Costco warns about replacing OEM tires

[treousa]

I got myself Michelin Primacy MXV4's a few months ago from CostCo... they didn't have 185's at the time, apparently no CostCo had them Nationwide, so I wanted the 195R60's... took about an hour worth of argument with the tire guy there, explaining why they could put slightly bigger tires on my wheels... finally, the manager walked in and said, sure, no problem, we do that all the time... um... ok, guess it'd be great if everyone there knew this.
At any rate, I did have a big hit on economy for about 1 month or about 1000 miles, went from 57ish down to about 50, but I am now slowing coming back up to 53ish and have about 5k on the tires. I absolutely love these tires, they are worth every penny, and the slip/traction control hasn't kicked in nearly as much as before.
I hope to have these tires until I hit 100k (about 43k on it now).

[oregonmike]

I would agree with many whom have posted, it's great to hear that big box stores like Costco are cognitive (either from customer complaints or company knowledge) about mileage hits, if even for the first 1000 or so miles.

Personally I would prefer my local dedicated tire shop over box stores (whos bottom line is ultimately corporate profits); rather than save a few bucks and betting on the knowledge of the employees at box retailers. (I know there are a lot of good knowledgeable employees out there, my experience with box retailers here is turnover is about a year if your lucky) I find comfort in knowing that my local shop is dedicated to none other than tire knowledge and experience.

With that said, the knowledge and investigation done here buy all of us on which tire fits our needs best, is what counts and where we end up purchasing them is relatively minuet.

[hyo silver]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

...

Regarding hyo silver's comment, given our litigious society, it is quite reasonable for Costco to refuse to install a tire that does not comply with the auto manufacturer's spec. I've used Continental, Bridgestone, and now Pirelli 185/65R15 tires on my 2004; all have provided excellent traction and met my needs (and were all better than the original equipment Goodyear Integrity tires).

Classic requires special XL-load rated tires. Costco was one of the first major retailers to recognize this, while other tire retailers had no problem selling their customers standard SL-load rated tires of the same tread width. After Costco stopped selling the correct Potenza tire, they refused to sell replacement tires for that car. I respect that decision.

I think I understand the issue from Costco's point of view - they don't want to get sued. Also, they're trying to ward off customer complaints by warning people ahead of time they may not get the same mileage they're used to. That sounds perfectly reasonable, as does making sure the chosen tire fits the rims properly. And in the case of the XL/SL load ratings, their actions are prudent.

But, when they refuse to replace an OEM tire with one that is clearly superior - basically anything but an Integrity - that's the part I don't get. From a purchaser's point of view, that's what took Costco out of contention for me. That's all I was saying - no big deal, I just got tires elsewhere, and was happy that they asked the right questions.



Edit: Perhaps I should have said "It seems ironic that safety rules prevent the installation of a safer tire." and left it at that.

[abq sfr]

Originally Posted by oregonmike

Personally I would prefer my local dedicated tire shop over box stores (whos bottom line is ultimately corporate profits); rather than save a few bucks and betting on the knowledge of the employees at box retailers. (I know there are a lot of good knowledgeable employees out there, my experience with box retailers here is turnover is about a year if your lucky)

Costco is not your typical "box store". I've been a member for around 15 years, and the same people who worked there 15 years ago, when the store was named Price Club, are still there. We've grown older together and I always recognize most of them although they probably don't recognize me. Costco actually pays well and gives their employees benefits, one older gentleman working there told me he is there because he is retired and he needed health insurance for his sick wife. Don't try to compare Costco with WallyWorld or any of those other conservative (aka don't give a shit about anything including the USA) corporations. Costco cares about both their employees and customers unlike most of the other retail companies. Sorry for the thread hijack, you just hit a nerve.

[panda]

Originally Posted by hyo silver

I would have considered Costco for my recent tire replacement, but read that they refuse to install anything other than the original size. Having found the Integrities to be sadly lacking in grip, I wanted a different tire in a larger size, and was more than willing to give up a bit of mileage for improved safety. Now they're not even willing to change tires, let alone sizes? I'm not sure insisting on installing such a poorly rated tire is in their customer's best interests.

they flat-out refused to install anything other than oem size tires. they'd go for a different tire, but not a different size.

[fish_antlers]

who cares.. the stock tires on the prius are garbage.

[badhazard]

Costco will install a tire that is not OEM! As long as it is no bigger than 3% its original size. That is their policy.

Reason for not doing so: The Managers or Employees choose not to do it.
Believe it or not every costco is different and the managers run it the way they want to.

I know for a fact that the director of Tires for costco. Does everything he can to make sure that costco does the proper and safe way of installing tires and making consumers aware. He passes the info to the tire center managers but if the managers dont pass it on to their employees it doesnt help.
So dont be mad at Costco cause one manager/employee isnt doing their job. Go to another close Costco. See if they agree.


Question: Im trying to understand tire wear on prius. Iv seen them wear very early on some of the models. Maybe its a little heavY?
Why are prius owners going to a bigger size like 195?

treousa, what made you choose the Michelin Primacy MXV4? they are a higher speed rating than you need. Plus they only last about 60k miles. If you get a 100k miles out of them you better send them to michelin.

[ggcc]

Originally Posted by abq sfr

Costco is not your typical "box store". I've been a member for around 15 years, and the same people who worked there 15 years ago, when the store was named Price Club, are still there. We've grown older together and I always recognize most of them although they probably don't recognize me. Costco actually pays well and gives their employees benefits, one older gentleman working there told me he is there because he is retired and he needed health insurance for his sick wife. Don't try to compare Costco with WallyWorld or any of those other conservative (aka don't give a shit about anything including the USA) corporations. Costco cares about both their employees and customers unlike most of the other retail companies. Sorry for the thread hijack, you just hit a nerve.

I totally agree with you. I think Costco and Price Club were two different stores then Costco bought Price Club then change Price Club to Costco.