Coker Warranty ??

[timecapsule]

Has anyone had any dealings with Coker as far as warranty goes?   I recently bought a set of the Coker Classics ( bias Ply) tires for my '48 Windsor Chrysler.  I've put on about 150 miles and I'm noticing that there is a band of brown developing between the whitewall and the black rubber.  I emailed Coker, and sent along this picture, asking if they had a method of removing that browning.  They said they would warranty them.  Which sort of told me that there really isn't a fool proof way of getting rid of the brown colour. 

So of course that's good news,,,,,, sort of.  It's in the middle of the summer.  I'll have to put it up on blocks.  Also they said I have to go through the company I bought them through, since I was in Canada.  Coker is probably 3000 miles away or so.  I'm wondering if any Canadian have had hands on experience with this.  Will they pay for the shipping both ways?  It's probably going to be my cost to have them removed from the rims as well as remounted and rebalanced when I get the 4 replacement tires, which sucks.

[Marty Roth]

While I have no assurance it would work, phone their customer service manager and explain your plight and impending expense. While they SHOULD send you a shipping label at their expense, ask him to authorize your shipping them your already mounted tires, having them replace, mount, and balance their replacement tires.

 

It costs nothing to ask, and after all you are far from the only client dealing with the defective product.

 

Good luck

[Matt Harwood]

All Coker tires turn brown like that. It's a quality control issue they refuse to address. There's no guarantee that the next set you get will be any better and could very well be worse. Add in the cost of mounting and balancing and the wear and tear on your wheels, and maybe it's not worth the hassle of an exchange. They will surely warrant them, but is such a warranty worth it to you?

 

See if they'll simply kick you some cash instead. Don't bet on it, but it's worth asking.

[timecapsule]

28 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

All Coker tires turn brown like that. It's a quality control issue they refuse to address. There's no guarantee that the next set you get will be any better and could very well be worse. Add in the cost of mounting and balancing and the wear and tear on your wheels, and maybe it's not worth the hassle of an exchange. They will surely warrant them, but is such a warranty worth it to you?

 

See if they'll simply kick you some cash instead. Don't bet on it, but it's worth asking.

I've been thinking the same thing.  Labour costs at the Hot Rod shop who ordered me the tires and mounted/balanced them is about $130/hr and I'm sure it would cost all of that to dismount, remount and balance the four wheels.  I'm guessing if all went well it would probably be towards the end of Sept. before the car was back on the road.  But who am I kidding,,,, well into October is more like it. 

 

I'll be calling  Coker tomorrow about the shipping costs both ways.  If they don't pick up those international shipping costs, than it's definitely not worth it.  

And as you said who's to say the next 4 tires they pick off the rack won't do the same.  

I did my homework before deciding on the Coker Classics and to get H's ( 7.60 X 28.7" dia. which were stock on my car) with a 3 inch whitewall and in Bias ply, Coker Classics were the closest choice.

I can't imagine them willingly giving me money to "live with the issue".  Afterall it's bad advertising as it is,  So I doubt they would want to endorse that bad advertising by paying me to promote the bad tire blemish for as long as the tires lasted.

[32PONTIAC]

Had same problem with Universal Tire (part of Coker) I

went through it 3 times with mine till I got a set that hasen't

turn brown as of yet. They do stand behind the warranty 

but you are out mounting, balancing and all your time. One set I got 

I didn't even mount just cleaned Blue off and baked in sun and they turned.

Coker and Universal get all there tires from same tire manufacture and thats where

the quality control stinks or is lacking, they make a patch of tire between their

normal product line and can care less if the product is good or bad they bid

them out on a production quote and time is money ! Good luck

[timecapsule]

7 minutes ago, 32PONTIAC said:

Had same problem with Universal Tire (part of Coker) I

went through it 3 times with mine till I got a set that hasen't

turn brown as of yet. They do stand behind the warranty 

but you are out mounting, balancing and all your time. One set I got 

I didn't even mount just cleaned Blue off and baked in sun and they turned.

Coker and Universal get all there tires from same tire manufacture and thats where

the quality control stinks or is lacking, they make a patch of tire between their

normal product line and can care less if the product is good or bad they bid

them out on a production quote and time is money ! Good luck

wow!  Now when you said they cover shipping, are you in Canada?

[STEVE POLLARD]

Been there.... I ordered a set of white lettered BF Goodrich tires for my Monte Carlo SS in the summer of 2021, by the Spring of 2022, they were brown, I could not get them to stay white. Contacted Coker, explained the situation with the tires and they were aware of the issues ( they said that there was a "bad lot" which cause bleed thru ) They sent me a new set tires with return shipping label's for the old set.

