Anyone who has owned or worked on a vintage hot rod has heard of Coker Tires. Reality is, somebody needs to provide classic car owners with tires that will be able to fit the image. Coker is that company; providing consumers with their own brand of tires, as well as classic tires for some of the world’s most popular tire brands.
Coker Tires Company Information & Background
Based out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Coker Tires sells and manufactures vintage-style tires on behalf of Michelin, BF Goodrich, Whitewall, Firestone, and Uniroyal tires for collector automobiles. Interestingly enough, Coker Tire is actually the leading source for B.F. Goodrich Silvertown Tires, as well as Firestone’s Deluxe Champion tires.
The Coker company originated as a tire and service location in 1958, founded by Harold Coker. Years later, his son Corky Coker took over the business and began to manage the company’s antique division, which was a small part of the company at the time, but quickly grew to become the company’s main focus. After retiring in 2014, Corky appointed Wade Kawasaki as President of six brands under the Coker Group. Four years later, Corky sold Coker to Irving Place Capital, where Kawasaki is still overseeing the Coker Group portfolio.
In addition to offering tires on behalf of several different popular brands in today’s market, Coker also sells its own brand of radial and bias ply tires, labeled the ‘Coker Classic.’
Coker Tires Cost & Pricing
As always, the cost of your tire will ultimately depend on which model you get, and what type of car you will be driving. Some of the modern models can be found for as low as $98 and as high as almost $300 per tire! The latter price isn’t too common in the general tire market however since vintage tires are more of a niche subject, it makes sense that some of the top quality tires are priced substantially higher than your tire for the average tire.
One of the only potential downsides to consider when buying some of Coker’s classic tires is that they are truly unique. This means that Coker or a retailer can increase the price of their tires at virtually any time due to lack of legitimate competition in the market.
Coker Tire Warranties
To be completely blunt, Coker’s product warranty doesn’t offer much to the buyer. According to Coker, while they want the customer to be 100% pleased with their purchase, they guarantee that their tires will be free from defects in both workmanship and materials for the life of the tread. Furthermore, Coker deters any form of liability, stating that they are not responsible for tire and tube failing that would occur due to improper mounting, mechanical failure, or improper alignment of the vehicle that you are using. You should also keep in mind that Warranty returns will require an RMA number.
Additionally, Coker offers an extended tire protection warranty. This replacement program lasts for 5 years for tires that are considered damaged or unserviceable from a puncture due to a road hazard. The delivery during this process would be absolutely free, which is a good perk to have when you are dealing with a damaged tire. It is unclear whether this service is at an additional cost to the buyer, however it is still a good deal to have as it protects common damage to your tires for the span of 5 years.
What about the cost for the Extended Tire Protection you ask? Price will vary depending on how much you paid for the original tire. The cost of the Extended Tire Protection program is $10 per tire for any tire that cost $250 or more. If your original tire was priced anywhere from $251 to $299, Extended Tire Protection will be $20 per tire. Finally, if your tire was over $300, you are covered at $25 per tire. This protection plan is only applicable to the original owner and covers any damage caused by road debris, potholes, or any other road hazard that isn’t explicitly listed in the exclusions list.
Coker Tire Options
The amount of options that Coker Tires offers is close to endless. As soon as you go on their website and hit the ‘Tires’ vertical, you are met with a high volume of available brands–over 20 different companies serviced by Coker.
Coker has tires for almost anything. If you want something that screams “old school” or “vintage”, Coker has the Classic Nostalgia Radial Tire that offers a white inner sidewall; helping the tire strongly resemble a look from decades ago. Alternatively, the brand can also provide tires for motorcycles and military trucks.
Coker Tire Technologies & Features
While Coker’s primary goal is to maintain an old school look by either using original molds, refurbished molds, or even new molds built from original drawings, their current models are made with modern materials! This is great news because the likelihood of their tires becoming damaged in a short period of time would increase immensely if Coker still used materials from decades ago.
Coker began distributing a radial tire with a wide whitewall in 1994, which was unique in the industry at that time. They are considered by many to be the world’s first modern wide whitewall tires. Most of Coker’s Classic models are also exact OEM replacement tires and are available in many makes and models.
Coker Tires Durability & Longevity
Coker tires are usually pretty solid. The durability of the tire will come down to what the model is and what the tire is made of. Despite Coker tires being made with modern materials, they do tend to utilize refurbished molds. While this is good in theory because they are using authentic material to recreate an older appearance, these materials are most likely outdated and would break down fairly easily.
Summary & Overall Thoughts About Coker Tires
At the end of the day, Classic style tires are more about looks opposed to performance. In fact, Coker’s entire business is based off of nostalgia more than anything. Their customers are people that enjoy owning classic cars from decades ago and take pride in taking them onto the streets for everyone to see. It seems like people who buy these types of tires are making an investment instead of a simple purchase. It can ease your mind that you can protect your investment by purchasing Coker’s Extended Tire Protection warranty, but having to pay a fixed amount per tire when redeeming the warranty isn’t something appealing to some potential buyers.
With that being said, they are a pioneer in their own right, and the quality of their tires are reasonable based on the type of cars they are servicing. If you are into the retro look and need replacement tires for your car, Coker should be the first company you look to.
Coker Tire Models
Classic Tires
- Coker Classic Radial Tire
- Coker Classic Bias Ply Tire