Costco Tire - Hard to do business with?

[38Chevy454]

Could be, but I still don't buy it.

I recall, people posted these videos about how the wear on the rear tires can cause a fishtail. OK, I accept that, but...

In all those videos, they make the point by taking the car on a prepared track (ice, snow, or just wet), and push the speed into a turn, and show that the driver had less control when the rear breaks free and fish tails. OK, but....

I'm not racing. When it's snowing and slick, I drive extra careful. Slower, leave more space between me and other cars, and slow way down going into a turn. It's very unlikely that I am going to get into a fish tail situation.

However, I do want to get moving after I've had to make a stop at an incline. I can experience many, many more stops/goes than fast turns. And as I said, if I can't get going, I can't even get into a fish-tail situation. I want to prioritize traction and braking (the fronts do most of the braking - I don't think those videos weigh the pros/cons of that), over fish-tailing). Without considering braking, it's a very poor analysis.

I think this is an area where the customer should get to choose, maybe sign a waiver or something.

-ERD50

Not getting into the who's right above, although I agree that since most cars are fwd it can make sense for the deeper tread on front. It just seems the easy solution is to rotate the tires yourself. It takes some time and effort to do it, vs having it done. But solves the problem and helps to equalize the wear on the tires.


Now for some other discussion, do you rotate in an X or F-to-R?

 

[ERD50]

Going against the grain? I'm shocked!

Not getting into the who's right above, although I agree that since most cars are fwd it can make sense for the deeper tread on front. It just seems the easy solution is to rotate the tires yourself. It takes some time and effort to do it, vs having it done. But solves the problem and helps to equalize the wear on the tires.


Now for some other discussion, do you rotate in an X or F-to-R?

For X vs F-R, whatever my manual says.

Rotating is pretty easy if you are set up for it, though for F-R you need a jack stand to avoid an extra step, and is a little more dangerous. For X, you can do it one at a time, subbing the spare for the first change (at least as I recall). But I'd rather have the shop do it (if they will!), I time it along with an oil change or other work.

-ERD50

 

[OldShooter]

(Context: 15 years racing sports cars, almost always with cockpit-adjustable brake bias and anti-roll bars. Lots of vehicle dynamics work. Terms: The official term "understeer" is aka "push," "plow," and $%%#! "Oversteer" is aka "loose," with the rear end more inclined to come around. On the race track we want the cars to be a little loose because it makes the more responsive.)

I'm with the street tire vendors on this one. I like my cars a little loose but an untrained driver is going to drive straight into an accident with anti-lock brakes working their little hearts out. A loose car will be more inclined to arrive sideways and really out of control. A little push is better.

Re being careful in marginal conditions, yes, but IMO people driving in the rain on street tires are much closer to the edge of control than they realize. When I select street tires, I look for big drainage grooves and tread patters that tend to squeeze water out of the contract patch area. Snow provides arguably less traction, but its presence is a clear message to the driver to be careful. Blasting along on a wet, maybe puddled, road is much riskier.

In dry conditions, optimum cornering and braking is achieved with minimal or no tread* as long as the tread compound rubber is still present. For most people this is kind of a don't-care because they are so far from the limits of traction on dry surfaces.

Rotating tires doesn't depend on the car; it depends on the tires. Many street car tires these days have directional tread. This is often optimum for water drainage. Look for a slightly curved arrow on the tire sidewalls with the word "rotation" underneath. These must be kept on the same side of the car, so F-to-R not X.

So with the worse tread on the front, and my braking distance is increased ...

* Not quite. Dry braking is actually better. Wet braking, though, can verge on the catastrophic.

 

[JP.mpls]

I had a beater front wheel drive car, and wanted better traction for the winter.
I went to Costco to get two new front tires, the rears were good enough.

They would not install tires only on the front, but they would put them on the back.
They claimed for safety.

Sounded silly to me. I think I ended up at Discount Tire too.

JP

 

[OldShooter]

... They would not install tires only on the front, but they would put them on the back. They claimed for safety. ...

Yup, lots of traction on the front and little traction on the back is a recipe for oversteer in turns and a somewhat unstable car even when braking straight ahead.

 

[lakerunner]

Check out TireRack (tirerack.com). I have used them almost exclusively for the past 20 years to buy tires for several different cars. Their prices are virtually impossible to beat, in my experience. They will ship the tires directly to a local installer (they have a list you can choose from), or you can have them shipped to you. And if you live fairly close to a distribution center, like I do here in metro Atlanta, you can pick them up and save on shipping charges.

