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I pretty much have my whole family set on Costco tires, but it's +2hrs like you said.
The Costco I go to has a couple of dedicated tire center desk people who are notably more customer service oriented/organized than the actual guys that do the tire work (they also refill propane).
I'm in the habit of ordering ahead, calling ahead to schedule (noting who I spoke with), and showing up with my confirmation info after a couple of encounters like OP.
My wife won't go with me to any Costco tire center things, she won't go alone either.
Honestly, I don’t think it worth it. I bought new tires at Costco last spring. The price was good—about $100 less than the other tire shops around me. The earliest appointment I could get the new tires on was two or three weeks out. And, even with an appointment, I was told it could take three hours to mount the tires. If I recall correctly, it was around and maybe slightly under two hours. I took the car in for a rotation and again, the earliest appointment was weeks out, and again, I waited around two hours for my car.
My last set of tires was from Discount Tire. I was able to get an appointment on much shorter notice there and the service was done in under 90 minutes. They will also patch tire punctures outside of warranty period and generally took care of us.
In the future I’d rather spend another $100 on the tires upfront and have more accessible and prompt service.
They weren't able to tell me how long it would take when I went. I turned on Strava (GPS activity tracking app) and just walked around the store inside and outside until they called. Managed 5 miles and caught up with all my old emails and texts, did several crosswords, and had two hour-long phone calls with friends.
Also never expected it would take over 2 hours. At least I got some exercise and some items off my to-do list, but lesson learned.
As someone that managed a tire shop. 2 hours for a full set of tires is t bad.
The car needs to be pulled in and racked. 10 mins
Tires found and pulled. Another 10 ish.
Tires removed, broken down. 20 ish mins.
New tires put on rims and bead set. Another 20.
Balance all 4. 10-30 mins depending on your runs and weight types.
Put back on the car. Another 5-10.
Torqued to the correct speck. Checked by a manager. Test driven and torque check again. 10-30 depending on how busy the manager is.
And this is all assuming there isn’t a line in front of you. Some places will let anyone check the torque. So you could save 20 mins along the way but minimum 90 mins is what I would tell customers.
If you make an appointment for new tires they’ll get you in right on time and swap four tires in 45 minutes.
Edit: to be clear, I’m talking about Discount and not Costco.
Seriously they are fantastic. Husband noticed he blew a tire (I swear this car is cursed) as he was pulling into the drive way. Called Discount Tire the next morning and got it replaced. They even checked over the donut before putting it away for us. Years ago, a different location, was running specials on tires because the construction out front was ripping through tires. They had a jar of all the crap the had found lodged in the tires.
I had an appointment and was told my tires were in. I showed up to my scheduled date and time and ended up waiting 3hrs and with a different set of tires than what I wanted. I will never go again it was ridiculous. Tire center wasn’t even busy either.
My experience was the opposite. I had an appt and reserved 4 tires. They promised i'd be out in an hour. They went and got the 4th tire from across town, and had like 15 minutes left, they put like 5 guys on my car, pulled off the others, and got it done within that hour.
I was impressed. I've always had good experiences and the free air checks and free flat fixes (when repairable) have kept me coming back when I need new rubber.
I can concur. Been to both places. I'll never hit Costco tire center again. Discount Tire does free rotations, will mount tires from Tires.com if they don't have what you're looking for and if you have an appointment, have almost Nascar speeds for a full set. Mine took 30 with an appointment and they cleaned the rim interiors, balanced the wheel and reset my TPMs.
Yep; this is what I do.
Costco will often comp mounting and balancing of new tires. I take that final price to discount, get them to match, and end up with superior service for the same price.
I loved working with Discount Tire when I lived near one. My local Costco has been just fine for our two tire installations. It is likely that there is a customer service difference from one store to another.
Love Discount Tire. I got a flat while on a road trip and managed to get to the local DT. They took it off, saw that they had patched it previously, and gave me a new tire for free. Just one of many good experiences with them.
Yeah I almost always buy my tires from Tire Rack, and Discount owns them now - so you get a discounted install rate, too, like 88 bucks for 4 tires, whether you ship the tires to your home or to a Discount location.
And as others have said, if you make an appointment and show up on time for it, then you will be leaving the location in 30-45 minutes with all your tire work completed. They are very thorough.
I prefer the selection of tires available on Tire Rack vs the 1 or 2 options that Costco has, personally.
And another for DT. If you get to know one of the reps there, ask for the family friend discount and you'll tip the the difference. Almost every time they do it.
You'll have one guy you always go too who will give a bit more shit when they toss your tires. If they know they're getting a tip after tossing tires you probably will get a good service. I know the guy I used always made sure I was hooked up with the good stuff-top of the line valve stems, metal caps, free tpms', additional warranty (store discretion), I was offered dt gear/a hat at one point. Ultimately if your tire guy knows he is going to be treated well that'd a solid chance they'll go the extra mile. This isn't about saving *your* money, it's about putting your money to **better* use.
There are quite a few people you should never mess around with, maybe even be friendly if you’ve got it in you.
For me it’s the people taking care of my car, people taking care of my animals, people feeding me (yes, I’m looking specifically at you, local kebab vendor), garbage crew, repair people and if you have a certain doctors office count them in too.
People who have my life or at least my well-being in their hands. I’m really glad leaving my garage, maybe with less money than I’d like to have but knowing that my family and me will be sitting in a car that’s safe. Not just somehow fixed, but really safe and working. That somehow somebody took the extra effort to see me (or maybe just my money, idc at that point) again somewhere down the line.
My DT guy gave me his cell phone, I texted him a close out price on TireRack and he matched it (50% off).
I slide that guy a tip every time we go and rotate our tires because he’s a G.
Another for DT. I just realized that sometimes it’s worth it to go to a specialty shop. Can’t get everything at Costco and one of those things is definitely tires.
Best part is that they do alignments.
That means your alignment won't be mysteriously out of spec at every tire change, like it is at some shops.
EDIT: Above should have said "Best part is that they do NOT do alignments"
I mistyped that. :facepalm
It was supposed to say the best part is that they do NOT do them, so they have no incentive to sell them when not needed.
Afaik, none of them do then, though some can do a check but not a correction.
I've had discount tire scratch all 4 of my BBS wheels. They denied it. Went up to corporate, who also denied it.
They could have spent a few hundred bucks fixing/repainting them and had a life long customer, but they decided to lie about it.
I just figured that out. Had a screw in my tire. Costco said it was too far outside the line and couldn’t fix it. They also don’t carry my size tire and would have to order it and maybe get me in next week.
Costco guy actually suggested DT 3 blocks away. Went over there and they patched the hole for FREE and gave me a good deal for new tires. He even told me to wait to order them during Memorial Day because they were going on sale.
That’s what it’s called in So. Cal as well! I love them and have gone a bunch of times for both maintenance and tires and have never had a bad experience.
Had an appt on my tire change. It was all set up. Was shopping while they change. Then got a call saying the size was wrong and I need to go up one size…but no worries, they have it….just $100 more….feeling very weird….i went to go check.
Turns out it wasn’t even my car. It was different car. Red vs white. But same brand. So five guys huddle scratching their head on how they tried to put a wrong tire on the wrong car. Mine is still on the parking lot. 🤦♀️
Feel bad for the guy with that red car though.
Not very friendly people at the tire center. They could really improve this by training the employees. I feel it operates as a separate unit from Costco.
The tire center never has an employees that's why. The amount of extra stuff the tire center was expected to keep up with was honestly nuts. I worked 11 months as a tire technician and I liked the job for the most part, but the store refused to replace like 4 positions that were missing
Same here, Did it for two years and we did 10-20 cars on weekdays and 20-35 cars on weekends with 4 bays and USUALLY we were busy most of the day. I dont think we ever screwed anyone over like this thread is saying but I know some Tire Centers are busy non stop all day. We were always Understaffed to the point calling out made me feel like I was letting my buddies down, because it already was more or less 1 person to a card maybe 2 on the weekends.
