Costco Tire Center

Today, I was turned away at 4:30 after rushing from work to change a tire. It would be nice if posted business hours reflected this kind of outcome. My other experience was relatively good.

The manager of the Tire Center, Jemel, was very helpful and kind as I needed new tires after a flat. I needed them that same day because of the flat but the wait was 4.5 hours! Jemel patiently worked with me while I sorted out my schedule around the wait. The car was finished in exactly 4.5 hours (18 people ahead of me when I first came in.) I dropped the review by one star for the wait but Jemel gets five stars! He made an inconvenient situation workable.

Pro:
— Close to home.
Cons:
— Took two weeks for the tires to arrive in the MV facility. When they called, they said all 4 tires had arrived, but system said only 2. They didn’t know why.
— Arrived on Sunday at 10:15am, expecting a long service wait. Didn’t expect a 4 HOUR wait.
— They replaced my OEM metal tire caps with ugly, bright green plastic ones.
— They didn’t properly inflate one of the tires, so my pressure indicator light went on during my long road trip. Had to make an unplanned stop at a different Costco to fix it.
Everyone says Costco’s prices are the best, but their selection of tires is very limited and just so-​so, and this particular location has pretty bad service (see cons above).

They plugged my tire in 1.5 hours. I didn’t realize I could make an appointment in advance, and the line was at least 3 – 4 hours long when I showed up. They realized that mine was a quick fix so they worked as fast as they could to get me in. If there was no line 1.5 hours may have seemed like a long time, but in the grand scheme of tires, it was quick and the guys were very nice despite all the people waiting for their cars.

How much is your time worth? I’m not even sure the price is that much better than anywhere else (4 Michelin tires for $ 520– no installation fee). I ordered my tires online on a friday. Thank goodness I checked the tracking number to see when they were to arrive because no phone call ever came. The tires arrived a week later at noon by the tracking number. Unfortunately, this was unknown to the Costco Tire Center person when I called that day to see if the tires were in thus missing a possibly less busy installation day. I called the next day i.e. the busiest day of the week and was told my tires had arrived but they were too busy to install them and that they didn’t give out appointments. When I got to the tire center on the Sunday a large sign said «we do appointments» but apparently this excludes weekends. I arrived at about 11:30 since another Unilocaler said the wait was hours despite arriving early. I’d say 11:30 is the latest you can arrive and have tires installed the same day; 18 cars were ahead of me. My car was finished 15 minutes before the 6pm closing time (the only reason I knew this is because I called and got an estimate and then walked back to the store, no one ever called me). If you have the money and your time is valuable. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. If you don’t live within walking distance be prepared to either have alternate transportation to and from your home unless you want to wait at Costco for 5 hours. I’ve yet to see if the install is any good as I’ve just picked up my car. I hope I won’t need to update this review.

Sunday, ¹⁰⁄₂₅
The manager Jermel turned around a tenuous situation for us today. We called to order tires on Tuesday, ¹⁰⁄₂₂. We were told to come in Sunday at 9:30 AM to have them installed. Went through all the motions of providing Costco membership number, running to the car to get tire number for the rep, etc. But when we arrived today, we were informed they do not have appts on Saturdays and Sundays nor are they able to order tires without payment over the phone. If this was in case the fact, we would’ve gone to American Tire earlier in the week, which is closer to us. But because we believed we had placed an order with Costco, and get our new tires installed today, we dismissed American Tire as an option. Instead today, we find out that we actually need to order tires today at our 9:30 arrival, and they would take about 7 – 10 business days to arrive… This proved frustrating and disappointing. The turnaround came in Jermel’s assistance to rectify the situation to the best of his ability, and take responsibility for the employee on the phone who provided miscommunication to us. We appreciated this very much, and we bought a 5^th tire today in the process for our other car thanks to his quick efficiency. Given this very frustrating situation, he prioritized our needs and depicted a professional with his customer-​centric approach. Thanks!

The Costco guys scratched 3 of 4 wheels and make a dent on my wheel while replacing tires.
I showed them the scratches right after got my car back, but they deny that it’s their fault. All scratches are radial and dent is covered by tire — there is no way I can make them when driving. I filed a claim, but they closed the case because they believe to their employees and don’t believe to their customers.
Never gonna use Costco tire replacement service again!!!

