Costco won't let me buy tires for my style 32s! Help!

[Tiger]

The two costco tire departments I know strictly said their tires or no service. I even asked about new tires for our BMW in 17" and they fumbled on manual on what size can be put on... and still give me hard time.

I used to bring my own tires and rims to them and they mount and balance... no more... which is why I bought my own tire machine and parked it in my uncle's shop. I use his balancer. Now I am even tempted to buy my own balancer... his keep going out of balance and is manual calibration... takes a bit of time... but I just don't like the idea that I have to calibrate that machine every time I go there.

[Paul in NZ]

Just tell them it is an 01 525?

[Anton CH.]

I had the same problem as you did at my local Costco. I think I said I had a 98' 540i Sport. That was so the computer would show the proper tire size I needed. They installed without hesitation that way. When I had a flat the only problem I encountered is that I lost the receipt and forgot that I put it under a 98' 540i. As soon as we found the proper car, they fixed the flat. So moral of the story -- tell them what they want to hear and keep your reciept.

[markus]

**** em. its obvious they dont want your business. just go to some other shop and they will do it. here they have no problem mounting and balacing tires. and whenever i look for tires i always go tirerack. every local place says they have the lowest price blah blah blah. its usually cheaper to go through tirerack.

[DanDombrowski]

98 540 sport, huh? I think I'll try that. I'd like to try the oldest year I can and still get the same size - yours were 235/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear, right?

I'm going to go into one of them today and ask the manager to do it, and if that doesn't work, I'll go into the other one and say its an 01. Pray for mojo!

[Ross]

Second the sentiment. Great place to buy 50 lb. boxes of fish sticks or MAYBE tires for grandma's Buick.
How many threads are here regarding ****-ups by the mass merchants?
If you are an enthusiast with enthusiasts expectations why trade with a store like Costco? Price is not a valid answer either, a liitle legwork can always get you a comparable or better price.

[markus]

for some reason i like going to the local firestone for small crap like that. i had my car aligned there 2 times already and no problems. theyre a little pricey but atleast they do a good job. I think they charge $10 for each wheel and tire they mount and balance.

[Dash01]

I suspect that Costco's legal department has a hand in this. I bought light truck tires for my lightly used conversion van there, with a lifetime rotation and balance warranty.

Now, as it turns out, "lifetime warranty" means until the manager decides he no longer wishes to honor it, regardless of pretty deep tread and low mileage. My right front tire is scraped up on its sidewall, due to wife and kids using it to curbside parallel park via Braille method. (They feel for the curb with the RF tire sidewall.) So, saying the scuffed tire is evidence of "aging," the Costco manager refuses to rotate or balance the other 3 tires, nor allow me to buy at my expense a new tire to replace the RF scuffed tire. He now refuses to touch my van, unless I agree to buy all new tires. Other Costco tire specialists have agreed to do the work, but were overrulled by this guy, whose "professional" background is in meat processing.

Costco may be in for more legal problems than they'd planned, if they continue to refuse to honor the written lifetime warranty that they sold me.

I recommend the Tire Rack purchase, then shop for a local installer from the TR list. Other big box stores with tire departments such as WalMart of Sears may be of use. In fact, Sears will put your car on the rack for an alignment check and charge nothing for it if it does not need the work, or $90 for the 4 wheel alignment if it does. Since they don't stock BMW or Porsche parts, I get the free check, then bring the parts to them later if needed.

[markus]

what is costco? is that a store like wal-mart and sam's club? if so then why the hell are you letting those retards touch your car? they are used to working on POS GM and ford products so a BMW to them is probly like trying to work on a space shuttle. I used to work at a chrysler dealer and whenever people came in for oil changes for their cars under warranty but went to wal-mart or jiffy lube they would always put the wrong weight of oil or wrong size filter on the cars. i dont see why people think $15 for an oil change is a great deal. usually they **** it up. the new chryslers are using 5w-20 in their engines and these goofballs put 10w-30 in it since they feel its good enough for any car. those places are where i buy my oil since wal-mart is usually the cheapest and whatever else i think i need while im in the automotive section.

[Anton CH.]

98 540 sport, huh? I think I'll try that. I'd like to try the oldest year I can and still get the same size - yours were 235/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear, right?

I'm going to go into one of them today and ask the manager to do it, and if that doesn't work, I'll go into the other one and say its an 01. Pray for mojo!

I just checked on their website. Here is what you want to do:
Say you got a 98' 540 w/ the 17" optional tire:
Front: http://www.costco.com/Tires/SearchRe...cat=3961&MNo=0
Rear:
http://www.costco.com/Tires/SearchRe...cat=3961&MNo=0

P.S. Get the Michelin PS2s!