15 Things To Know Before Visiting The Costco Tire Center (your Complete Guide)

This situation could not have been more true if you bought a new car and all four tires were flat at the same time.

Costco is a great place to buy tires, because they have a great customer service department and the people there are knowledgeable and helpful.

When going to a Costco you’ll want to know the basics of what to expect before you walk in the door.

15 Things to Know Before Visiting the Costco Tire Center In 2022

1. You Must Be a Member to Utilize the Costco Tire Center

We offer a very limited number of tire services, mainly through our Costco Tire Center. For that reason, we do not sell tires to customers who are not members in our Costco Tire Center.

The Costco Tire Center is a great place to shop for your vehicle, and you won’t have to worry about getting lost in the maze of tire salesmen.

2. Check the Website to See if Your Store Has a Costco Tire Center

Because many Costco locations don’t have a tire center, you will want to check the store’s website first to make sure that your specific location does.

Go to the “Store Locator” to see if Costco carries any of the items you are looking for.

If you click on this link you can enter your zip and see the top results in order of distance.

If you notice a tire symbol under the store listing on the store locator, that location has a Tire Center.

3. It’s Easy to Order Tires and Make an Appointment at the Costco Tire Center

Costco is trying to help their customers by offering online order and appointment features for the Tire Centers.

You can access this online service to pay for your purchase from Costco.com. You will use your usual Costco account to log in and make the payment.

The site then searches through the results to find what you should be looking for and will even list tires that have similar tread patterns.

On the results page, you’ll see the tires that match your vehicle with their details, prices and any applicable deals running.

As you can see, there is no written warranty in this case. There is just a guarantee and a 30-day money back guarantee. The Costco Tire Center warranty states that if your tire is defective you can take it back and they will replace it. We have already discussed this. You will not receive a refund for the tire you purchased just because it failed.

Once you have completed the checkout step, you can review the additional charges. In this case the installation charges is $125.

Make sure that you have chosen the correct Tire Center. They will use your car for shipping and to install the tires.

After you have finished creating an account and if you haven’t used your Costco membership before, the cost of your order will be displayed. You can also find out about service times and other things you need to know about your tires.

If you’re a Costco.com member, you’ll be able to log in to your account with any Costco.com user ID and password you already have. If you’re new to Costco.com, you’ll need to set up a new user ID and password, which you can do in two easy steps.

4. The Costco Tire Center Offers Great Low Prices (But Not Necessarily the Lowest)

Costco’s tires usually have great reviews from Consumer Reports, but they still cost more than some of the other tires in this price range.

The only downside is that this model takes a lot of time, but the retailer only charged $18.99 for installation and service.

Costco offers deals and memberships in order to get you to come in.

It’s really hard to install your own car tires.
But with me, you’ll just have to pay for the tires and I’ll find a car place to install them for you.

5. Find the Best Brands at Your Costco Tire Center

Costco does not extend their Kirkland Signature branding to tires, but they do sell three big, recognizable brand names in the tire world: Bridgestone, Michelin and BFGoodrich.

6. Time Your Trip to the Costco Tire Center Right, and You Could Save Even More

A Costco member who uses this service is more likely to get a better price on Costco tires because Costco usually runs deals on its tires. However, this service doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get the best price, nor does it prevent you from getting a lower price.

You might also see a great end of the year deal where Costco has put their prices on their 4 new tires down to around $35 dollars.

7. The Costco Tire Center Experience is Efficient

Costco Tire Centers is a place for people to save money without compromising the quality of the product.

The online ordering and booking system is really helpful, so take advantage of it.

As you walk towards the customer service desk, you can get all of the help you need to keep your car in great condition.

If it’s a busy time of day, you may get lucky and get to see a real service person but if it’s slow, you might be just as well off with walk-in services.

8. The Costco Tire Center Does Not Perform Alignments

Costco’s Tire Centers don’t take customers to perform alignments after they have installed a new set of tires because they are confident in their products and the process.

If you want to get your car aligned, you’ll have to schedule it with another service.

9. Tires Sold By the Costco Tire Center are Covered By Warranties

The tires were usually covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, which was around 60,000 miles. But Costco has a second warranty, which is about 60,000 miles of wear. This includes all repairs.

Â For about $300, Costco’s Road Hazard Warranty is good for five years and covers tread wear, damage to the tires, and failure by the tires (you can read the entire warranty conditions here).

10. You Get So Much More Than Just Rubber at the Costco Tire Center

The free stuff for the lifetime of the tire sounds bad, but it’s not really bad. They’ll take care of the tires when they wear out.

11. There are Some Vehicles the Costco Tire Center Does Not Service

Costco Tire Centers do not service some vehicles (such as motorcycles).

Many times, the owner of the trailer tires will be able to get a cheap tire for his truck, rather than have to pay a high price for a new set of tires that match the tires on the trailer.

12. You Must Purchase Tires From Costco to Have the Costco Tire Center Install Them

As a result of this news, Costco announced that it would no longer be stocking tires sold by other companies at its retail stores.

If you got a good deal on tires at an online retailer, you can’t come into the Costco Tire Center to have them installed.

13. Some Find the Costco Tire Center Worth the Price of Membership Alone

Costco Tire Center is quite useful for people who may have trouble finding a tire or replacing a tire for their vehicle. They do a great job of being on time, and they also offer a good warranty on their products.

Yes, you might not have to pay any additional disposal fees or valves because you don’t have any home sewer systems or you have a home septic system. Even though the home sewer system will be more efficient for those who have one, the benefits of the home septic system outweigh the costs.

If you want a Costco membership, you have to be willing to accept that you will get a lot of Costco stuff in return.

14. Once Submitted, Your Order at the Costco Tire Center Can’t Be Cancelled

After you’ve ordered a tire through Costco, there’s no method of canceling the order.

Also, remember that you should order your tires before you arrive at the tire shop. As a general rule, a tire shop can take anywhere from 1-2 days to process your order. So, if you’re planning on getting your tires around New Year’s Eve or during a snowstorm, plan ahead!

15. You Can Come Into Your Costco Tire Center for a Refund

Costco Tire Center just put your order on backorder, but Costco Tire Center can still refund your money.

When the tires come into the store, you’ll have to go to the service desk and pay a visit. Explain what happened, and explain what kind of refund you want. They will issue you a refund for both the full and the partial.

This process is repeated until you have the desired tire size for your vehicle.

If you would like to know more about Costco tire repair services, you can also see our posts that have to do with:
If you are on the fence about if you should get tires installed at Costco, you can also see our posts on if you need to get your tires balanced, if you would need to get air added, and if you would need a tire repair.

Conclusion

Costco Tire Center has a great service, and if you bring your vehicle in, you will find them to be a very friendly and professional team.

By offering tires at discounted prices, Costco makes buying tires more affordable by reducing the costs that come with buying a new set of tires.