So far, no issues.....

 

 

 

 

 

I never had any issues with my original Goodyear Eagle tires...still white

 

 

[yachtflame]

Has anyone here had experience with Diamond Back white wall radials?

[TAKerry]

10 hours ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

Been there.... I ordered a set of white lettered BF Goodrich tires for my Monte Carlo SS in the summer of 2021, by the Spring of 2022, they were brown, I could not get them to stay white. Contacted Coker, explained the situation with the tires and they were aware of the issues ( they said that there was a "bad lot" which cause bleed thru ) They sent me a new set tires with return shipping label's for the old set.

So far, no issues.....

 

 

 

 

 

I never had any issues with my original Goodyear Eagle tires...still white

 

 

I was gonna add, there was a bit of discussion on another forum about the RWL turning brown on the repro 70's era tires. I think the conclusion was defects in the manuf. process. Good luck with your tire situation.

[Matt Harwood]

44 minutes ago, yachtflame said:

Has anyone here had experience with Diamond Back white wall radials?

Excellent company to do business with and great products. No yellowing, no old stock that's been sitting on the shelf for a few years, just good tires that you can trust. I use them on all my personal cars and have put them on dozens of client vehicles. Never a problem.

[46 woodie]

Well, I know that several years ago there was no Coker warrantee. I purchased a set of Coker tires for my '46 Ford station wagon. I noticed at about 8000 miles a wear pattern such as a low inflation issue, on all four tires the inner and outer edges were wearing out. I kept the tires at Coker's recommended 35 psi and checked it with two digital gauges. I had the car aligned twice and everything was right on. I bumped the pressure to 40 then to 45 and stopped at 50 psi because the car felt like it was on steel tires. At about 13,000 miles a half a tennis ball sized bubble appeared on one of the whitewalls. The tires by this time were unsafe  and unusable. I took pictures of all four tires and the bubble and showed them to the Coker people at Hershey. I was told that there was nothing that Coker would do for me. I replaced the tires with B.F. Goodrich wide whites 40,000 miles ago and they still look like new, so that's proof that the tires Coker sold me were junk. Purchase your tires from a national brand!

[TTR]

1 hour ago, yachtflame said:

Has anyone here had experience with Diamond Back white wall radials?

 

32 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

Excellent company to do business with… …good tires that you can trust. I use t. Never a problem.

I disagree.

While it’s been at least 10-15 years, I had number of clients and friends buying their products for years and about in 9 out of 10 instances they had same/similar problems OP is experiencing.
Some were worst than other and while in many/some cases Diamond Back warranted them by offering exchanges, buyer still had to pay for return shipping, mounting & balancing, etc and next set usually had same/similar problem.

Most of my clients/friend gave up and either accepted the lack of quality or switched to something else.

Maybe things have improved since ?

Edited August 17, 2023 by TTR (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

I have purchased more than 100 sets of Diamondback tires over the past 7 years. Not one issue with any of them. Is my cross-section of experience greater than or less than yours?

 

Are you sure you're not thinking Coker?

[Matt Harwood]

4 minutes ago, 46 woodie said:

Well, I know that several years ago there was no Coker warrantee. I purchased a set of Coker tires for my '46 Ford station wagon. I noticed at about 8000 miles a wear pattern such as a low inflation issue, on all four tires the inner and outer edges were wearing out. I kept the tires at Coker's recommended 35 psi and checked it with two digital gauges. I had the car aligned twice and everything was right on. I bumped the pressure to 40 then to 45 and stopped at 50 psi because the car felt like it was on steel tires. At about 13,000 miles a half a tennis ball sized bubble appeared on one of the whitewalls. The tires by this time were unsafe  and unusable. I took pictures of all four tires and the bubble and showed them to the Coker people at Hershey. I was told that there was nothing that Coker would do for me. I replaced the tires with B.F. Goodrich wide whites 40,000 miles ago and they still look like new, so that's proof that the tires Coker sold me were junk. Purchase your tires from a national brand!

 

I hate to break it to you but the repro BFG wide whites (along with the Firestones and Goodyears) are also produced by Coker under license...

[Bloo]

I have one Diamondback Auburn here I bought for a spare. It is at least 3 years old and has not turned brown.