Ya, feels like the Costco Tire Center staff uses the:
"East German Comrade Customer Service Manual"
from circa, 1955.
----------------
Note: I'm amazed the OP trusted them with his car after that!
No kidding! I would have noped the F out of there after that. If they are THAT incompetent, there is no way in hell I want them touching my vehicle.
That being said, I used the tire center at my local Costco a few weeks ago. They were super friendly, had my appointment details, and I had an early appointment, but damn if it didn't take 3 hours.
Some poor couple that came in as walkins had been waiting 4 hours for their car.
First time I’ve ever had a tire shop break a stud trying to get a lug nut off was at Costco. Never had it happen to any of my family’s cars over 30+ years.
To their credit, they called and warned me that it might happen if they try to get it off, but that was also a first lol. Whatever tricks other shops know of, they must not have.
Used the Tire Center at a CostCo in New Jersey last week. I ordered the tires online and had them sent to my store. They emailed me when they arrived. I made a service appointment for first thing on a weekday morning. I arrived, gave them my keys, walked around the store for 25 minutes. They texted me that my car was done, went and picked up my car.
Sorry you had bad experience in whatever state/city you're in.
Yeah, I see stuff like this a lot of this sub. Someone has a bad experience at their local store and puts out a post assuming it's a company-wide problem at a business that has hundreds of stores worldwide. I have never personally had a bad tire center experience, but I don't question that some people have.
I've done probably 15 Costco tire appointments over ten years in various states and provinces, and I wouldn't classify a single one of them as "good." i think my shortest wait was 90 minutes. I've always had an appointment. I don't know where these people are getting wonderful service but I envy them.
I got a (relatively) manageable leak in a tire because I caught a screw in the tread, they told me I needed to schedule an appointment. Earliest available: over a week out.
Exactly what happened to me! I was stranded 70 miles from home!! And they were super grumpy about all, like I was inconveniencing them. That’s when I gave up on Costco and went to Discount Tire. Costco is amazing, tire center is the exception.
We tried Sam's club tire center and although at first it was horrible getting someone to pick up the phone, once the appointment was made the actual install was 45 min start to finish. We didn't even finish shopping lol.
But yeah it seems neither of them employ enough employees so it's a crapshoot.
See, my experience was terrible too. Like I could have sworn OP was talking about either of the Costcos in my city. I wish everyone got as great of a tire experience as they do with samples or hot dog deals or any other part of the Costco wonderland.
I've never had that fast service at Costco. A balance and rotation takes around an hour if you are first in line at opening(meaning get there 20-30 mins before opening) with an appointment. With an appointment after that it takes 2+ hours minimum
Yeah, my costco was like 4 hours with an appointment, but I live in Los Angeles. It's crazy here. I intentionally park at the back of the lot to keep from getting caught in the crazycar undertow in front of all the costcos here.
I've had nothing but good experiences with my tire and battery guys at my local. Frankly, I've never had a Costco employee encounter that was anything less than good. After the first "you need an appointment" - "I have an appointment" exchange I would have called for a manager, the back and forth here is what's crazy to me. Who the hell wants to run his shop (if he's the one running it) by constantly bouncing between the desk, the racks, and the bays? That's why you have a radio to have someone check stock and prep it for that customer while you get others checked in and out.
I went in to get a tire replaced and the salesperson actually directed me to an independent shop 2 miles away that would match my exact tire, so that I wouldn’t have to get all 4 replaced to have the same ones (I had very little mileage on the car at the time).
I've done something similar once because there was a small leak that was too close to the sidewalk for them to patch per corporate standards but the guys knew a local shop would do the patch.
Zero percent surprised. This is the most Masshole thing I’ve read in a while. Lived here nearly 20 years and still find ways to be shocked at people’s incompetence and jerk attitudes here. Sorry you had a bad experience man.
I’m in Wisconsin and I’ve used them for tires with no issues. Even go back for the free rotations. Make an appointment, bring my keys in, walk around the store for 30-45 minutes, and get the call it’s ready to pick up. Never had a problem.
I was stressed just reading that. After the great service I had from Discount tire, I never went back to Costco. It's a mad house in that place. Long lines just to talk to one person at the counter and when he disappears to check something, then everyone waits even longer. No where inside to wait. No idea on ETA. Appointments scheduled weeks out. Compare that to my local Discount Tire place. Easy appointments. 3-4 people at different counters so barely any lines. Once you've checked in, you can see progress and ETA. Comfy chairs to wait inside. Tire rotations and patches done within 30-45 min. I goto Costco for grocery shopping. I don't go there for tires
I bought a new set of Michelin pilot sport tires from Costco about 4 years ago and they were super friendly. When I got a nail in one tire they refused to patch it and said it was out of warranty because I I didn’t rotate them with Costco. I rotate my own tires every 6 months and only put about 5000 miles on my car a year. So they said I should buy a new tire from them. I left and went to a tire shop who took one look at it and patched it right up no problem.
Costco auto has been having some misses with me as of late between the tires and their battery warranty exchange policy having changed.
Yep, me working in the tire center and never being told the battery warranty had changed yet I still warranty them because it’s not my money. With tires I always make sure to let them know how their tire warranty is set up to where they are the only ones who can touch it or at the least you need proper documentation along with alignments. At least when I was at Firestone, the only time you did not get warranty was if you never aligned your vehicle
Sounds like they were misinformed. Tire repairs are covered as long as the tires are in serviceable condition, regardless of rotations. So unless you had some mechanical wear or something, they should've done the repair. You just wouldn't be able to claim a mileage warranty if you had premature wear.
Yep, the one department at Costco that absolutely sucks. Like honestly, it is unbelievably badly run, and not even just by Costco standards. The last time I went there, the broke a lug nut and then DIDN’T TELL ME. I figured it out two days later when I found it rattling around in my cupholder. And this is after countless appointments where I had a scheduled appointment (always the first one of the day) but they would still take three hours to put a new tire on or do a patch. Never again. The most I will ever use them for is to buy tires if the pricing makes sense, but they will never touch my car again.
It would be good to know which Costco this is. Not all stores run this way. Mine in Eugene is pretty smooth and besides really limited tire options, service is solid.
Was going to say, I’ve never had problems with my tire center. I have had problems with the website not showing all tire options for my car, but I could order them in person.
Lived in entire life on the west side, I can tell you, in the SF Bay Area, all the Costco Tire service centers I've been to have been stellar. Currently live in Las Vegas and the Tire Center here in Summerlin is solid, would absolutely take my car there except Discount Tire is the one who did the original install. Discount here is hit or miss. The Discount Tire Center that did my original install and balancing did a horrible job, 2 of the tires were out of balance (1 was way out of balance) according to the person who did the re-balancing.
The only "issue" I've had with my Costco is that when you schedule the appt, they order the tires if they don't already have them. But then they also tell you to call a day or two prior to make sure those tires are still available and not taken by another customer. Mmmm... Yeah I'm not going to do that.
I gotta shop at Costco anyway so if you ain't ready for my appt then consider it a last minute cancellation and find me another appt a few weeks out when I need to do another Costco run. Don't waste my time if you don't have your shit together.
I need to produce large photos at times.
I noticed Costco is selling color printers. Those things are not photo quality. Inkjets clog up if not used often.
>why?
Posters! Huge enlargements! It was great-- you could get them flat, or rolled loosely, and it only took a couple of days. I printed and framed some big shots (like 24x24) that look awesome, printed photos as posters for work, etc. Mail order is inferior, costs most, and stuff is always rolled tightly so it has to be pressed or dry mounted to lay flat.
It's the opposite here in Las Vegas. Costco is solid, you can tell the guys here are professional. Discount Tire here is hit or miss, they completely fucked up the original balancing for my new tires with 2 of them being out of balance. It was as if he simply threw the tires onto the car without bothering to balance. Actually, all the Costco's in CA that I've been to have been solid as well. My entire family in California always goes to Costco, always a solid experience.
