FMCA Michelin Tire Discount Program Experience

[MICHAEL BELL]

To help clear the air. Michelin has there base price or MSRP which ever you want to call it and then discount based on that price. We are a Michelin Advantage dealer and I can tell you folks that this is a good program. This has killed my michelin tire business but I try to tell my customers about the program and all of them have bought tires through it. My wholesale tire dist. also sells big amounts of tires to Lazy Days and Lazy Days told them not to mention it to anyone. The real Michelin dealers make their money back in the way of manufacturer rebaits and incentives. As far a tire increases, Michelin incrementally raised the price of tires about 20% in 12 months. I hope this helps

[Gil_J]

Michael is correct. I've bought Michelins through both the FMCA and Monaco owners club. These are both national accounts managed by Michelin--not the local dealers. Not all tire centers honor national accounts and at least one that was supposed to refused to do so. The selling dealer has no idea what the sale price, which MAY be less than their purchase price. Michelin either does an inventory replacement or credit for tires sold under national accounts. The selling dealer only makes money on the labor and added services. It's just the cost of being a Michelin dealer. This is somewhat similiar to a new car dealer doing warranty work; it's simply not profitable.

The process has recently changed with the FMCA program where you have to have your credit card registered prior to the sale. This is quick, I did this while in the lobby of the dealer. The dealer sends you out the door with a paid bill for some amount, which doesn't really matter. The next business day you will receive an email from FMCA with the invoice and the actual amount charged.

This is a great program that makes membership in FMCA a no brainer. I put 6 315s on a few weeks ago when I took delivery of our bus. They didn't have 8 tires, so I'll get the other 2 in a couple of weeks.