Costco Tire Experience - Handling Aftermarket Wheels?

I worked part-time as a valet at a Lexus dealership. We drove the cars to the mechanics and washed the cars after service. One of the valets drove a $70k LS 460 too close to the car wash nozzle and scratched 3/4 of the left side of the car. Stuff happens.

 

I worked at the tire shop. And after as a mechanic.

I had some great, trustworthy, skilled, experienced co workers. They probably moved on to chase their dreams I believe (and hope) as well as getting paid what they are worth (more)

who did they replace them with? Perhaps people who can’t even drive manual (a requirement to work on cars). I don’t know.
Costco has a station with assorted TPMS service kits.
Not breaking, or successfully swapping over your existing sensor is simply a matter of skill, patience, and the right machine. Sometimes a good enough machine to be universal.

another option is finding a mechanic. And paying him, individually. That will probably run you approximately 2 hours of labor at $50/hr. Still much cheaper than what you listed in original post.

problem with a tire shop and/or Costco is the rush to bang out a bunch of cars fast and many guys trying to use the same machine at once.

a dealer and mechanic can be a different story. They may be well off enough to have 2 tire machines. And techs doing other repairs at the time not using them.
So your tech (if you find one) will potentially have the relaxed ability to take his time and do it properly without a rush.
Rushing through it is usually what breaks a sensor.

but if Costco breaks a sensor they may pay to replace it.

if you are worried about finish there is only so much you can do.
Maybe you can protect them first somehow. Such as masking tape.

me personally I do not care about finish. It is a used old 4x4 that occasionally hits trails. I have scratched my wheels on rocks. The truck is meant to be used, is used, and looks used.

nice tire machines have a plastic arm to reduce scratching but even that can still scuff if the tech is not careful, if the machine sucks/is old/not calibrated
But plenty of tire lube and plastic head on an expensive new machine that dealers tend to have definitely helps

and experience. Some guys are used to working on trucks.
I imagine Porsche techs are pretty skilled given they’re used to stretching super wide thin sidewall tires over big nice wheels

you get what you pay for. Wages matter. If a man has built his skill to be worth over $30/hr you are probably getting a better quality of work with him than some guy who is perfectly content doing basic shit for $12
Cheap is not always good

honestly, I’m probably gonna try Costco. I need a rotate and balance. Hopefully it goes well. I think it’s only like $20
I sold my floor jack. I don’t own a $10k Hunter balancer. So even though I have the knowledge and experience of having performed that task probably over 1,000 times, I don’t think I have the capability of it right now.
Hopefully they smoothen out with just a static balance. It probably will. Most places do not have roadforce.
The only tires I have seen develop a shit reputation for becoming defective, vibrating, and failing roadforce is Pirelli on passenger cars. But that was in a high heat environment which who knows if a car sitting in heat alters the tire.

knowing a mechanic who can help you on the side is a matter of networking.
But that is only if their shop underpays them enough to seek other work, and if they are willing to sacrifice their own personal time off for additional work.

theoretically, if you leave your lug tool in the cup holder for the tech, nothing should go wrong. It’s not rocket science to change a tire.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Hz6QIbCt0

 

Thanks everyone for your input! Circumstances dictated my decision, so I went with Costco. Everything worked out fine with fit & finish.. but I also learned what a -10mm offset means, and now have to address rubbing on the passenger fender (should’ve realized “265/70/17 is the biggest tire you can fit on stock suspension” also meant stock wheels). Guess I’ve been baptized into the world of modding my taco! Wheeeee

 

Pics of the truck. Pics of the tight clearance and where tire contacts fender on turn. Haven’t decided if I’m trimming it or spending the money on a level/lift.. getting an alignment in a few days & will see if that helps. Will search the site or save it for a new thread

 

Thanks, I needed a good laugh today lol

 

but you will see the shop guys bagging groceries when its slow in the shop

never had any issues with them doing the work and at the price point its hard to beat.

 

@Lawaia808 What island you on ?

 

Costco tire prices are great, their customer service is horrible. I will never step foot in a Costco tire center again. Americas Tire will price match and their customer service is 1000X better.

 

want to know if folks use Costco
might go to Discount instead have a feeling they know what they’re doing more.
Or maybe sneak in a friends shop. Or DIY auto hobby shop…

When I worked at Costco some of the tire center people knew what they were doing. I still know them there.
but I have also seen them hire idiots who have damaged friends vehicles.

I suspect if I take my truck for a balance and they see 35’s with SpiderTrax they will shit their pants instead of doing their job they get paid to do, a rotate and balance, that I can train a monkey or 5yo to do.
“Sorry dude I see a piece of tread gone from wheeling so I refuse to put it on the balancer”

would be great if insurance was not a thing so I could pay them and do it myself. Can do it blindfolded. Its the expensive machine access I need. Not exactly something everyone has at home.

What is this posting phenomenon?

I used to work there and that is exactly how it works.