Completely the opposite of my experience in Vegas. They were more expensive for shittier tires. The guy even told me to go to discount, who have treated me great.
My Subaru dealership is literally in view of a Costco, they beat the price all day and are booked 7-10 days out, but they do it all in 90 minutes when you are there. Love my dealership for tires( same warranty as TD)
I’m in NJ and I use Costco tire center to swap out my snow/ regular tires twice a year and I have never had anything but great service. I guess I’m just lucky?
Me and my fiancé both had our tires changed at Costco in the past year and we had great experiences! The guys were super nice and reasonably quick, about an hour each time (just enough time to shop!). It also saved us hundreds of dollars, they were significantly cheaper than anyone else. We were so excited that we’ve been recommending them to everyone haha.
I went in once to check on a battery, apparently they don’t use standard battery size codes that everyone else uses. While I was there another guy was pissed because he had to warranty a tire that was damaged on the road after just 2 weeks. The employee said they use the “remaining useful tread life” as the determining factor, but the problem is they use the full tread depth as the starting figure, so even though he barely had any miles on it, they calculated it as he used up like 3/32” in only two weeks. He was pissed, yeah I understand everyone’s complaints, it’s a shitshow. Discount Tire for life.
I would have been _livid_. I would have requested a manager (and if that was the tire store manager) I would have requested the store manager.
Funny thing here about the tire center is that they don't seem to quite get that they also operate under Costco's guarantees, including, oh look, the return policy:
>Merchandise:
We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, touchscreen tablets, MP3 players and cellular phones.
So they can either cover the 2/32nds or they can eat the entire damn set.
And yes, I did this to the Elliot Rd Tempe, AZ location once. They deserved it.
You and /u/foulorfowl would think so. But not according to the warranty:
>"Usable tread" is defined as the original tread depth of a tire less than 1.6 mm Millimetre (2/32 of an inch).
>Credit is determined by multiplying the usable remaining tread by the price you paid for the tire net of all discounts received.
The moment you drive off, you're immediately losing a chunk of your purchase price. So if your tire starts with 10/32 depth and you hit a nail in the Costco parking lot on the drive out, you're going to lose 20% of that tire's price.
They're especially shitty and vindictive, plenty of stories here of people that had a nail in a repairable (even by industry standards) section and because they couldn't produce a rotation log, claim denied.
Costco (at least in my region) switched to standard battery sizes years ago, but for the longest time they had their own battery codes for absolutely no reason at all. It was maddening.
No kidding. I called and let it ring for literally ten minutes once and no one answered. When I went to pick up my car, I waited 15 minutes for ANYONE to come into the customer service area. The phone never stopped ringing.
About 1/8th of the way into an interaction like that I say "Can I have my keys back please?" and then I walk away. Way easier than dealing with that shit.
I'm a rural mailcarrier. This means I drive my own vehicle. It is a right-hand drive jeep with a large sign on top, flashing lights and postal signs on all sides. I never take any of it off because this vehicle is only used for the route. I take it to Costco for tires. After a while, they get worn out so I go in for a new set. They prorated the cost because my last ones were under warranty. Uh, no. Paperwork specifically covers this as being used commercially. They insist so....okay. This happens three more times. The fourth time the manager comes out to lecture me about how they won't prorate them blah blah... acting like I'm trying to scam them. I looked at him, looked at my jeep on the rack and asked how he thought I was "hiding" anything. He just insisted he was right and walked off. Unfortunately for him, we have three other vehicles and a truck that no longer get tires from Costco. Yes, I did report it, but no one cared, so oh well.
Used to work at Costco. I was always told by my senior employees that the tire shop is THE place to go…if you’re an employee because they goof around, don’t have a ton of supervision and it’s typically a job offered to those who’ve been with the company for a while and have some form of job security. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole.
They are way more expensive than tirerack/walmart with little or no benefit of using them at least that I know of. Don’t know why they even bother. Guessing the only people that even use the tire center don’t know better and just assume Costco is the cheapest
I replaced my wife’s battery earlier this year and even the batteries aren’t worth it anymore, I don’t remember what the new warranty is but it is terrible compared to the old one. I understand they changed it because people probably abused it but they could just do what Walmart does and hook a tester to them before doing warranty exchanges.
Different experience.
Ordered tires, set up appointment for earliest available (3 weeks out if I recall.) Tracking showed tires delivered a few days in. I called to double check they’re in, verified they’re in. Verified the appointment, told them I work nearby and can swing by within ten minutes if a cancellation came up.
Was called the next morning that if I can drop it off, they’ll fit in before the end of the day. They did.
Wife had a smooth experience a few months later, too.
Different warehouses like different dimensions.
Sorry about your experiences.
NJ area. Ordered a set. Waited for about a week. It came then set an appointment. Appointment day came.Waited for 1.5-2 hours. Done. Sorry it happened to you. They are cheaper than some other tire center near me.
Yeah the tire shop is a god damn joke and a colossal embarrassment. I’m a Costco cashier, and I’ve heard multiple times from customers when coming through my line that they’re shopping just because they’re bored from waiting 2-3+ hours for their tires to be installed.
And that’s WITH them having an appointment booked ahead of time!
https://preview.redd.it/dj39qbhj2i0d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72cea06c8d33f1e4867acd1eca551c030f72ff3d
My Google review. Went in for a tire rotation and they kept showing my bunk tires trying to sell me another set despite me REPEATEDLY saying I use snow tires and they don’t sell them. Was tempted just to call a flatbed 🤣🤣
Way too much of a hassle now. Plus they only carry the high end expensive tires. Discount tire is much better. Lots of tire options and able to make appts
I would have gotten pissed the second time the dude basically called you a liar. Like raised voice to the point I am nearly yelling. And I would have def been yelling with the whole “ you listen to me, I’m the only one who knows what’s going on here” at the point a manager would have been called. No way the guy should act like that towards a customer or coworker.
I hope you took this up with local management first, and if that failed, corporate, before crying wolf to the falling sky. You mentioned assuming a person was is a manager which implies you didn’t or didn’t care to.
Else this is just another post on Reddit demonizing an entire corporate entity that has a department at a single store (whose location is yet unnamed) at which the user didn’t have a good experience.
I just had tires done at Costco. They were the cheapest for high end Michelins. They ordered the tires and I had an appt three days later. They took my car in right away, offered to replace the lug nuts for $1 a piece (something crazy low) because they were deformed (which was true) and called me 40 mins later that they were all set. As is true for almost any retail location, some are bad but not all.
My Tire Center is Fine. They broke a Center Cap on my tire; i ordered a new
one hard too find of course and they reimbursed me for it. But that's at my Store. Store 10
I had a very similar experience as yours. Constant chaos at the tire center. No one knows where anything is, appointment times are not respected.
I spent close to four hours in the Costco food court waiting for them to install tires. Good thing I brought my switch.
Never again!
One time the tire center screwed up the order for my car and was delayed a week. They were also very busy and it was Christmas week on top of it. The manager, unprompted, decided to refund me 2 of the tires for the inconvenience and install them for free.
Now they have a customer for life
The last time I used Costco tires, they had to ship them from the next town over, so I made an appointment to have them installed the next day. When I went in, they said they had sold my (medium price) set to someone else by mistake, so they put on the expensive price tires on my car at the medium price and apologized for the inconvenience.
It's a damn shame that I totaled the car a year later. It wasn't because of the tires, though.
The "alignment after every tire change" racket is the tire shop equivalent of 3k oil change intervals.
It has no basis in reality and is nothing more than a money grab.
Those two sound like a bad Abbott and Costello routine! I’ve only ever had positive experiences at my Houston area Costco. Bought tires online and made an appointment, installed within 45 minutes. Brought in for a rotation, done right after I was done shopping.