[Stude Light]

I agree with Matt on Diamondback. They were a great company to deal with, including lots of free technical advice. I put a set of Auburns on my 1939 LaSalle and really like the improvements in ride and tractive performance and they look really good. No bleeding of the 3” whitewalls in the few years I’ve had them.

[Stude Light]

12 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

All Coker tires turn brown like that. It's a quality control issue they refuse to address. There's no guarantee that the next set you get will be any better and could very well be worse. Add in the cost of mounting and balancing and the wear and tear on your wheels, and maybe it's not worth the hassle of an exchange. They will surely warrant them, but is such a warranty worth it to you?

 

See if they'll simply kick you some cash instead. Don't bet on it, but it's worth asking.

Some of the Coker products almost doubled in price this year. I purchased  32x4 Universals for $225 in March and now they are $425. My guess is that the poor quality control from their manufacturers is driving up prices to help subsidize all their warranty claims.

[Matt Harwood]

I have a hunch that the tire business is INSANELY profitable--I do business with three local guys who made their fortunes selling tires. The margins are apparently HUGE. Coker may have had an increase in production costs, but not a 100% increase. This is a profit thing, not a manufacturing hardship thing.

 

I think the willingness to exchange tires no-questions-asked is a sign that the tires cost them virtually nothing.

[Ron Green]

Have bought a lot from Universal and Coker (also from Diamondback) and yes the WWW seem to brown or yellow. Have also had some needing returned due to defects. The latest is a recent conversation below which my Amphicar Coker Classic tires had issues. Universal took care of the problem even though I had to eat the balance and remounting. They quickly took care of getting me new tires, shipping and the two price increases since bought. Happy customer.

 

Question: “All 4 have a lot of deep sidewall cracks (non WWW side) which go completely around the tire (attached photos). Tires were bought on 9/29/19. Also they were mounted and balanced by Universal. Tires are run at 28/30lbs and checked regularly, have 8/32 of tread and 932 miles to date. All 4 tires are wearing perfectly and have never hit a curb. According to the date code they were made the 20th week of 2018. I believe these are unsafe and that if I keep using them there will be a catastrophe accident, possibly fatal. Please advise.”

 

 

Response: “The 650R13 Wide White wall tire is in stock so we can absolutely help you out with this manufacturers warranty issue. So the Process for getting them replaced. We would need to put in a new order for you for 4 tires (the current price is $298.00ea) and then once you have the old tires removed you’d give us a call and we’d have fed ex come to you pick up the old tires and return them to the warehouse. Once we have them back you’d be refunded for the original tire purchase price $224.00 per tire. You would not be responsible for freight for either the new set or the returning old set. When you’re ready give us a call and we’ll set it up for you.”

[timecapsule]

10 minutes ago, Ron Green said:

Have bought a lot from Universal and Coker (also from Diamondback) and yes the WWW seem to brown or yellow. Have also had some needing returned due to defects. The latest is a recent conversation below which my Amphicar Coker Classic tires had issues. Universal took care of the problem even though I had to eat the balance and remounting. They quickly took care of getting me new tires, shipping and the two price increases since bought. Happy customer.

 

Question: “All 4 have a lot of deep sidewall cracks (non WWW side) which go completely around the tire (attached photos). Tires were bought on 9/29/19. Also they were mounted and balanced by Universal. Tires are run at 28/30lbs and checked regularly, have 8/32 of tread and 932 miles to date. All 4 tires are wearing perfectly and have never hit a curb. According to the date code they were made the 20th week of 2018. I believe these are unsafe and that if I keep using them there will be a catastrophe accident, possibly fatal. Please advise.”

 

 

Response: “The 650R13 Wide White wall tire is in stock so we can absolutely help you out with this manufacturers warranty issue. So the Process for getting them replaced. We would need to put in a new order for you for 4 tires (the current price is $298.00ea) and then once you have the old tires removed you’d give us a call and we’d have fed ex come to you pick up the old tires and return them to the warehouse. Once we have them back you’d be refunded for the original tire purchase price $224.00 per tire. You would not be responsible for freight for either the new set or the returning old set. When you’re ready give us a call and we’ll set it up for you.”

How many miles did you get on them before you first noticed the sidewall cracks?

[60FlatTop]

I am on my third full set of Coker white walls on my '60 Electra. I have no complaints. My take offs are always bright white.

 

When I clean them, maybe twice a year, I have a trifolded piece of #800 wet or dry sandpaper in my bucket to use along with Westley's or Black Magic to use on the stubborn spots. I get that edge shown in the picture and have not seen browning.

