioned this as a Diwali offer, wherein he sold us Bridgestone B391's (175/70 R13) for Honda City plus he misled us by putting 13" alloys which we figured out later instead of the 14" which is the stock size for City.

My cousin came to Delhi and the gyan I derived from TeamBHPians made me check the tyre and I found out the tyres to be Made in Thailand, which as per my knowledge are not the ones sold by Bridgestone India.

I would request fellow members to please put light on how can we determine the whether the tyre is an official product or not.

Regards
Tanveer Singh

[predatorwheelz]

Tanveer,

You dont have to dig deep to determine authenticity of the tyre. If its a B391, its definitely not a Bridgestone India product (they dont make B391s in India).

What model of HC is your cousin's car? 175/70 R13 was OEM fitment for the 1.3 and 1.5 (non-Vtec) models of the OHC. All other HCs used 14" wheels.

In case its a 1.3 or 1.5 OHC, rest easy. The B391 is a good tyre in its own right. As long as the dealer promises to provide service backup, dont lose too much sleep on it being an "official" product.

[GTO]

I would request fellow members to please put light on how can we determine the whether the tyre is an official product or not.

A pakka bill, whether the dealer is authorised or not and a warranty card does it! Michelin doesn't yet make tyres in India, yet sells them officially, so just the fact that the tyre was made someplace else doesn't make it a grey market import.

With the big brands expanding their distribution in India, I really don't see a need to go grey market. Tyres play the most important role in safety, and I'd rather go for an officially imported backed-by-warranty tyre than the grey market. The only reason why I'd refer to the grey market is if the tyre / brand / size I want is not available officially.

Very important to check the date of manufacture when buying tyres. I'd never want my car to wear rubber that's been lying in a godown for 2 years!

[iraghava]

Insist on a Michelin India/Yoko India Warranty card to authenticate whether the tyres are genuine imports or grey market.

[tsk13]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Tanveer,

You dont have to dig deep to determine authenticity of the tyre. If its a B391, its definitely not a Bridgestone India product (they dont make B391s in India).

What model of HC is your cousin's car? 175/70 R13 was OEM fitment for the 1.3 and 1.5 (non-Vtec) models of the OHC. All other HCs used 14" wheels.

In case its a 1.3 or 1.5 OHC, rest easy. The B391 is a good tyre in its own right. As long as the dealer promises to provide service backup, dont lose too much sleep on it being an "official" product.

First of all thanks a lot Predatorwheels, GTO and iraghava for the support.

My cousin's City is the model prior to City ZX. Moreover, the car is now a lot lower from the rear.

Just to add, another thing which further cleared my doubt was a sticker of MY01 in the tyre shop, which is not marketed by Bridgestone India.

Thanks guys for the kind support.

Thanks
Tanveer Singh