Costco Tire Service Center

Last night I got a flat tire (a nail in the tread)…ok, no big deal. The flat happened just down the street from Costco. I came in at 5:00 pm (they close at 8:30). Then they say they can repair it, and I don’t have do buy a new tire, great.
I have to get this repaired tonight because I have to be at work at 5:00am, and I have a long commute, too long to ride on the spare tire even for a day, especially in the rain.
The guy says no problem. 2 and a half hours later I still haven’t heard from them. I go down there to find out what’s going on. And the guy tells me they can’t help me, my rim has a small dent and he’s not willing to physically put the wheel back on the car.
WTF!!! The dent was totally visible when they inspected the tire/​wheel a told me they could repair the tire. The dent has been there for years.
By this time, it’s 7:30 at night, no other shop is open. Had I known this 2 and a half hours ago, I would have gone somewhere else.
Now my time is wasted and my tire is still not on the car. And I need to find a way to get to work in the morning, and get this fixed.
Really Costco???

The line is long so get here first thing in the morning. I got there at 9am and waited almost an hour to check my car in. I was bored and a little annoyed by the time I was helped, but Senad, the salesperson who helped me, was super friendly and checked me in quickly and was thorough. His customer service made all the difference and reminded me why I come to Costco.

I will never buy tires from costco again… why? because they blew up my rear differential!!!
I had purchased some tires for my all wheel drive car. After having them installed the car drove horribly. I brought it back and they claimed that it was my axels. After getting those both replaced the car still drove like crap. Frustrated I took my car back to costco where they proceeded to tell me it was my car… not the tires. A month after that while driving i heard a loud thump! I tried to drive forward but could barely move. I had the car towed to my mechanic (who is a gem). He tool a look at my rear differential and saw that the gearing was toast but for some reason it looked clean, all the gear oil was in tact. Puzzled he took off my tires and thats when he discovered that they had put two sets of different size tires on my car. that is a major NO NO with all wheel drive cars.
Long story short they didn’t pay for the damages which ran me a grand. Plus i was out of a car for a month. NOT a happy camper.
Be warned.

I don’t know why anyone would get new tires elsewhere… popped a sidewall on tires I purchased and had installed at costco 18 months ago. Took it in this morning, expecting the worst — costco gave me credit for the remaining wear on the popped tire and gave me 3 free new tires to complete the set (4wd car). 4 new tires for the price of 35% of one. What a deal.
Carlos and Senad were both great — professional, helpful and cheerful. Pretty exceptional first thing on a Saturday morning when I probably had a scowl on my face and expected nothing but the worst!

I’m only commenting on what it’s like to try to phone the tire center at the 10^th street Costco to find out tire prices, etc. I was put on hold for about 6 minutes, then got a gentleman whose voice was interrupted by the sound of air pressure guns. But that aside, his English was so poor that I could scarcely understand a word he was saying. It was hopeless to try to find out anything from him.
I then called the Costco Administration extension, and got a woman who was scarcely more intelligible, though this time not because of an English problem – she said, (I think) «I’ll connect you to the manager that’s the best I can do.» With that, the phone (at the tire center?) began to ring. After about 20 rings I gave up.
Good for their business? I don’t think so.