 

From 2001 to date I have driven from about 67,000 miles to 90,030. The set on it now is only two years old and my annual mileage is way down. I was averaging about 1600 miles per year so figure they got a thorough cleaning every 800 miles. Maybe that is more often than most.

[timecapsule]

I just talked to Coker.  Since I am in Canada and since I purchased the tires through a Canadian distributor and not them directly, that they won't guarantee that the shipping would be covered.  That would depend on the "agreement" between Coker and the distributor.  My take on that is, the shipping would be free if the distributor was purchasing a lot of tires from Coker regularly.  Shipping would be for one way only.  What I was told is that I would drill a hole in each tire where the DOT code is on the tire and take pictures of each tire.  Then the distributor would recycle the tires locally.   Their suggestion of trying to get rid of the brown was to try the various methods of removing the brown stain as has been suggested here, and then coat the whitewalls with 303 wheel and tire protector regularly to keep them from drying out.  That seems like a bit of a stretch, since the brown is coming from within the rubber, and not from the surface. 

 

Unfortunately when I purchased the tires from the Hot Rod shop, I was their first customer of Coker tires which they had just got approval from Coker to distribute their tires, so the chances of me being off the hook for shipping is pretty slim I would think.

I may just lick my wounds and try my best to improve the appearance.  I may try to get Coker to ship me free of charge a couple bottles of that 303 tire protector as a good will gesture. 

[Dr B]

3 hours ago, yachtflame said:

Has anyone here had experience with Diamond Back white wall radials?

To chime in, I also have a set of Diamond backs on my car.  They are still bright white after four years and about 4k miles.

 

Robert

[TTR]

1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

I have purchased more than 100 sets of Diamondback tires over the past 7 years. Not one issue with any of them. Is my cross-section of experience greater than or less than yours?

 

Are you sure you're not thinking Coker?

I wasn’t trying to argue, just offering my view on “Never a problem” claim and as I said my experiences are from more than 10-15 years ago when no one other D.B. was producing WWW Steel Belted Radials.

 

I’m aware of and was involved with several instances in which people went through warranty exchange process with D.B. only to be disappointed with the outcome after the next set exhibited same “bleed through” problems.  

At the time D.B. tires were produced by using some existing, regular (inexpensive?)  black wall Steel Belted Radials which D.B. or someone else partially ground down one of the sidewalls and vulcanized an add-on whitewall layer on to it/them.

 

Like I said/wrote, maybe things have improved since ?

[Bloo]

They have existing tires from other makers, and also tires of their own design (Auburn). The Auburns tend to be old sizes that have no equivalent in modern tires. In all cases the whitewalls are put on after the fact. They claim to have a barrier layer that solves the problem. My one Auburn remains white. Your mileage may vary.

[Ron Green]

3 hours ago, timecapsule said:

How many miles did you get on them before you first noticed the sidewall cracks?

I didn't notice the cracks until I was working on the brakes this spring so don't know. I assume they may have been there for a few years? Typically work on the car a few times a year so unsure how I didn't see them.

 

Had good luck with Diamondback but they dropped 13" tires for a few years but I believe they are back to selling them. They put the WWW on a black wall tire and they stayed white. They used to use Cooper but now use other makes. 

[46 woodie]

Well Matt, explain to me why the Coker's lasted less than 13,000 miles and the B.F. Goodrich have over 40,000 miles on them with no noticeable wear.

[Matt Harwood]

10 minutes ago, 46 woodie said:

Well Matt, explain to me why the Coker's lasted less than 13,000 miles and the B.F. Goodrich have over 40,000 miles on them with no noticeable wear.

I don't have an explanation, but that doesn't make what I said not true. BFGoodrich, Inc. is not making vintage whitewall tires. They sold the molds to Coker and Coker pays them a licensing fee to use their name on the reproduction tires. That's not a secret. There may be differences in the carcass design, or tread pattern, or maybe they just have that much variation between batches due to spotty quality control. Who knows?

[MCHinson]

I have heard a lot of concerns about reproduction tire quality. I have apparently just been lucky. I previously wore out a set of Coker's Firestone wide white wall tires on my 1937 Buick Century with no issues with the white wall appearance. I replaced them a year or so ago with the same type of Coker Firestone wide white wall reproduction tires and have not had an discoloration issues with those tires either. 

 

When I bought my 1937 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton a few years ago, it had a set of Diamondback wide white wall tires on it. Those tires also still look great. It seems to me that both companies can make decent tires. I understand that other people who I trust have had very different experiences. It seems that there is and has been a lot of variety of quality in tires over the past decade or so. I am just glad that I have not had any problems. 