Look, I understand people are going to go to Costco Tire because the price is hard to beat plus the warranty/​service. But that doesn’t mean you should go to THIS Costco Tire.
I was thoroughly disappointed and frustrated with my experience with this tire center. I first ordered my tires and went in to have them installed at my appointed time. When I got there, they informed me the tires had been ordered wrong and needed to be re-​ordered. They told me they were «rushing» the order and it would be in within 2 – 3 days.
After a week… I called back and checked — they said the tires weren’t in yet but would be «soon».
Two weeks after THAT, I called and they again said they didn’t have my tires but would be in soon. I complained up the chain to the manager, who called me back and told me that the tires were in fact already there. Not a single apology along the way. I scheduled an appointment for later that week.
Two days later (the day before my appointment), I got a voicemail from Costco, informing me that they were going to return my tires because they had been sitting around so long and I hadn’t made an appointment.
Need I say more?

Very shoddy job on my tires. Less than 10 days later the tire that was replaced burst again. I returned at 7:30 pm and asked them to replace it but they really gave me a tough time about it, saying they did not have enough time. They first claimed there was nothing wrong with the tire, then after 10 minutes of examining, decided that the tire was ruined but tried to convince that it was my fault somehow, then they tried to convince me to take the new tire and put it on myself because they lacked the time — presumably because so much time was wasted. Finally the tire was put on and car done at 8:32, two minutes after closing time. I had to double-​check the air pressure in all my tires immediately. They can do better than that.

It took 5 tries to get through to the Tire Center. Once through, the guy gave me attitude. They didn’t carry what I needed, so my time was sufficiently wasted.
Costco: get a new phone system.

They pick up the phone… but don’t say anything. Definitely something going on here… you guys need to speak into the phone… not just pick up.

They get two stars for having the specific tire I needed in stock, but charging me $ 14 to have it put on my car and then telling me that I have to put it on myself, loses three stars. This place is way too busy and obviously cares more about taking a customer’s money than actually completing a job. There are plenty of small tire shops in the area that will provide you with much faster and complete service at the same price. I won’t be returning.

Friendly service. As expected, there is always a wait. All the people I talked to are quick to move on to help the next customer, but yet they answer all your questions. They are very knowledgeable about tires and would make good recommendations.
Although it is not the cheapest place, they have great warranty and service.
Please note that if you call in, they answer the phone in the same time as if you were standing in line there.
I dropped in to change tires, they told me it would be about 3 hours. They called me and told me it was ready 2.5 hours later. Very accurate.

I’ve tried calling the # on Unilocal five times this morning — each time was different. First time I got someone, too much noise, then disconnect. Then a mixture of four more calls that all failed in getting a human on the other end. I’m going to come in tomorrow but you guys might want to check your phone connection…

I am changing the rating from 1 star to 3.
After I described my experience on Costco support web page late in the evening, I was contacted both by warehouse manager and tire division manager in the following morning. They offered me a new tire to resolve the issue.
I like their approach to resolve an escalation.

Had a slow leak in my back tire and didn’t notice it until late one evening. Within 15 minutes, Justin had it fixed and didn’t charge me a dime!
Great customer service, and really saved the day given all other repair shops were closed. Love them!

I am very pleased with the multiple visits I’ve had to this tire center. I had the first set of tires from Costco put on about a year ago and it was a very easy process. I love shopping while they work. The cost was very good and it only took a little over an hour to get my car back.
I’ve since taken the car back for free tire rotations and air pumps, which took only 30 minutes while I picked up groceries.
Today I had to take the car in for one tire replacement after running over a nasty blade that shredded the rubber. I got to the center at 9:45 to get a good spot in line, and to my thrill they opened up early and started serving customers. I was able to get my car serviced in under 45 minutes. There was a grumpy lady behind me who was upset about waiting (which made no sense since technically they weren’t open yet) and the salesman handled her very well despite her giving him attitude.

Best prices anywhere in the Bay Area on tires and installation. Less common tires need to be ordered in advance, but arrive in about a week. Installation only took an hour or two, which I happily spent shopping in the store (ahhh so that’s their business model — cheap tires to lure you into shopping). Will definitely be back!

I called in advance to see how long my tires would take and was told two hours. I came in, turned my car in and was confirmed two hours. Here I am three hours later still waiting for my car. Hoping it doesn’t take four. I think the key to any car service is timeliness in delivery or at least an up front and honest heads up as to how long the service will take. There’s only so much Costco shopping you can do… this sucks.

I brought my car in on a Friday, expecting it to be really crazy, and of course it was. However, the team here is efficient, and on top of things. Erwin took care of me and had me and the people around me, ready within an hour, while at other Costco’s, I’m usually waiting around for half a day or longer.
The team here really understands cars and tires. To understand my prior frustration, I took my car in the other day to another nearby location (San Jose), and they refused to put on the tires, even when Costco AND Michelin’s websites recommended the same tires, AND the speed rating and load carrying ability exceeded the car’s specifications.
If you want friendly service, with people (Erwin, George, et al) who know their stuff, I recommend coming here instead of other Costco locations.