Where to buy Michelin tires in West Africa
 

My husband and I are currently in Dakar, Senegal right now and we are working our way down the West Coast of Africa to South Africa. A couple of weeks ago we noticed a few large splits in the tire, a Michelin XZL, and need to replace it as soon as possible, as we do not feel comfortable patching it and using it for a spare for the type of conditions that we will soon encounter. Does anyone know where we can purchase this tire in West Africa? We asked the Michelin dealer in Dakar but they do not carry this tire. Any advice would be appreciated!

Not easy I'm afraid as I have looked into this myself a number of times. The nearest reliable place for tyres heading south/east will probably be Toni-Togo in Lome which is obviously far too far away. The best bet will probably be to have tyres shipped out to you - either to Dakar or the next major town en-route. DHL would be very expensive so normal air freight would be an option - almost as fast, pretty reliable, and not as complicated as you may think - but you need a reliable source back home to purchase them and send them to a convenient pick up point.

If you have to purchase in the UK and then send them by DHL or similar you can save yourself alot of money by getting someone to take a look on eBay. Before I left for Africa I bought two sets of tyres off ebay at about GBP40 per tyre - brand new. That's quite a saving compared to paying GBP 100 or even GBP 120 as I was quoted in SA.

Come to think of it - I think XZLs are available here in Kenya, maybe you can buy and ship from here.

Tyres
 

Hi,

These tyres are available in Ghana and Nigeria, if you send me the sizes I can get quotes and pass this on to you.

Regards
Frank

2nd hand tyres in Ghana and Nigeria
 

Apart from Toni Togo in Lome (Togo), you can check the following spots. they are mainly 2nd hand tires but can help if you are in a bind.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-nigeria-19681

Cheers and g'luck.