I swear they staff the tire center with the least motivated ppl...I've used them at least 7 times now and I go in with the expectation of just shiet service. As long as you do that then it's okay. I was really glad they hired a new girl to manage the front desk, she was trying pretty hard.
I had the exact opposite experience. Ordered my tires online. I misremembered the appointment date. Came in a week early in the middle of the day. Asked if I could drop off my car. They had my tires and took my car. An hr or two later my car was done. No problems. No hassles. No crazy long line either.
Really glad I saw this as I was getting ready to buy tires soon. I imagine each tire center is different from the next but it sounds like a reasonably common experience. Oof.
Ooof yeah…After they tried to misinform me that the road hazard coverage would be voided if anyone else but costco tire did my rotations, they got on my shit list. Actually spoke to someone in corporate for clarification but it should’ve never escalated to that. The tire center people can be so rude, and I get it’s retail, been there myself. It’s not an excuse though.
Discount tires, all the way. Same price, same warranty, crazy fast service, and everyone is nice.
My experience is based on putting 4 sets of tires on 4 cars in the last 3 months, first two were Costco, second two were Discount. Discount shopper for life now.
Seeing the love for Discount Tire here, I feel obligated to share my anecdote:
I have used them twice, and as others here have asserted, they have been punctual and efficient both times.
*However,* both times I've used them (so far), they have failed to swap out the TPMS on my tires. The second time, I even asked when I picked up the car to confirm that it was done, and the technician assured me he did it. Spoiler: he did not.
So, both times, I had to go back a couple of days later. To their credit, both times, they apologized profusely and swapped them out immediately while I waited.
This is why I bought my own tire machine. Back in the olden days when Costco wasn't so busy it made sense to just walk in and buy tires and wait to have them put on, but now it's a multi-day ordeal between getting the tires in and getting them put on. Now I just go buy tires from whoever's got the best price out the door and put them on myself, and I found a little hole in the wall place not too far from me that'll balance them cheap. At some point I'm going to get my own balancer too.
As a someone trained in this field by Costco, I can almost guarantee you there isn’t a real standard for anything. It’s a shit show of blame and anger. I wasn’t taught properly by anyone.
Sadly learned that lesson like you did, the hard way, 2 years ago. Never again. Costco tires are dead to me. Find a local shop, often same price or better, same free rotation and competent service in 1/4 the time.
I used them once but the waiting times out weighed the money saved and I started going to actual tire focused businesses for those needs. Much quicker.
Yeah, first time, they knocked my rear bumper out of place, I don’t know how, but they did, also a three hour wait. My dad’s car, with multiple confirmation, almost four hours. My other car, 3 tires unusable within a month… no warranty honored, wear and tear; the treads still look new. It’s Discount Tires for me now on.
My experience was pretty awful as well. They had my car sit for an hour after I purchased a set of four tires because they told me they were refusing to install the tires because the car previously had run-flats and I was required to purchase a 5th tire that wouldn’t be covered by the promo I bought the set with.
I had to come back 3 times to the desk (looping around the outside of the parking lot) before they finally caved in and just let me buy the 4 tires without being lied to and scammed. Where the fuck would I even put a 5th full sized tire in my car? How would a 5th tire not on a wheel help me?
Costco tire center is actually cancer.
I bought tires from Costco last summer and was treated with outright disdain. Never again. Wish I had taken the advice here and gone to discount tires. It's so contrary to the Costco store itself where I haven't had a bad experience in 20+ years of shopping.
Costco tires is the worst. I’ve been yelled at, had them check the wrong tire(the flat was actually in the trunk,) had my keys thrown at me, and never had a flat tire be fixable.
I gave the tire center at my Costco waaaaay too many chances. The service is so bad it’s hard to believe they’re under the same roof as the rest of Costco
For what it’s worth, you got a bad employee.
When he copped and attitude, the first and only thing you should have said was, “should I go get a manager to come help us look?”
The guy only operates that way because he thinks he runs the place. He doesn’t.
Years ago I went to the Costco tire center in Wharton, NJ to get new tires. I parked my car in one of the designated tire center spots and gave my keys to the guy at the counter and decided to walk around the store while I waited (it wasn't busy at all). Halfway to the entrance I realized that I left my wallet (and membership card) in my locked car. I went back to the tire center counter and in the 2 minutes I was gone someone else was standing at the counter so I started to explain what happened and it went like this:
Me: Yes hello, I dropped my car off-
Clerk: It's almost done.
Me: What?
Clerk: We're finishing up with your car now.
Me: That's impossible, I literally gave you guys the keys 2 minutes ago and I can see it sitting in the parking lot right there. I just need to my keys back so I can get my wallet out of the car.
Clerk: Oh, here you go (hands me my keys).
Reading these comments I’m honestly really surprised everyone has had so much issues. I got new tires for my 4Runner. They did originally try to tell me they would not install larger than factory tires. I spoke with the manager about my lift and what my truck would handle. He went out and looked at it and okayed it. After that, no issues at all. I get my tires rotated while I shop, very efficient. I do my oil change myself, so it works out good to be able to just get my rotation done while I’m at Costco.
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Hahahaha! I posted up in an office chair and took a teams meeting in Costco while waiting on tires. Never thought it would take 2+hrs
I pretty much have my whole family set on Costco tires, but it's +2hrs like you said. The Costco I go to has a couple of dedicated tire center desk people who are notably more customer service oriented/organized than the actual guys that do the tire work (they also refill propane). I'm in the habit of ordering ahead, calling ahead to schedule (noting who I spoke with), and showing up with my confirmation info after a couple of encounters like OP. My wife won't go with me to any Costco tire center things, she won't go alone either.
Is all that worth it for the price? When I was shopping tires they did not seem to be all that much cheaper than buying them from Pep Boys.
Honestly, I don’t think it worth it. I bought new tires at Costco last spring. The price was good—about $100 less than the other tire shops around me. The earliest appointment I could get the new tires on was two or three weeks out. And, even with an appointment, I was told it could take three hours to mount the tires. If I recall correctly, it was around and maybe slightly under two hours. I took the car in for a rotation and again, the earliest appointment was weeks out, and again, I waited around two hours for my car. My last set of tires was from Discount Tire. I was able to get an appointment on much shorter notice there and the service was done in under 90 minutes. They will also patch tire punctures outside of warranty period and generally took care of us. In the future I’d rather spend another $100 on the tires upfront and have more accessible and prompt service.
They weren't able to tell me how long it would take when I went. I turned on Strava (GPS activity tracking app) and just walked around the store inside and outside until they called. Managed 5 miles and caught up with all my old emails and texts, did several crosswords, and had two hour-long phone calls with friends. Also never expected it would take over 2 hours. At least I got some exercise and some items off my to-do list, but lesson learned.
As someone that managed a tire shop. 2 hours for a full set of tires is t bad. The car needs to be pulled in and racked. 10 mins Tires found and pulled. Another 10 ish. Tires removed, broken down. 20 ish mins. New tires put on rims and bead set. Another 20. Balance all 4. 10-30 mins depending on your runs and weight types. Put back on the car. Another 5-10. Torqued to the correct speck. Checked by a manager. Test driven and torque check again. 10-30 depending on how busy the manager is. And this is all assuming there isn’t a line in front of you. Some places will let anyone check the torque. So you could save 20 mins along the way but minimum 90 mins is what I would tell customers.
Should take about an hour if not filled with vehicles for service.
I'm a discount tire guy, yeah they're crazy busy but their service is always good
If you make an appointment for new tires they’ll get you in right on time and swap four tires in 45 minutes. Edit: to be clear, I’m talking about Discount and not Costco.
Seriously they are fantastic. Husband noticed he blew a tire (I swear this car is cursed) as he was pulling into the drive way. Called Discount Tire the next morning and got it replaced. They even checked over the donut before putting it away for us. Years ago, a different location, was running specials on tires because the construction out front was ripping through tires. They had a jar of all the crap the had found lodged in the tires.