TL;DR? 5 stars for Senad, 2−3ish stars for most of the story, negative stars for Amber if it was possible.
Had a slow leak in a tire. Went to the Costco website, picked out and purchased the replacement. It took a solid week to show up. Ugh, but whatever. Finally was able to make time to go in and get the tire replaced, and I’m told that Costco only replaces tires in pairs by the supervisor, Senad.
Now, if that’s their policy due to even wear, load balancing, rotational magic, and position of the tires in relationship to the sun, cool. However, there’s no indication on the website that installing just one tire means you get no warranty.
Senad remained professional and courteous, called his manager down. She explained the wonder of said solar-​based tire positioning to me. I opted to not bring up the fact that in my salad days, I drove many a car through Ohio winters with mismatched, often used, tires, with nary an issue. I brought up the the absence of any indication on the website that buying one tire was a no-​no. The manager said this is because Costco members usually buy their tires at Costco, so they would already match. I’m a Costco member, just hadn’t needed tires. She did say she would look into there being a dialog added to the website to avoid this confusion for future customers. Ok, now we’re getting somewhere. You didn’t make the policy, so how you deliver the message is the important part.
I opted to just buy a second tire. Senad was kind enough to waive the installation fee. I was told the tire would be overnighted and I would get a call the following day when the tire showed up so I could get it installed. Soon enough so the tire wear/​planetary alignment issues wouldn’t start voiding my warranty. Annoying, but I can handle coming back the next day after work to get a tire. I’m told that there would be no wait, and I could get right in for installation due to all the inconvenience. Way to go, Senad and manager whose name I can’t remember. You guys made an annoying situation pretty ok.
So, I’m at some chain coffee shop trying to massage their crappy wifi into functioning enough that I can get some work done, and I get a call from Costco. I’m told that my right rear tire (not the one I came in for) has a nail in it and needs replaced.
I bought two tires, so we’re just gonna move those buggers around and make it work, with the two matching tires on the rear. Yes, I know you’re not responsible for alignment issues. The front tires will match anyway. I’ll call it serendipity that I had to buy the second tire at this point and roll with it. I’m gonna be rocking a donut for a day, but my new tire is coming in and I’m getting it replaced tomorrow anyway, right? Right.
Not right.
My tire did come in the following day, Wednesday, and I received a call at 8:00 PM on that night letting me know it came in. Which is right around «there’s no way you’re getting here in time to get this installed o’clock». Now I’m not going to be able to make it in until at least Friday. Did I mention I have to drive 90 minutes each way into the East Bay with about 300 pounds of pricey musical equipment on Saturday to play a Halloween show? A donut that’s not even rated for highway speeds isn’t going to be ok.
Which brings us to Amber.
I finally manage to get to Costco on Friday just before 7:00, and the paragon of customer service that is Amber is at the counter dealing with another customer. I wait my turn, explain the situation, and Amber tells me that there is no way I’m getting a tire installed that night.
I tell Amber this is not an option. I know it’s 7:00 on a Friday, I know you probably have some kick-​ass Halloween party you want to go to, understood, but I was told this would be taken care of two days ago, I’ve gotta drive halfway across California tomorrow, and installing a tire takes about 14 minutes.
Amber huffs and puffs, pulls my name up on the computer about 7 times, goes away, comes back, and tells me that they can get the installation done, but it’s going to take until about 9:00. Which is interesting, since Costco closes at 8:30.
Yeah, Amber, I’ll wait. Get the tire, the one that I already paid for, the one that was supposed to be installed two days ago, installed. Cause it’s your job.
Amber starts paperworking, and I know that the situation is a pain, so I say to her «you’re totally gonna be my hero if you can get this done tonight».
Her response, «You didn’t give me much choice, did you?».
Bad form, Amber. Whoever left me a voicemail at 8:06 on Wednesday didn’t give you a choice; I just paid to get some work done and want it done. She reiterates that it’s going to be a long time. Still not getting rid of me, Amber.
I mill around Costco until Amber calls me not much later and tells me my car will be done in about 10 minutes. Then hangs up on me.
She didn’t even smile when I thanked her while picking my keys up. Or speak. Or make eye contact.

I had a great experience at Costco Tire Service Center with one of their employee’s help. His name was Senad.
I came in with a flat tire problem. Senad found the puncture easily at the shoulder of my tire and told me it was not fixable. Because my tires were originally ordered from Costco, I got a warranty with 75% off when I purchased a new tire (my new tire only costed $ 59). He told me the worst times to come in were Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Wednesday was the best time to come in (highly recommend customers to come in on Wednesdays to avoid the long wait!).
I came back on Wednesday around 6:00pm and again, Senad helped install my new tires and also rotations. A total of 30mins wait time.
Excellent service, awesome employees.

It’s not bad but it’s not great. This place really is a first come first serve basis and don’t even bother with the hours. They say it opens at 10:00, same time as warehouse, but you can show up earlier than that. Got here at 9:15 and already 5 people were ahead of me. Needed to wait in line. There’s only one person working the counter and one person working on the cars. So service is slow. They need more people. Guy at counter is super nice and friendly. Was told it’ll take about 3 hours…
3 HOURS?! How much can I possibly buy at Costco for 3 hours until I hit my credit card limit?!
But, the price is better. Went to a different tire shop and it was $ 560 out the door, done in an hour. Costco is $ 410 out the door, could takes 3+ hours. Saved $ 150 bucks.
Guess one must pick and choose… Save time or save money… But if you want to save both, you’re SOL :/

