Costco Tire - Hard to do business with?

[SecondAttempt]

I have liked and used Costco for tires for a few years. Earlier this week I needed new tires on my BMW and went to Costco to see what they could do. I did not expect them to be able to replace the run-flat times so I asked about regular tires. They could replace them but said they would only be able to sell me new tires if I bought all 4 (makes sense because mixing run-flat and conventional is not advised) and if I bought 2 spares with 2 new wheels. What? They said it was a safety issue to not have a spare for each tire size on the vehicle. Mine has different size front and rear. I said why 2 spares. She said because you can't have 2 different size tires on the same axle. I asked if this was state law. She said she did not know but it is Costco policy.

So let's nevermind that modern cars have 4 axles not 2. Any difference in tire rotation is managed by the differential. Most new cars have a donut spare anyway. This policy is ridiculous.

Costco's credibility collapsed to zero over this incident. It is not just that I am disappointed that they could not help. It is that their policies seem rooted in ignorance and stupidity.

 

[Music Lover]

So let's nevermind that modern cars have 4 axles not 2. Any difference in tire rotation is managed by the differential. Most new cars have a donut spare anyway. This policy is ridiculous.

Costco's credibility collapsed to zero over this incident. It is not just that I am disappointed that they could not help. It is that their policies seem rooted in ignorance and stupidity.

Costco was right and probably saved you a massive repair bill.

If you have AWD or 4WD then different size tires is not a good thing. The transfer case is designed for when the vehicle is turning or for occasional losses of traction, but it's not designed to be used 100% of the time due to mismatched tires.

The damage caused will easily exceed the cost of new tires, or 1 new tire shaved down to match.

 

[Ready]

Why would Costco care if you have a spare tire? My Tesla does not come with a spare and many new vehicles are now delivered without spares.

 

[aja8888]

I have liked and used Costco for tires for a few years. Earlier this week I needed new tires on my BMW and went to Costco to see what they could do. I did not expect them to be able to replace the run-flat times so I asked about regular tires. They could replace them but said they would only be able to sell me new tires if I bought all 4 (makes sense because mixing run-flat and conventional is not advised) and if I bought 2 spares with 2 new wheels. What? They said it was a safety issue to not have a spare for each tire size on the vehicle. Mine has different size front and rear. I said why 2 spares. She said because you can't have 2 different size tires on the same axle. I asked if this was state law. She said she did not know but it is Costco policy.

So let's nevermind that modern cars have 4 axles not 2. Any difference in tire rotation is managed by the differential. Most new cars have a donut spare anyway. This policy is ridiculous.

Costco's credibility collapsed to zero over this incident. It is not just that I am disappointed that they could not help. It is that their policies seem rooted in ignorance and stupidity.

I'll bet your BMW didn't come with two spare tires!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Costco was right and probably saved you a massive repair bill.

If you have AWD or 4WD then different size tires is not a good thing. The transfer case is designed for when the vehicle is turning or for occasional losses of traction, but it's not designed to be used 100% of the time due to mismatched tires.

The damage caused will easily exceed the cost of new tires, or 1 new tire shaved down to match.

And let's not forget that Costco has THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of customers that purchase tires. They aren't going to open themselves up to liability to make an exception to what is a very reasonable requirement/policy for ONE CUSTOMER. I know that a lot of us would like to think we are special and should be treated accordingly, but that's usually not the case.

As far as the "two spare tires"...I have a very tough time thinking this is corporate policy and I would reach out to corporate to clarify.

 

[ERD50]

Costco was right and probably saved you a massive repair bill.

If you have AWD or 4WD then different size tires is not a good thing. The transfer case is designed for when the vehicle is turning or for occasional losses of traction, but it's not designed to be used 100% of the time due to mismatched tires.

The damage caused will easily exceed the cost of new tires, or 1 new tire shaved down to match.

I think you are confusing mixing tires on the car and the spare tire issue.

Poster agreed that tires should not be mixed. The question was about two different spares being "required".

I suppose it depends how long/fast you would drive on the spare. A short. slow drive should not damage anything - what is the rolling diameter difference?

-ERD50

 

[Music Lover]

I think you are confusing mixing tires on the car and the spare tire issue.

Poster agreed that tires should not be mixed. The question was about two different spares being "required".

I suppose it depends how long/fast you would drive on the spare. A short. slow drive should not damage anything - what is the rolling diameter difference?

-ERD50

I'm not clear on the 2 spare logic.

Further to my comment about different size wheels, my previous car, a Subaru with AWD had specific instructions if the donut spare was used:

- if the spare was to be installed on the rear, install the spare and remove the AWD fuse so that the vehicle would be in 2WD
- do not install the spare on the front. Remove a rear wheel and put it on the front so that the spare could be on the rear. Remove the AWD fuse so that the car would be in 2WD. Under no circumstances should the spare be used on the front of the vehicle.

 

[retiredunder50]

I have been buying my tires exclusively at Costco for 19 years and find their (sale) prices and service to be very good. The road hazard warranty has provided me with a few free tires that I thought would surely have been pro-rated for wear.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Why would Costco care if you have a spare tire? My Tesla does not come with a spare and many new vehicles are now delivered without spares.

