Before you go to COSTCO to buy tires... (1 Viewer)

[mobi-arc]

I called Costco to verify that they carry BFG AT KO 295/75/R16's. Guy on the phone said they don't stock them, but come down and order them in person and they'll arrive within 5 days. Great. I'm in no hurry and the price was better than anyone I called. So I drive down to place my order. Tire flunkee explains to me that if I already have those tires on the truck, they can order and install them. Otherwise, they can only install OEM spec tire sizes. It's a safety issue. I'm willing to sign a waiver. No go. It's a safety issue. I can walk inside and buy a pallet of whisky and drink myself into a coma, which apparently is not a Costco concern, but when it comes to tires, they're looking after my best interest. What's just precious is that it's not a safety issue if they are replacement oversize tires outside of OE tire specs, but it is a safety issue if they remove OE spec tires and replace with oversize. Gotta love that logic. If you're looking to upgrade your tires to oversize, apparently Costco doesn't want your business.

 

[T Y L E R]

....Ok , go down the street to a shop you hate ... get them to throw on a pair for fitment .... ask to take them around the block and back for a flex test . Drive up to Cosco and you're gold ... show the guy , place the order . Run back and say ... "Gee sorry , I think I have to think about this a little longer.."

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[Gumby]

Better yet, take your COSTCO quote to Just Tires or just about any other tire store and ask them to meet the price. I know JT's policy is that they will.

 

[e9999]

tried that recently with a chain store, forgot which, Big O or Discount Tires or something like that. They have a price match policy. Well, they said they would not match Costco's prices. Mumbled something about Costco selling too cheap and no longer having BFG or blah blah...
OTOH, Sears had the big BFGs on sale recently, quite a bit less than Costco.
E

 

[Pitbull]

Go in and order the tires for pickup. If they ask for installation tell them you don't want them to install them. If they ask what they are going on be prepared to state a vehicle that uses that size as OEM. Take them to someone else to install. Costco's price on installation is not any better than anyone elses.

 

[dtrout]

Got my tires from Costco a while back and ordered them over the phone. They didn't stock them, took 5 days to get and installed the day they called to tell me they were in. Anyway, worth giving it a try. Maybe you will get someone who doesn't tell you to come in person to order.

 

[G-Cat]

Yep, Costco is gay.

 

[Pskhaat]

I can't imagine a BigO or the likes wouldn't match price. I don't even come with a competitor's price, I just tell them reasonably what I want to pay. One out of every 4 retailers will generally give you what you ask (again reasonably).

 

[NorCalDoug]

I've found that some places will match prices, some will not match certain competitor prices.

Although I buy a bunch of stuff from Costco, I've been hestitant about getting my tires from there for this very reason. (If you read all their small print...) They make their tire policy fairly clear. Seems that they're concerned about liability more than customer service.

Odd since they pride themselves on customer service and customer satisfaction.

 

[mtycruiser]

I bought my BFG's from Costco and it was the same story, they can sell them to you, service them,give you the warranty, etc. but they will not put them on your truck the first time.
I picked mine, have them installed somewhere else, and bring them back to Costco for balancing. I don't understand the policy, but it still was the best deal on the tires!!

 

[GXO]

that is what I would say...buy em and haul em to wally mart...they will install anything.

 

[e9999]

I had another interesting story at Costco.
Had a tire slowly leaking air from a nail.
They took the tire off, removed the nail, but refused to fix it OR to put it back on, claiming that it was too worn to drive safely (it was indeed well worn but not unsafe). They were only willing to put the spare back on. Good I live nearby or I was f&cked. Had the manager brought in and all, was a big to do and finally decided not to kill them all cuz I thought I might need them again... Went out to another store and bought a set.
Moral: ask first!
grrr...
E

 

[77TLCFJ40]

Same issue at Sam's Club. You will probably be forced to "help" them with the special order process. I'm bringing them my wheels so they can mount & balance. Then I'm putting them on my 40 immediately following the instalation of my lift. I don't trust them with those impact tools anyway. Also, I could not get anyone to match Sam's price on the BFG MT/KM 33x10.5x15 - $153 + tax each

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Is Costco cheaper than Tirerack.com? I've bought several sets at Tirerack, go to their closest installer (1 mile) and no hassle or issues. I guess I'll have to check Costco next time, since I make a run there every two weeks anyway.