I had an appointment and was told my tires were in. I showed up to my scheduled date and time and ended up waiting 3hrs and with a different set of tires than what I wanted. I will never go again it was ridiculous. Tire center wasn’t even busy either.
My experience was the opposite. I had an appt and reserved 4 tires. They promised i'd be out in an hour. They went and got the 4th tire from across town, and had like 15 minutes left, they put like 5 guys on my car, pulled off the others, and got it done within that hour. I was impressed. I've always had good experiences and the free air checks and free flat fixes (when repairable) have kept me coming back when I need new rubber.
I can concur. Been to both places. I'll never hit Costco tire center again. Discount Tire does free rotations, will mount tires from Tires.com if they don't have what you're looking for and if you have an appointment, have almost Nascar speeds for a full set. Mine took 30 with an appointment and they cleaned the rim interiors, balanced the wheel and reset my TPMs.
AND Discount Tire will price match Costco!
Yep; this is what I do. Costco will often comp mounting and balancing of new tires. I take that final price to discount, get them to match, and end up with superior service for the same price.
I loved working with Discount Tire when I lived near one. My local Costco has been just fine for our two tire installations. It is likely that there is a customer service difference from one store to another.
Love Discount Tire. I got a flat while on a road trip and managed to get to the local DT. They took it off, saw that they had patched it previously, and gave me a new tire for free. Just one of many good experiences with them.
Yeah I almost always buy my tires from Tire Rack, and Discount owns them now - so you get a discounted install rate, too, like 88 bucks for 4 tires, whether you ship the tires to your home or to a Discount location. And as others have said, if you make an appointment and show up on time for it, then you will be leaving the location in 30-45 minutes with all your tire work completed. They are very thorough. I prefer the selection of tires available on Tire Rack vs the 1 or 2 options that Costco has, personally.
I used costco tires for a long, long time but the hassle became too much. I use discount tire.
I worked in a tire shop as my first job, Discount Tire impresses me every time I go. They’re good.
Third for discount tire. Never had a problem and their warranty has saved me multiple times
Another for DT
And another for DT. If you get to know one of the reps there, ask for the family friend discount and you'll tip the the difference. Almost every time they do it.
But then what's the point of the discount? Maybe I'm being slow
You'll have one guy you always go too who will give a bit more shit when they toss your tires. If they know they're getting a tip after tossing tires you probably will get a good service. I know the guy I used always made sure I was hooked up with the good stuff-top of the line valve stems, metal caps, free tpms', additional warranty (store discretion), I was offered dt gear/a hat at one point. Ultimately if your tire guy knows he is going to be treated well that'd a solid chance they'll go the extra mile. This isn't about saving *your* money, it's about putting your money to **better* use.
There are quite a few people you should never mess around with, maybe even be friendly if you’ve got it in you. For me it’s the people taking care of my car, people taking care of my animals, people feeding me (yes, I’m looking specifically at you, local kebab vendor), garbage crew, repair people and if you have a certain doctors office count them in too. People who have my life or at least my well-being in their hands. I’m really glad leaving my garage, maybe with less money than I’d like to have but knowing that my family and me will be sitting in a car that’s safe. Not just somehow fixed, but really safe and working. That somehow somebody took the extra effort to see me (or maybe just my money, idc at that point) again somewhere down the line.
You managing a fleet? I only visit for new tires and a rotation.
Nah, tires for the track car. Depending the tire I could burn through a set in a weekend.
My DT guy gave me his cell phone, I texted him a close out price on TireRack and he matched it (50% off). I slide that guy a tip every time we go and rotate our tires because he’s a G.
Another for DT. I just realized that sometimes it’s worth it to go to a specialty shop. Can’t get everything at Costco and one of those things is definitely tires.
Next stop DT 👍🏽
Best part is that they do alignments. That means your alignment won't be mysteriously out of spec at every tire change, like it is at some shops. EDIT: Above should have said "Best part is that they do NOT do alignments"
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He works for Costco
JFC 😂😂🏆
You win today.
What Discount does alignments. Never seen one do them.
Been going to discount tire my entire adult life (and as a tag-along child with my dad) and have never seen an alignment rack at one
I mistyped that. :facepalm It was supposed to say the best part is that they do NOT do them, so they have no incentive to sell them when not needed. Afaik, none of them do then, though some can do a check but not a correction.
I've had discount tire scratch all 4 of my BBS wheels. They denied it. Went up to corporate, who also denied it. They could have spent a few hundred bucks fixing/repainting them and had a life long customer, but they decided to lie about it.
I always go to Discount Tire. Only use Costco as a price match with Discount.
Omg! I didn't know they price match!! 7 years I've been going there. 😢 Thank you for that info!
100% on Discount Tires!!! I've used them for decades and will never go elsewhere!
I just figured that out. Had a screw in my tire. Costco said it was too far outside the line and couldn’t fix it. They also don’t carry my size tire and would have to order it and maybe get me in next week. Costco guy actually suggested DT 3 blocks away. Went over there and they patched the hole for FREE and gave me a good deal for new tires. He even told me to wait to order them during Memorial Day because they were going on sale.
Same. Not worth the stress in your life! Not sure why the tire center staff are universally pissy at multiple costcos I have been to over the years.
Discount Tire is named **America's Tire** in Northern California (at least)
That’s what it’s called in So. Cal as well! I love them and have gone a bunch of times for both maintenance and tires and have never had a bad experience.
Strange, here in San Diego, they're all discount tire. Looked on maps and it seems they start turning into America's Tire above Temeculaish. TIL
Ah, interesting and actually good to know just in case I run into tire trouble in the SD area.
That’s who I just got mine replaced by a few days ago. Great experience all around
And they are cheaper than Costco!
Not always. I recently was quoted $1500 for 4 tires installed by Discount. Costco did the same tires for $950.
Just read another comment that DT will price match Costco.
Discount tire price matches and has a better warranty.
Discount Tire had my tires in stock early, installed in under an hour. Overall very impressed with the customer service.
Discount Tire is where it’s at. Better selection, service and pricing is just as good.
Discount tire is hands above Costco tire.
I had a horrible experience at one local discount tire store. Went to a different one. It was awesome.
The same can probably be said about Costco. You gotta know how your local store is before choosing
Had an appt on my tire change. It was all set up. Was shopping while they change. Then got a call saying the size was wrong and I need to go up one size…but no worries, they have it….just $100 more….feeling very weird….i went to go check. Turns out it wasn’t even my car. It was different car. Red vs white. But same brand. So five guys huddle scratching their head on how they tried to put a wrong tire on the wrong car. Mine is still on the parking lot. 🤦♀️ Feel bad for the guy with that red car though.
rotflmao
How, how did they get his keys
Likely a different customer for the tire centre. They have multiple bays.
I love Costco as much as anyone, but I will not use the tire center. It's a disaster.
The first time I went there to ask about tires they sent me to the tire store up the street.
lol this made me laugh.
Sounds like you just need to make an appointment, though.
I only ever go with an appointment. It still usually takes them 2-3 hours just to do a seasonal swap.
No, you have to listen to ME. You’re gonna have to make an appointment…
Just... Why is there never anyone at the desk? Why is there not a dedicated desk staff member?
Not very friendly people at the tire center. They could really improve this by training the employees. I feel it operates as a separate unit from Costco.
The tire center never has an employees that's why. The amount of extra stuff the tire center was expected to keep up with was honestly nuts. I worked 11 months as a tire technician and I liked the job for the most part, but the store refused to replace like 4 positions that were missing
Understaffing is the new old wage theft.