Exactly my point. She asked what I would do if I had a flat. "Call a friend"...

 

[SecondAttempt]

I think you are confusing mixing tires on the car and the spare tire issue.

Poster agreed that tires should not be mixed. The question was about two different spares being "required".

I suppose it depends how long/fast you would drive on the spare. A short. slow drive should not damage anything - what is the rolling diameter difference?

-ERD50

Yes, I would not make a habit of driving with different size tires on different sides of the vehicle. But in an emergency, driving 50 miles or so to get to a repair shop will not cause any damage.

The car is AWD and is manufactured with different size tires on the front and rear so clearly there is no issue with the transfer case.

But my beef is with Costco telling me I needed to carry 2 spares.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I'll bet your BMW didn't come with two spare tires!

It came with 0 spares. But it has run flat tires, which makes difference according to Costco.

 

[Ready]

Exactly my point. She asked what I would do if I had a flat. "Call a friend"...

Does BMW provide a spare tire service as part of their roadside assistance? Tesla does this, although availability is not guaranteed so it can be a little dicey if you are out of town without a spare.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Does BMW provide a spare tire service as part of their roadside assistance? Tesla does this, although availability is not guaranteed so it can be a little dicey if you are out of town without a spare.

I don't know. But with run flat tires you can keep driving, up to 50 miles I think but I have pushed that significantly the one time I had a flat while waiting for tires to arrive. I think I put about 150 miles on but only in areas I could get immediate help, and I was a little nervous. I also kept my speed under 50 as recommended. The dealer told me not to worry though. And honestly, I hardly noticed any difference in handling although I did not push things very hard.

I am not a fan of run flat tires at all. The are relatively expensive and only seem to last about 20,000 miles which is terrible. My understanding though is that this is the direction the auto industry is heading.

One thing I found through this experience is that no one seems to stock these in my area including the BMW dealership. So I doubt roadside assistance would have been much help even if spare tires were theoretically covered.

Shame on me for letting them get so bad though so not blaming others.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I'm not clear on the 2 spare logic.

I think I understand the logic but I don't agree with the premises it is based on.

The logic seems to be that if you have a flat you must be able to replace it with a spare you are carrying. In Hawaii, at least according to the Costco person, it is not legal to drive with a different size tire on each side of the same axle. This makes sense to me although I do not see it as a major safety issue as I noted before. Also, this would mean that using a donut spare in Hawaii would be illegal.

Since my car has, by design, different size front and rear tires, Costco seems to think I must have a spare for each size on the vehicle with me. So the logic seems clear to me but the premise that driving with unmatched tire sizes is clearly ignorant. The car was designed for that front-to-rear and most modern cars using donut spares clearlt accomodate it side-to-side without issue for moderate distances.

BTW, you Subaru probably did not want you to put the donut on the front because of possible steering stesses, not because of damage to the differential or transfer case. But that is speculation on my part.

 

[Hermit]

I took one battery core back to Costco almost a year later with no problem.

I previously bought all tires at Discount Tire. I kept going back with one set because they seemed very out of balance. They kept telling me there was nothing was wrong with the tire. I finally put a set of Michellens on rather than get rid of the car. That totally fixed the problem. My son still drives the car over 20 years later. I have never done business with Discount Tire since.

 

[Ready]

I tried really hard to buy tires from Costco today. They sell seven tires for my Model 3, six of which were out of stock. It says to call for availability so I tried calling the store. The phone rang at least 20 times and then disconnected me.

Then I called Discount Tire. They answered on the first ring. They confirmed they had the tires I need in stock. The price was a little higher than Costco so I asked if they could match the $150 rebate that Costco has on Michelins. They told me to check the price at American Tire Depot, which was having a buy 3 get one free sale. It turns out their price was far below Costco’s. I confirmed the price online and asked them to match, which they were happy to do.

I also checked appointment availability to get a tire rotation at both Costco and Discount Tire. DT could get me in this afternoon, Costco was booked a week out.

I like Costco, but until they figure out how to hire enough people to service their members in the tire department I’m not going to do any tire business with them.

 

[travelover]

.......... I kept going back with one set because they seemed very out of balance. They kept telling me there was nothing was wrong with the tire. .........

Tires can have a couple problems. The first is balance and most places can correct it with weights. The second problem is tire force variation which is a difference in springiness around the tire carcass as the tire rolls. Force variation presents itself to the driver in pretty much the same way as unbalance. On new vehicles, all tires are measured and marked for force variation high point and all rims are measured and marked for low run out spot. When the tire is installed on the rim the two marks are aligned. Tires with really high force variation are shipped to tire dealers as opposed to assembly plants.

So, if you get a replacement tire with high force variation, there isn't much the tire dealer can do to fix it other than re-indexing the tire on the rim, though some dealers have better machines to measure force variation than others. DT should have isolated the bad tire and given you a free replacement.

 

[someday soon]

Call me crazy, but I've become a fan of buying tires on craigslist.
Bought my last 2 sets that way ( 4 reg and 4 snows ) plus also bought some Honda OEM wheels that way too ...All hardly used, all at 1/2 ( or less ) of the best price for identical models at any web or storefront.
Gonna do it again soon!