Discount tire is buying Tire Rack, so I don't know what that means price wise. I tend to get most ofmy tires at Discount Tire and specialty tires from Tire Rack.

Link to the article if anyone cares:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...channel-tire-buying-experience-301437357.html

 

[dmpi]

Maybe I'm different but I've never rotated my tires. In a FWD car I just buy two new tires for the front and maybe every third time doing that I would also buy tires for the back too. In a AWD car I would just buy four new tires. I also like to pump up the tire pressure to the max pressure as stated on the sidewall and then I would play with those pressures to get the ride I want. For fixing flats I'm a DIY guy using that screwdriver looking tool and those rubberized threads. I guess generally I avoid the tire shop expect to buy new tires.

 

[aja8888]

Maybe I'm different but I've never rotated my tires. In a FWD car I just buy two new tires for the front and maybe every third time doing that I would also buy tires for the back too. In a AWD car I would just buy four new tires. I also like to pump up the tire pressure to the max pressure as stated on the sidewall and then I would play with those pressures to get the ride I want. For fixing flats I'm a DIY guy using that screwdriver looking tool and those rubberized threads. I guess generally I avoid the tire shop expect to buy new tires.

Max pressure shown on the sidewall is generally the max those tires are rated for. That may not be the same as the car's rated tire pressure (see sticker on the driver's door jam). Generally, when you do that you are over-inflating the tires and will be wearing out the center treads.

 

[Ready]

I have never purchased tires from Discount Tire Center but I’ve heard others say they will repair a tire for no charge. So I brought it my car last week to have them repair a tire that had a slow leak in it. They wrote up the work order for $24.99, so it was definitely not free.

After inspecting the tire they couldn’t find anything wrong with it, so they tore up the work order and didn’t charge me anything, which was nice of them since they did spend a fair amount of time on it.

Costco charges $10.99 to repair a tire that you did not buy from them. It’s free if you bought the tires from them. I like the fact that you can go to any Costco for the repair, so if you are on the road you can find the nearest Costco. I’m not sure if DT works the same way.

 

[OldShooter]

... I’m not sure if DT works the same way.

They access my customer record by my providing my phone number and it has come up on the terminals at two or three local Discount Tires, so my guess is that it is available nationally. No real reason why it wouldn't be; the storage space for a text customer record is not large.

 

[Ready]

They access my customer record by my providing my phone number and it has come up on the terminals at two or three local Discount Tires, so my guess is that it is available nationally. No real reason why it wouldn't be; the storage space for a text customer record is not large.

I’m not familiar with DT so I wasn’t sure if all locations are corporate owned or if they franchise the locations. But if that is how it works that is good to know since they have locations everywhere.

 

[OldShooter]

I’m not familiar with DT so I wasn’t sure if all locations are corporate owned or if they franchise the locations. But if that is how it works that is good to know since they have locations everywhere.

I believe all are corporate. It is quite an interesting organization, very family oriented. No evening hours, no Sunday hours. Managers making their goals get a ride in the corporate jet to dinner somewhere. There is a bio of the owner that is of course quite flattering but also a very interesting story on the company history and philosophy. One of the managers loaned me a copy a few years ago. The Wikipedia entry is good reading too.

I see that Tire Rack is family owned. That merger may be an excellent fit; presumably compatible management philosophies was a deal criterion on both sides.

 

[rodi]

I love Costco - go there every few weeks. But I will never buy tires from them again. I'd had my tires rotated as part of the regular service I had done at the dealer (under warranty). Tires wore out sooner than they should have. Costco didn't honor the warranty because I didn't have the tires rotated at Costco. Costco's warranties have been great for everything else - but not their tires.

Discount Tire has been great. Hubby had some tires wear out quicker than they should have and they gave him the appropriate credit on the new tires as indicated under the warranty. More brands. No nickel and diming.

 

[Ready]

I believe all are corporate. It is quite an interesting organization, very family oriented. No evening hours, no Sunday hours. Managers making their goals get a ride in the corporate jet to dinner somewhere. There is a bio of the owner that is of course quite flattering but also a very interesting story on the company history and philosophy. One of the managers loaned me a copy a few years ago. The Wikipedia entry is good reading too.