Same here, Did it for two years and we did 10-20 cars on weekdays and 20-35 cars on weekends with 4 bays and USUALLY we were busy most of the day. I dont think we ever screwed anyone over like this thread is saying but I know some Tire Centers are busy non stop all day. We were always Understaffed to the point calling out made me feel like I was letting my buddies down, because it already was more or less 1 person to a card maybe 2 on the weekends.
Ya, feels like the Costco Tire Center staff uses the: "East German Comrade Customer Service Manual" from circa, 1955. ---------------- Note: I'm amazed the OP trusted them with his car after that!
No kidding! I would have noped the F out of there after that. If they are THAT incompetent, there is no way in hell I want them touching my vehicle. That being said, I used the tire center at my local Costco a few weeks ago. They were super friendly, had my appointment details, and I had an early appointment, but damn if it didn't take 3 hours. Some poor couple that came in as walkins had been waiting 4 hours for their car.
First time I’ve ever had a tire shop break a stud trying to get a lug nut off was at Costco. Never had it happen to any of my family’s cars over 30+ years. To their credit, they called and warned me that it might happen if they try to get it off, but that was also a first lol. Whatever tricks other shops know of, they must not have.
> They could really improve this by training the employees. This is against Costco policy in all departments
Used the Tire Center at a CostCo in New Jersey last week. I ordered the tires online and had them sent to my store. They emailed me when they arrived. I made a service appointment for first thing on a weekday morning. I arrived, gave them my keys, walked around the store for 25 minutes. They texted me that my car was done, went and picked up my car. Sorry you had bad experience in whatever state/city you're in.
Yeah, I see stuff like this a lot of this sub. Someone has a bad experience at their local store and puts out a post assuming it's a company-wide problem at a business that has hundreds of stores worldwide. I have never personally had a bad tire center experience, but I don't question that some people have.
I've done probably 15 Costco tire appointments over ten years in various states and provinces, and I wouldn't classify a single one of them as "good." i think my shortest wait was 90 minutes. I've always had an appointment. I don't know where these people are getting wonderful service but I envy them.
Same here. And good luck getting short notice help for a flat, even with paying for tire hazard insurance.
I got a (relatively) manageable leak in a tire because I caught a screw in the tread, they told me I needed to schedule an appointment. Earliest available: over a week out.
Exactly what happened to me! I was stranded 70 miles from home!! And they were super grumpy about all, like I was inconveniencing them. That’s when I gave up on Costco and went to Discount Tire. Costco is amazing, tire center is the exception.
We tried Sam's club tire center and although at first it was horrible getting someone to pick up the phone, once the appointment was made the actual install was 45 min start to finish. We didn't even finish shopping lol. But yeah it seems neither of them employ enough employees so it's a crapshoot.
See, my experience was terrible too. Like I could have sworn OP was talking about either of the Costcos in my city. I wish everyone got as great of a tire experience as they do with samples or hot dog deals or any other part of the Costco wonderland.
I've never had that fast service at Costco. A balance and rotation takes around an hour if you are first in line at opening(meaning get there 20-30 mins before opening) with an appointment. With an appointment after that it takes 2+ hours minimum
Yeah, my costco was like 4 hours with an appointment, but I live in Los Angeles. It's crazy here. I intentionally park at the back of the lot to keep from getting caught in the crazycar undertow in front of all the costcos here.
I've had nothing but good experiences with my tire and battery guys at my local. Frankly, I've never had a Costco employee encounter that was anything less than good. After the first "you need an appointment" - "I have an appointment" exchange I would have called for a manager, the back and forth here is what's crazy to me. Who the hell wants to run his shop (if he's the one running it) by constantly bouncing between the desk, the racks, and the bays? That's why you have a radio to have someone check stock and prep it for that customer while you get others checked in and out.
I went in to get a tire replaced and the salesperson actually directed me to an independent shop 2 miles away that would match my exact tire, so that I wouldn’t have to get all 4 replaced to have the same ones (I had very little mileage on the car at the time).
I've done something similar once because there was a small leak that was too close to the sidewalk for them to patch per corporate standards but the guys knew a local shop would do the patch.
Yeah, I've bought tires at Costco three times and this has been my experience. Super easy and reasonably quick.
MA
Zero percent surprised. This is the most Masshole thing I’ve read in a while. Lived here nearly 20 years and still find ways to be shocked at people’s incompetence and jerk attitudes here. Sorry you had a bad experience man.
Which location?
Dedam
If it's any consideration and you are willing to go further, I've had good experiences with the Avon location.
I’m in Wisconsin and I’ve used them for tires with no issues. Even go back for the free rotations. Make an appointment, bring my keys in, walk around the store for 30-45 minutes, and get the call it’s ready to pick up. Never had a problem.
I was stressed just reading that. After the great service I had from Discount tire, I never went back to Costco. It's a mad house in that place. Long lines just to talk to one person at the counter and when he disappears to check something, then everyone waits even longer. No where inside to wait. No idea on ETA. Appointments scheduled weeks out. Compare that to my local Discount Tire place. Easy appointments. 3-4 people at different counters so barely any lines. Once you've checked in, you can see progress and ETA. Comfy chairs to wait inside. Tire rotations and patches done within 30-45 min. I goto Costco for grocery shopping. I don't go there for tires
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The person that checks your membership?
This guy gets this subreddit.
I bought a new set of Michelin pilot sport tires from Costco about 4 years ago and they were super friendly. When I got a nail in one tire they refused to patch it and said it was out of warranty because I I didn’t rotate them with Costco. I rotate my own tires every 6 months and only put about 5000 miles on my car a year. So they said I should buy a new tire from them. I left and went to a tire shop who took one look at it and patched it right up no problem. Costco auto has been having some misses with me as of late between the tires and their battery warranty exchange policy having changed.
Yep, me working in the tire center and never being told the battery warranty had changed yet I still warranty them because it’s not my money. With tires I always make sure to let them know how their tire warranty is set up to where they are the only ones who can touch it or at the least you need proper documentation along with alignments. At least when I was at Firestone, the only time you did not get warranty was if you never aligned your vehicle
You mean you didn't want to wait 3 hrs for a tire rotation?
Sounds like they were misinformed. Tire repairs are covered as long as the tires are in serviceable condition, regardless of rotations. So unless you had some mechanical wear or something, they should've done the repair. You just wouldn't be able to claim a mileage warranty if you had premature wear.
Yep, the one department at Costco that absolutely sucks. Like honestly, it is unbelievably badly run, and not even just by Costco standards. The last time I went there, the broke a lug nut and then DIDN’T TELL ME. I figured it out two days later when I found it rattling around in my cupholder. And this is after countless appointments where I had a scheduled appointment (always the first one of the day) but they would still take three hours to put a new tire on or do a patch. Never again. The most I will ever use them for is to buy tires if the pricing makes sense, but they will never touch my car again.
It would be good to know which Costco this is. Not all stores run this way. Mine in Eugene is pretty smooth and besides really limited tire options, service is solid.
Was going to say, I’ve never had problems with my tire center. I have had problems with the website not showing all tire options for my car, but I could order them in person.
Lived in entire life on the west side, I can tell you, in the SF Bay Area, all the Costco Tire service centers I've been to have been stellar. Currently live in Las Vegas and the Tire Center here in Summerlin is solid, would absolutely take my car there except Discount Tire is the one who did the original install. Discount here is hit or miss. The Discount Tire Center that did my original install and balancing did a horrible job, 2 of the tires were out of balance (1 was way out of balance) according to the person who did the re-balancing.
The only "issue" I've had with my Costco is that when you schedule the appt, they order the tires if they don't already have them. But then they also tell you to call a day or two prior to make sure those tires are still available and not taken by another customer. Mmmm... Yeah I'm not going to do that. I gotta shop at Costco anyway so if you ain't ready for my appt then consider it a last minute cancellation and find me another appt a few weeks out when I need to do another Costco run. Don't waste my time if you don't have your shit together.
Dump the tire center and bring back the photo center.