 

[ERhoosier]

Costco is NOT always cheapest OTD (full Out-TheDoor price) even on the same tire. And I have had local Costco tire jerk me around before (like trying to get me to sign a warranty waiver unless I put on HIGHER speed rated tires than Nissan itself recommended for my Altima). But I did use Costco for the best deal on Goodyears I wanted for my minivan. HOWEVER Costco was $165 MORE EXPENSIVE than what Sam's Club charged me for the Goodrich tires I recently put on my sedan. FWIW- WalMart auto centers may have about the same prices on some tires as Sam's (and without the membership requirement). As a former Discount Tire customer I have nothing bad to say about them. They do carry some lower end brands if you need the absolute lowest priced tire regardless of quality, but I've found them more expensive than Sam's or Costco on higher end tires (full OTD pricing with road hazard, etc).

 

[JackJester]

Interesting to hear the varied opinions on tire suppliers. Personally I would never buy tires from a company that did not specialize in 'tires'. My loyalties tend to lie with Les Schwab. They are mostly in the West USA/CA, but are everywhere in the West. They patch a flat for free, easily and quickly. Good affordable new tire selection. And they rotate my snow tires - summer tires out for free every year. However, I have found that for needing really 'tough' truck tires (going on lots of rough off-road forest roads) that Goodyear Wranglers have never let me down.

 

[Buckeye]

I just purchased a new set of Michelin tires at Costco. I absolutely love the ones with the funky v-shaped tread. Reduced my road noise significantly from my old Michelins. Costco makes you come in to special order because they won't take your credit card over the phone and they don't want to get stuck with tires you don't end up purchasing. I had some tale of woe and they allowed me to do the order over the phone but that's not normal. We always make an appointment and drop the car and return later.

Bought a battery Monday morning for $99 plus $15 core charge. Took it home to replace the dead one and then drove back and turned in the dead one for the core refund. Took minutes and no hassle. The cost of the battery was half the price of other ones I saw online.

I wouldn't buy tires anywhere else.

 

[reawilliams]

I've been satisfied with Cost for tire purchases, installs and service. I try to wait for a good sale and then I think their prices are excellent. Once I bought tires for my MIL's Lincoln towncar they recommended. Road noise was louder than normal for a TC so I returned them. They replaced them with my choice without any hassles.

 

[earlyretirement]

It has come time to replace the tires on my current 2015 Subaru, but at almost 150K miles, I don't want to spend an excessive sum of money on them. For example, I don't think I need a 90K mile treadwear warranty. Given pandemic supply shortages, I want to replace the tires before I have to.

Costco Tire has a couple of specials that seem attractive, but I have found them annoying to do business with in the past. Specifically, I had trouble collecting the return credit for the old battery for a new one I bought there, and have had long waits for tire installations, taking up much of a day.

I called them yesterday because they listed a BF Goodrich tire for my car as out of stock, but they suggested on the phone that they could order it in person. Having inventory that isn't available for online purchase seems odd in 2022.

Admittedly, my experiences before the one yesterday were in the Maryland suburbs of DC, where poor retail service was more common than not. I'm generally a Costco fan, but is their tire store known for such issues in general?

My alternative is a local Discount Tire store, that was able to get a pair of matching replacements for my wife's car quickly last year.

I've bought 6 sets of tires from Costco and never had a bad experience, once they just didn't have one for my car which was strange. I even had a battery go bad one week before the warranty was up and they cheerfully gave me another.

 

[folly]

Costco has always sold me good tires for the best price. I had to schedule an appointment and wait or go shopping in warehouse. The only problem I ever had was last year I told them I did not want the old tires. When I got home(65 miles later) they were in the bed of my truck. The tires had 30% tread but what am I going to do with them. Tried to give them away on local buy&sell, no one wanted them. DO NOT USE DISCOUNT TIRES.... I purchased tires for one of my kids in Carson City NV. She waited two weeks for an appointment. They kept changing appt time/date. Her car has Montana License plates, her drivers license is from CA. They charged her every california fee they could plus ca taxes. Made the end price about $70 more. I still don't know how they decide who should be charged the extra fees! MT plates, MT registered car. Permanent address in MT. Temporary ski season resort worker address in CA. Tires purchases and put on car in NV. Since no one pointed out these fees prior to purchase it felt like a scam.
Lastly, in the early 80's, I worked at a GoodYear Tire store. Some real dumb tech installing tires. One time they failed to tighten the lug nuts on a car. The tires fell off on the freeway! Due to 5PM traffic the customer was going slow and did not get hurt. Today with labor shortage, ppl may want to check that the lugs are on, and tightened.

 

[COcheesehead]

Call me crazy, but I've become a fan of buying tires on craigslist.
Bought my last 2 sets that way ( 4 reg and 4 snows ) plus also bought some Honda OEM wheels that way too ...All hardly used, all at 1/2 ( or less ) of the best price for identical models at any web or storefront.
Gonna do it again soon!

You’re crazy.