I see that Tire Rack is family owned. That merger may be an excellent fit; presumably compatible management philosophies was a deal criterion on both sides.

So I read the Wiki page and learned that in Southern California there is a chain called Discount Tire and Service Center. I looked it up and apparently I went to one of their shops thinking I was going to Discount Tire. In my area I have to find an America’s Tire store since they use that name to avoid confusion with the other shop. So I take back what I said about my experience with them wanting to charge me $24.99 for a tire repair. That was a completely unrelated business that I went to. Very confusing.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I used Costco for my last set of tires and was very happy with the entire transaction. Price was a little cheaper than Discount Tire. I have found that Tire Rack has gone the way of Rock Auto...as in they rarely have the best prices like they used to.

 

[Ready]

For those of you who purchased at DT, did you buy the extended warranty? Is it worth the money?

 

[OldShooter]

For those of you who purchased at DT, did you buy the extended warranty? Is it worth the money?

I never buy extended warranties on anything, anywhere, any time.

 

[aja8888]

I never buy extended warranties on anything, anywhere, any time.

Ditto.

I have been buying the family's tires at DT for 29 years and never bought the warranties. In the rare cases a tire failed, if there was enough tread left, the tire manufacturer allowed a pro-rated credit for the tire if it hadn't exceeded stated tread life.

A lot of their profit comes from the warranty sales.

 

[38Chevy454]

I do purchase the warranty for trailer tires, and some of the car tires. On trailer tires I have nearly 100% replacement ratio, although I think it is more related to how crappy trailer tires are. On the lower profile higher performance car tires, that cost more, the warranty is pretty cheap and is more likely to be used. I have saved more than warranty cost thanks(?) to the warranty I have used to replace those car tires. Can't say for sure if it makes a difference, but I negotiate the total tire install and if buying the warranty it seems to me that it helps get better price on the total deal. Also probably helps I am a long term customer with a lot of vehicles.

Now given above, I never buy any warranty on anything else.

 

[REWahoo]

On trailer tires I have nearly 100% replacement ratio, although I think it is more related to how crappy trailer tires are.

Yes, I learned in my years of RVing that trailer tires are truly crappy. However, there are now two much better/more reliable trailer tires on the market: Maxxis 8008 and Goodyear Endurance. Had the Maxxis tires on our last RV and they were great for the 5 years we owned it.

 

[Ready]

I went to an America’s Tire store in my neighborhood today to see if they could find the slow leak in my tire. They were able to find the nail that the previous shop I went to could not find and they patched it up at no charge. They also quoted me a great price on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, actually about $100 less than Costco. Funny though the price the rep quoted me was higher than their web site price. So I guess to get the best deal you have to talk to a person in the store.

Anyways, it was a much better experience than the first shop, and really better than Costco. The Costco people are always nice but it takes weeks to get an appointment and even then I end up waiting hours for them to get around to me. This place had me in and out in 30 minutes.

 

[NextInLine]

Love Costco tire. My wife had a flat tire today. Took it to Costco. They cannot fix it. I bought the set 2 years ago. New tire costs $180. They gave us $140 credit. With $10 installed fee, $50 out of pocket for a new tire! They rotate and balance all four. No appointment, it took them almost 3 hours. We live near by, so just went home have dinner and they call us when it ready.

 

[Asabino]

I'm extremely pleased with Costco for tires. We've bought approximately 12-15 sets of tires and have been very pleased with their service. As a matter of fact, I bought a set of Bridgestones Dueler for our 4x4 4runner today. Spent $1175 and didn't blink. I don't have a problem paying for quality products and quality service. They rotate your tires, fix flats, and are very helpful with questions. Additionally, we've had nails in the tire traveling across the country; took them to Costco and either had them repaired or given replacement tires.

 

[Out of Steam]

Following up my original question, I placed a tire order with Costco today. Due in 7-10 days.

Seemed like the experience of most other people there was better than my own, and the price with discount was good by current standards.

 

[Ready]

I’m a huge Costco fan, and I’ve always bought my tires at Costco for many years. But on my next tire purchase I will not be doing so. The problem at my local Costco is they are just too busy. If I want an appointment it’s at least a week out. And even with an appointment I end up waiting hours for a simple rotation or flat repair.

I’ve heard enough good things about Discount Tire/America’s Tire that I’m going to give them a try. If it doesn’t work out, I guess I’ll go back to waiting around at Costco.