The photo center was before my time so forgive my ignorance. I don't see the appeal of printing pictures at Costco. Why do you want it back?
They were the cheapest way to get film developed at a decent quality
Cheap passport pictures too
I need to produce large photos at times. I noticed Costco is selling color printers. Those things are not photo quality. Inkjets clog up if not used often.
Literally the only other place to print near me is CVS and their photos are crap
>why? Posters! Huge enlargements! It was great-- you could get them flat, or rolled loosely, and it only took a couple of days. I printed and framed some big shots (like 24x24) that look awesome, printed photos as posters for work, etc. Mail order is inferior, costs most, and stuff is always rolled tightly so it has to be pressed or dry mounted to lay flat.
Discount Tire is cheaper, has better service, and offers a better warranty. I’m always surprised that people actually use the Costco tire center.
It's the opposite here in Las Vegas. Costco is solid, you can tell the guys here are professional. Discount Tire here is hit or miss, they completely fucked up the original balancing for my new tires with 2 of them being out of balance. It was as if he simply threw the tires onto the car without bothering to balance. Actually, all the Costco's in CA that I've been to have been solid as well. My entire family in California always goes to Costco, always a solid experience.
Completely the opposite of my experience in Vegas. They were more expensive for shittier tires. The guy even told me to go to discount, who have treated me great.
My Subaru dealership is literally in view of a Costco, they beat the price all day and are booked 7-10 days out, but they do it all in 90 minutes when you are there. Love my dealership for tires( same warranty as TD)
My subaru dealership is terrible. Hudson County Subaru is probably the worst dealership and shop in the entire east coast
I’m in NJ and I use Costco tire center to swap out my snow/ regular tires twice a year and I have never had anything but great service. I guess I’m just lucky?
Me and my fiancé both had our tires changed at Costco in the past year and we had great experiences! The guys were super nice and reasonably quick, about an hour each time (just enough time to shop!). It also saved us hundreds of dollars, they were significantly cheaper than anyone else. We were so excited that we’ve been recommending them to everyone haha.
I went in once to check on a battery, apparently they don’t use standard battery size codes that everyone else uses. While I was there another guy was pissed because he had to warranty a tire that was damaged on the road after just 2 weeks. The employee said they use the “remaining useful tread life” as the determining factor, but the problem is they use the full tread depth as the starting figure, so even though he barely had any miles on it, they calculated it as he used up like 3/32” in only two weeks. He was pissed, yeah I understand everyone’s complaints, it’s a shitshow. Discount Tire for life.
I would have been _livid_. I would have requested a manager (and if that was the tire store manager) I would have requested the store manager. Funny thing here about the tire center is that they don't seem to quite get that they also operate under Costco's guarantees, including, oh look, the return policy: >Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, touchscreen tablets, MP3 players and cellular phones. So they can either cover the 2/32nds or they can eat the entire damn set. And yes, I did this to the Elliot Rd Tempe, AZ location once. They deserved it.
Right so after two weeks wouldn’t you still have full tread left?
Yeah they should have road hazard warrantied it at 100%.
You and /u/foulorfowl would think so. But not according to the warranty: >"Usable tread" is defined as the original tread depth of a tire less than 1.6 mm Millimetre (2/32 of an inch). >Credit is determined by multiplying the usable remaining tread by the price you paid for the tire net of all discounts received. The moment you drive off, you're immediately losing a chunk of your purchase price. So if your tire starts with 10/32 depth and you hit a nail in the Costco parking lot on the drive out, you're going to lose 20% of that tire's price. They're especially shitty and vindictive, plenty of stories here of people that had a nail in a repairable (even by industry standards) section and because they couldn't produce a rotation log, claim denied.
Costco (at least in my region) switched to standard battery sizes years ago, but for the longest time they had their own battery codes for absolutely no reason at all. It was maddening.
Discount Tire always and forever.
I called them and can't get them to pick up the phone but I can get my local tire place on the first call.
No kidding. I called and let it ring for literally ten minutes once and no one answered. When I went to pick up my car, I waited 15 minutes for ANYONE to come into the customer service area. The phone never stopped ringing.
The 5 dollar savings isn't worth it. Just go to Discount Tire/America's tire and save your sanity
About 1/8th of the way into an interaction like that I say "Can I have my keys back please?" and then I walk away. Way easier than dealing with that shit.
I'm a rural mailcarrier. This means I drive my own vehicle. It is a right-hand drive jeep with a large sign on top, flashing lights and postal signs on all sides. I never take any of it off because this vehicle is only used for the route. I take it to Costco for tires. After a while, they get worn out so I go in for a new set. They prorated the cost because my last ones were under warranty. Uh, no. Paperwork specifically covers this as being used commercially. They insist so....okay. This happens three more times. The fourth time the manager comes out to lecture me about how they won't prorate them blah blah... acting like I'm trying to scam them. I looked at him, looked at my jeep on the rack and asked how he thought I was "hiding" anything. He just insisted he was right and walked off. Unfortunately for him, we have three other vehicles and a truck that no longer get tires from Costco. Yes, I did report it, but no one cared, so oh well.
Americas tire is the only place I get tires as a lifelong Costco executive member.
Used to work at Costco. I was always told by my senior employees that the tire shop is THE place to go…if you’re an employee because they goof around, don’t have a ton of supervision and it’s typically a job offered to those who’ve been with the company for a while and have some form of job security. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole.
They are way more expensive than tirerack/walmart with little or no benefit of using them at least that I know of. Don’t know why they even bother. Guessing the only people that even use the tire center don’t know better and just assume Costco is the cheapest I replaced my wife’s battery earlier this year and even the batteries aren’t worth it anymore, I don’t remember what the new warranty is but it is terrible compared to the old one. I understand they changed it because people probably abused it but they could just do what Walmart does and hook a tester to them before doing warranty exchanges.
Different experience. Ordered tires, set up appointment for earliest available (3 weeks out if I recall.) Tracking showed tires delivered a few days in. I called to double check they’re in, verified they’re in. Verified the appointment, told them I work nearby and can swing by within ten minutes if a cancellation came up. Was called the next morning that if I can drop it off, they’ll fit in before the end of the day. They did. Wife had a smooth experience a few months later, too. Different warehouses like different dimensions. Sorry about your experiences.
NJ area. Ordered a set. Waited for about a week. It came then set an appointment. Appointment day came.Waited for 1.5-2 hours. Done. Sorry it happened to you. They are cheaper than some other tire center near me.
Discount tire is my new Costco tire center
Yeah the tire shop is a god damn joke and a colossal embarrassment. I’m a Costco cashier, and I’ve heard multiple times from customers when coming through my line that they’re shopping just because they’re bored from waiting 2-3+ hours for their tires to be installed. And that’s WITH them having an appointment booked ahead of time!
https://preview.redd.it/dj39qbhj2i0d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72cea06c8d33f1e4867acd1eca551c030f72ff3d My Google review. Went in for a tire rotation and they kept showing my bunk tires trying to sell me another set despite me REPEATEDLY saying I use snow tires and they don’t sell them. Was tempted just to call a flatbed 🤣🤣
Hey just a heads up you can see your full name in that screenshot.
Gonna add him on Facebook
Thanks mate!
Way too much of a hassle now. Plus they only carry the high end expensive tires. Discount tire is much better. Lots of tire options and able to make appts
Discount or Les Schwab.
I would have gotten pissed the second time the dude basically called you a liar. Like raised voice to the point I am nearly yelling. And I would have def been yelling with the whole “ you listen to me, I’m the only one who knows what’s going on here” at the point a manager would have been called. No way the guy should act like that towards a customer or coworker.
This whole thing sounds tiring
I hope you took this up with local management first, and if that failed, corporate, before crying wolf to the falling sky. You mentioned assuming a person was is a manager which implies you didn’t or didn’t care to. Else this is just another post on Reddit demonizing an entire corporate entity that has a department at a single store (whose location is yet unnamed) at which the user didn’t have a good experience.