 

[mobi-arc]

Tirerack is a wash by the time you pay for shipping and installation, there really was nothing gained... except the braindamage involved. If you have a pickup truck, jack-stands, time and patience, you could probably save $6.

 

[trw]

SAM'S was not the same when I went up in size. I went from 265 to 305. When they took the tires off they wouldn't mount the new ones until they showed me the difference in size. I had to admit it was more of a jump than I thought. They tried to convince me that they couldn't fit. They laughed at me when I said they would fit fine and wouldn't rub. We even bet on it. Easiest $20 I've ever made. We even used the lift to demonstrate the lack of clearance issues. SAM'S hasd a waiver that one must sign to put a non-stock tire on though.

tom

 

[clownmidget]

Mobi, try Discount Tires/America's Tires website. It forces you to enter an "area" before it shows you the price and the nearest store that can install them. That irked me so I just started entering a bunch of different locations each time for the same tire. Well I was amazed to see that there was $20/tire differences just from some place like Pomona to Temecula (this is like 60 miles or so for non-SoCal residents). So I printed out the lowest quote from the internet and then went to the closest America's Tires store to me where they proudly claimed to match anyone's price except "member clubs" (Sam's & Costco), and asked them to match their own company's price. Of course it ended up going all the way to the manager and him calling "corporate", but they finally did it. Don't know if it's still the same but don't think the price in one little market is the same as what's right next door. Good luck, I ended up getting BFG AT's in 285 that time for $150/ea while the store was advertising for $170.

Mike R

 

[mobi-arc]

Yep. You're absolutely right. Same tires, different prices. Well I guess they can vary the prices depending on what the market will bear in different areas of the country. I ended up buying from Discount Tire and they ended up price-matching. I got BFG AT/KO's 295/75/R16 for $173/per and they're promoting their mobile tire install service so they came to my office, jacked up the truck and swapped tires. Usually when you buy new tires, unless you're there when they open at 7am, it's like a 1-2 hour process by the time you wait your turn and get the tires swapped. This mobile service was really sweet. I guess they'll be charging about $60 for the service (or that's their intention anyway) but it's free at this point which I found incredibly painless.

 

[mabrodis]

Re: Costco
I haven't bought any tires there but we took a friend's truck there to get a used set put on, not great tires at all, one even had a partially ripped bead, which I was hoping they wouldn't see, or didn't care, sure enough never mentioned it and the tires is fine, they seemed pretty good with the balancing, one bent rim they spent about 15 minutes on but were happy to do it and try to get it right. They do have a very indepth 'you-can't-sue-us' policy, probably something their lawyers make them do. Seems ironic when in their actual store they have pallots of stuff 25' above your head that could fall at anytime...

Re: Discount/America's Tire price matching
I had them price match to a to-my-door price from Tire Rack, on TR I had to pay shipping, but with Discount I had to pay tax, they changed it so my price was the same to actually get the tires...kinda iffy there though since with Discount when you buy tires the mounting is included in the price, so not sure how they really figure that, they matched it no problem though, didn't even hesitate, for me they knocked $29 per tire off.

 

[mustardfj40]

I've just had Costco mounted 5 35"MTRs on 5 8.5" wide rims. I brough in the tires and rims, they commented on how big and nice these MTRs are, and couple guys spent 30 minutes tried to balance one the wheels. I also got a spare valve stem for the trail.

I think it depends on the individual Costco, I once got s***ty service from one Costco tire service. Do not flame me for saying this, but I notice Cosco that located in low income areas seemed to be pretty crappy.

/td