[Dave Wells]

 

Has anyone had any experience with the Nexen N'Priz AH5 All- Season Radial tire offered by Amazon and, I presume, other outlets? They are inexpensive but have a good consumer rating. I'm considering them for my '68 Buick which is driven 500-1000 miles per year, summertime only. Good warranty, return policy and free "Prime" shipping. Amazon offers other WW's, too.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Nexen-NPriz-All-Season-Radial-Tire/dp/B01MA47CL9/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/144-8219407-4829466?pd_rd_w=cdkCe&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=CR1QA7AJMXQYRYAZST5D&pd_rd_wg=L5u8N&pd_rd_r=25390b90-e848-452d-86dc-2c1a7022ea64&pd_rd_i=B01MA47CL9&psc=1

Edited August 17, 2023 by Vinny... (see edit history)

[TTR]

3 hours ago, 46 woodie said:

Well Matt, explain to me why the Coker's lasted less than 13,000 miles and the B.F. Goodrich have over 40,000 miles on them with no noticeable wear.

While I don't pretend to be Matt, I'd say your experience is nothing unusual.

As far my experiences and understanding goes, all tire designs, modern or vintage, wear differently, mostly dependent on the density/hardness/softness of the compound they are/were made of, along with type of driving they're exposed to or intended for, inflation pressures, etc, etc, etc.

For example, the make/model bias ply tires I've been using in my PB Roadster for past 30+ years wear out on average at +/-15,000 miles (= in 3-5 years), while the OEM type Steel Belted Radials on a late-60s/early-70s High Performance Italian sports car, even if not driven very hard or spiritedly usually wear out in about 5,000 - 7,000 miles.

My late model daily driver Ford pickup wore its factory installed tires in little over 30,000 miles, while a friends '06 Ford GT original tires were worn out in less than 4,000 miles (most tires on todays super or hyper cars are usually worn out in far less than 5,000 miles). 

+/-30 years ago I had few sets of a certain big name brand Steel Belted Radials which generally lasted over 80,000 miles and I suspect the manufacturer quit them likely for that very reason.

Edited August 17, 2023 by TTR (see edit history)

[timecapsule]

4 hours ago, Vinny... said:

 

Has anyone had any experience with the Nexen N'Priz AH5 All- Season Radial tire offered by Amazon and, I presume, other outlets? They are inexpensive but have a good consumer rating. I'm considering them for my '68 Buick which is driven 500-1000 miles per year, summertime only. Good warranty, return policy and free "Prime" shipping. Amazon offers other WW's, too.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Nexen-NPriz-All-Season-Radial-Tire/dp/B01MA47CL9/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/144-8219407-4829466?pd_rd_w=cdkCe&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=CR1QA7AJMXQYRYAZST5D&pd_rd_wg=L5u8N&pd_rd_r=25390b90-e848-452d-86dc-2c1a7022ea64&pd_rd_i=B01MA47CL9&psc=1

I noticed that it is saying that the tires are currently unavailable.  No price either.  Have you looked into either of those factors?

[7th Son]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:35 PM, timecapsule said:

I noticed that it is saying that the tires are currently unavailable.  No price either.  Have you looked into either of those factors?

Well. TC. I can order them and get 5 day free delivery..

Doesn't seem to be a problem.

You might want to check again.

$80 to $85. each.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Super Karen (see edit history)

[Gunsmoke]

Since I'm not a fan of WWW's for many reasons including cost, maintenance, and lack of originality in many cases, I find this thread interesting and am surprised someone has not suggested reverting to all black, problem solved!

[TexRiv_63]

1 minute ago, Gunsmoke said:

Since I'm not a fan of WWW's for many reasons including cost, maintenance, and lack of originality in many cases, I find this thread interesting and am surprised someone has not suggested reverting to all black, problem solved!

I actually considered that for my 1960 Buick... but some cars have to have wide whites.

[46 woodie]

Tex, with the blackwall's you have a nice Buick, With the widewhite's you have a beautiful Buick.

[timecapsule]

Unless a car is period correct with blackwalls,  I'm thinkin  "cop car"  lol

[Twisted Shifter]

 

 

1 hour ago, timecapsule said:

Unless a car is period correct with blackwalls,  I'm thinkin  "cop car"  lol

 

 

Man! It's even difficult to find an old hearse with black walls.

 

[nat]

     Would whitewall paint be bogus?

[Hans1]

Older Herse's were more somber.