Hi all,
I am due to replace my front tires. I am wondering is it worth while getting costco membership for just getting tires from Costco?
Are Costco Tyres Cheaper? Worth Getting Membership?
gammaz113 on 07/03/2024 - 09:59
Last edited 07/03/2024 - 10:07 by 1 other user
Last edited 07/03/2024 - 10:07 by 1 other user
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Yes absolutely, and you need to book a time as they're busy. Great thing is you can shop and eat there while they do the installation.
They don't advertise their prices online, so you have to do some homework yourself and compare the prices with your local tyre shop (or Hyper Drive/Tyres, they have prices online). Overall, Costco will be cheaper. Also keep a lookout for their clearance prices, but they call them "rebates" but still is an instant discount at the till.
I recently got Hyper Drive to price beat www.thetyreclinic.co.nz as they were $50/tyre cheaper. HyperDrive's online price match form doesn't appear to work (at least not from mobile phone) but emailing them did.
Hmm not sure if Hyper will price beat Costco since you have to factor in Costco's membership fees. Also Hyper does not include installation fees into their tyre prices. Costco does. Another thing is the range of tyres available. Cheap to expensive. And not all retailers will carry the same models.
I'd say, if you plan to do your grocery shopping or fueling at Costco, then buy your tyres from them.
I always find ringing around 5 or so local tyre companies and asking what they have in your size and budget/spec. I have found some really good deals this way, but it takes a bit of time and research
hi, can you recommend 3-5 local tyre shops to call/inquire? thanks.
I agree with the others but something I've learnt is that you can't rely on the quality of some of the cheapo no-name tyres. If you're just after the cheapest, you may find like I did that the very cheapest tyres don't last that long, so they cost you more overall. Stick with like for like comparisons where you can.
Do you have to be a Costco member to get the tyres replaced? Can someone with a membership help you out? Doesn't seem like you will be saving much if you have to pay $60 for membership first.
I would say if you have a mate who has a membership, tag along with him (you are allowed to take 1 visitor per card I believe) one day, get the prices and book it in etc. So yeah I can't see that not working - just as long as your mate is keen to be the conduit.
I think they can be well priced for your standard branded tyres,
They didnt seem to do cheaper brands
Also found them to be fairly more expensive when looking for specialised tyres (Run flats etc)You can call or email the Costco tyre centre with your tyre size/s for a quote. They didn't ask for a membership number for a quote.
The email address is [email protected]
I signed up to get a full set of Michelin Pilot Sport 5's, it was worth it for me IIRC it was about $200-300 cheaper than other shops. FYI Costco's price includes installation, whereas other places add an installation fee on top of their tyre price if you are comparing them.
They don't do wheel alignments though which should be done after installing new tyres, so I had to go somewhere else for an alignment which costs about $80-100.
If you are looking for mid range to high end tyres, then in general, yes, they are cheaper and it is worth getting a membership for. For our car it was hundreds of dollars cheaper.
You can call for a pricing without being a member (look up their main number, and it has an automated menu to get the tire shop). Note they are extremely busy so hard to get through to on the phone (I had good luck close to their closing time). I had about a 2 week wait for fitment also.
Note that only do Brand name tires. Michelin, Bridgestone & BF Goodrich (and I don't think they offer the economy lines).
So if you are shopping on price only, Supercats or no name Chinese tires elsewhere will be cheaper. That said, please don't cheap out on tires. Having decent grip is important for safety, and some of the cheap ones are very slippery in the wet.
As others have said you need to make a separate trip elsewhere if you want an alignment. (a good idea, as a bad alignment can chew out your new tires fast).
I bought 4 Michelen PS5s from them and they were a fair bit cheaper than all the places I called for quotes.
Beware, they took quite a long time to fit, balance and install for a job which is relatively straightforward. Around 1.5hrs from memory, but they were thorough. They also fill with nitrogen.
Also, when I got a wheel alignment done a week later at another tyre place, they said they that whoever did the wheel balance completely messed it up. When I said Costco did it, they weren't surprised and said they'd had a few people through with incorrectly balanced wheels from them and I should get them to redo it.
I recommend buying the tyres from Costco, and getting another tyre shop to do the actual work.
I've gone through this. Ended up handing in my membership after about half a year for about half a dozen reasons.
Look, the tyres are cheap. For the particular Bridgestone tyres I wanted, they didn't stock them, but they stocked a similar level in another brand, at a decent price. However, they're awful to talk to and the whole experience sucks.
I have a particular Bridgestone franchise I go to tucked behind a Toyota dealership on the shore, that just give you a good price straight off the bat and look after you. I have been going for over a decade. And yes, they beat Costco with zero negotiation(and were 60% of the normal price other branches were trying to charge). There is a lot of variation in the tyre market and lots of margin, if you're a sucker.
Does anyone know if they install tyres there as well?