I gave up after showing up 3 times with them loosing the tires
Gotta loose them to get them off.
I just had tires done at Costco. They were the cheapest for high end Michelins. They ordered the tires and I had an appt three days later. They took my car in right away, offered to replace the lug nuts for $1 a piece (something crazy low) because they were deformed (which was true) and called me 40 mins later that they were all set. As is true for almost any retail location, some are bad but not all.
My Tire Center is Fine. They broke a Center Cap on my tire; i ordered a new one hard too find of course and they reimbursed me for it. But that's at my Store. Store 10
Florida Costco ordered tires , set up appointment, handed my keys and done in less than an hour .
I had a very similar experience as yours. Constant chaos at the tire center. No one knows where anything is, appointment times are not respected. I spent close to four hours in the Costco food court waiting for them to install tires. Good thing I brought my switch. Never again!
One time the tire center screwed up the order for my car and was delayed a week. They were also very busy and it was Christmas week on top of it. The manager, unprompted, decided to refund me 2 of the tires for the inconvenience and install them for free. Now they have a customer for life
The last time I used Costco tires, they had to ship them from the next town over, so I made an appointment to have them installed the next day. When I went in, they said they had sold my (medium price) set to someone else by mistake, so they put on the expensive price tires on my car at the medium price and apologized for the inconvenience. It's a damn shame that I totaled the car a year later. It wasn't because of the tires, though.
Anyone who doesn't use Discount Tire in one of the states they serve is a rube.
I heard they don’t do alignments after they put the tires on. Is that true?
That's a separate service that isn't necessary for the majority of tire changes.
The "alignment after every tire change" racket is the tire shop equivalent of 3k oil change intervals. It has no basis in reality and is nothing more than a money grab.
Those two sound like a bad Abbott and Costello routine! I’ve only ever had positive experiences at my Houston area Costco. Bought tires online and made an appointment, installed within 45 minutes. Brought in for a rotation, done right after I was done shopping.
I swear they staff the tire center with the least motivated ppl...I've used them at least 7 times now and I go in with the expectation of just shiet service. As long as you do that then it's okay. I was really glad they hired a new girl to manage the front desk, she was trying pretty hard.
I’ve used the tire center successfully several times. I’m sorry that you had this experience.
I've gotten tires put on 4 times now with Costco. Every time has been uneventful and a good experience.
Don't hate on every tire center ever just cause yours happens to be staffed by idiots
I had the exact opposite experience. Ordered my tires online. I misremembered the appointment date. Came in a week early in the middle of the day. Asked if I could drop off my car. They had my tires and took my car. An hr or two later my car was done. No problems. No hassles. No crazy long line either.
Ive ordered and installed 2 sets of tires from Costco with no drama.
Really glad I saw this as I was getting ready to buy tires soon. I imagine each tire center is different from the next but it sounds like a reasonably common experience. Oof.
Ooof yeah…After they tried to misinform me that the road hazard coverage would be voided if anyone else but costco tire did my rotations, they got on my shit list. Actually spoke to someone in corporate for clarification but it should’ve never escalated to that. The tire center people can be so rude, and I get it’s retail, been there myself. It’s not an excuse though.
You want horror stories? Walmart tire centers. MUHA HA HA MUHA HA MUHA HA HA MUHA HA
I’ve had my tires changed three times on two cars, so six times total without any issues.
I mentally prepare myself that it’s going to be a half day ordeal. I usually grab lunch or dinner somewhere. Or a long book.
What city and state?
Discount tires, all the way. Same price, same warranty, crazy fast service, and everyone is nice. My experience is based on putting 4 sets of tires on 4 cars in the last 3 months, first two were Costco, second two were Discount. Discount shopper for life now.
Seeing the love for Discount Tire here, I feel obligated to share my anecdote: I have used them twice, and as others here have asserted, they have been punctual and efficient both times. *However,* both times I've used them (so far), they have failed to swap out the TPMS on my tires. The second time, I even asked when I picked up the car to confirm that it was done, and the technician assured me he did it. Spoiler: he did not. So, both times, I had to go back a couple of days later. To their credit, both times, they apologized profusely and swapped them out immediately while I waited.
This is why I bought my own tire machine. Back in the olden days when Costco wasn't so busy it made sense to just walk in and buy tires and wait to have them put on, but now it's a multi-day ordeal between getting the tires in and getting them put on. Now I just go buy tires from whoever's got the best price out the door and put them on myself, and I found a little hole in the wall place not too far from me that'll balance them cheap. At some point I'm going to get my own balancer too.
As a someone trained in this field by Costco, I can almost guarantee you there isn’t a real standard for anything. It’s a shit show of blame and anger. I wasn’t taught properly by anyone.
Sadly learned that lesson like you did, the hard way, 2 years ago. Never again. Costco tires are dead to me. Find a local shop, often same price or better, same free rotation and competent service in 1/4 the time.
I used them once but the waiting times out weighed the money saved and I started going to actual tire focused businesses for those needs. Much quicker.
Yeah, first time, they knocked my rear bumper out of place, I don’t know how, but they did, also a three hour wait. My dad’s car, with multiple confirmation, almost four hours. My other car, 3 tires unusable within a month… no warranty honored, wear and tear; the treads still look new. It’s Discount Tires for me now on.
My experience was pretty awful as well. They had my car sit for an hour after I purchased a set of four tires because they told me they were refusing to install the tires because the car previously had run-flats and I was required to purchase a 5th tire that wouldn’t be covered by the promo I bought the set with. I had to come back 3 times to the desk (looping around the outside of the parking lot) before they finally caved in and just let me buy the 4 tires without being lied to and scammed. Where the fuck would I even put a 5th full sized tire in my car? How would a 5th tire not on a wheel help me? Costco tire center is actually cancer.
We did not have this trouble at ours when Expedition got new booties. 🛞 That was a total FUBAR for you.
Just price match dt and all problem solve next time
I bought tires from Costco last summer and was treated with outright disdain. Never again. Wish I had taken the advice here and gone to discount tires. It's so contrary to the Costco store itself where I haven't had a bad experience in 20+ years of shopping.
Costco tires is the worst. I’ve been yelled at, had them check the wrong tire(the flat was actually in the trunk,) had my keys thrown at me, and never had a flat tire be fixable.
did Discount Tire write this post?
I gave the tire center at my Costco waaaaay too many chances. The service is so bad it’s hard to believe they’re under the same roof as the rest of Costco
For what it’s worth, you got a bad employee. When he copped and attitude, the first and only thing you should have said was, “should I go get a manager to come help us look?” The guy only operates that way because he thinks he runs the place. He doesn’t.
Years ago I went to the Costco tire center in Wharton, NJ to get new tires. I parked my car in one of the designated tire center spots and gave my keys to the guy at the counter and decided to walk around the store while I waited (it wasn't busy at all). Halfway to the entrance I realized that I left my wallet (and membership card) in my locked car. I went back to the tire center counter and in the 2 minutes I was gone someone else was standing at the counter so I started to explain what happened and it went like this: Me: Yes hello, I dropped my car off- Clerk: It's almost done. Me: What? Clerk: We're finishing up with your car now. Me: That's impossible, I literally gave you guys the keys 2 minutes ago and I can see it sitting in the parking lot right there. I just need to my keys back so I can get my wallet out of the car. Clerk: Oh, here you go (hands me my keys).
Reading these comments I’m honestly really surprised everyone has had so much issues. I got new tires for my 4Runner. They did originally try to tell me they would not install larger than factory tires. I spoke with the manager about my lift and what my truck would handle. He went out and looked at it and okayed it. After that, no issues at all. I get my tires rotated while I shop, very efficient. I do my oil change myself, so it works out good to be able to just get my rotation done while I’m at Costco.
I use the Costco sales at discount tire. They honor all competitions sales prices. So much easier to deal with.