I had a great experience, but keep in mind that I:
1. Already knew which tires fit my car (I needed all 4)
2. Checked the Costco Tire website to confirm they had the tires in stock
3. Called to verify that they had the tires in stock
4. Confirmed that if I arrived in the next 10 minutes (6:30pm) they could put on the tires that evening
Most other tire places close at 5pm, inconvenient. Costco had what I needed and did what they said they would do, and it took the exact amount of time they said it would. The cashier-​guy was decent enough, and did his job upselling me for $ 13 on tire pressure sensor replacement. There was no line, so I just had to wait for the tire installation.
I can understand the point of view of the more negative reviews. If you show up and you don’t know what you want, or they don’t have what you need, or there’s a long wait, it’s not going to be a pleasant experience. Also, if you expect a «mechanic» attitude, my sense is that this is a «tire replacement» shop and they aren’t allowed to troubleshoot or do much other than replace tires (or maybe rotate them, check pressure, etc.). Since all I needed was brand new tires, and they had them and there was no wait, it worked out well for me.
They did tell me to «get an alignment» as I was leaving, which was a little disconcerting — I assume after maintenance like this that everything is «ready to go» and tested, sounds like maybe, maybe not. I drove home with no issues so it seems like everything is fine, but will have alignment checked at the next oil change.

I always get my tires at Costco. The warranty is great and the price was budget friendly. They only offer a handful of brands, BF Goodrich, Bridgestone & Michelin. I got taken care of in a reasonable amount of time. Since I was waiting in the tire center for my car, I got regular updates on how long it would take. The guy behind the counter knew A LOT about tires, was very friendly, and ran that place well.

If you drop-​in, they just want you there before 6:30PM (they close at 8:30PM) and it’s first come first serve. Came on a Mon around 7PM and they were gracious to add me in last minute. Got my tire changed with no issue. Quick & painless.

I really hate this business. You wait forever. The service is terrible. Their warranties aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. Never again, I don’t care how cheap it is. Never again.

A less well structured iteration of a tire shop you would be hard pressed to find. The people working here are busting ass, but they’re understaffed and the process by which shop is run is asinine.

Very nice on the phone (which they answer! A miracle if you ask me…)
After confirming that they did indeed have the tires I needed, they recommended something similar on sale (yay) and let me know that it would be a 3 hour wait.
So I drove over, dropped off my car, and went into the main store where I played CandyCrush on my phone in a massage chair, ate hot dogs, read books and had samples for …3 hours. I thought maybe they’d be done earlier, but no, pretty much exactly what they told me.
Yay! New tires for a really good price. Next time Ill figure out something else to do while waiting.

Now I understand why Costco offers free tire rotations for people that have bought their tires from Costco. It is so they have every opportunity to sell you more tires. Earlier this month I went to my mechanic and got a bunch of services. I totally forgot to get my tires rotated. My mechanic told me my tires were at 60% in the front and 90% in the back, and I seriously feel like I JUST got new tires. So when I took my tires to Costco for a free rotation, this guy gave me a bunch of crap about how they can’t rotate my tires because they are unsafe. He said he would be happy to give me new tires though and then they can rotate them. «Oh ya. Ok, Costco… NOT!» I straight up left. Went to my mechanic told him what Costco said and he relooked at my tires and said yea they are older but they aren’t bad and still have a long ways to go. He rotated my tires and I drove off. Saved myself $ 300 because my SUV tires are $ 150 each. F you, Costco Tires.

Sooo very thankful we have a Costco in San Francisco.
I got a flat yesterday that was unrepairable and took it to Costco first thing this morning to buy new tires. Was told they had to special order the tires which wouldn’t be in until noon tomorrow (a little disheartening because I didn’t have much time except for today, but it is what it is). Got a call 3 hours later telling me they just got my tires in and can service my car before the end of today.
An hour later, my cars all good and I’m back on the road! Service was great, very fast and friendly; would definitely recommend Costco for tires (especially for their warranty)

Amber, one of the supervisors, was extremely helpful today! Really appreciated her excellent customer service. I have to agree with someone else who said that it’s understaffed. These folks work their butts off and one time I came to get my tires rotated. There was some screw up and a car before me had major issues, delaying service to my car. In the end, my car sat in the garage all day… I also got no updates. It wasn’t til I went back around 8:30pm that I found all of this out. I can’t blame the poor guy who was there by himself, but for the great company that Costco is, this location should really adequately staff the tire center. I mean… it’s the only Costco serving ALL of San Francisco!

This place is understaffed and the service is poor.
⁹⁄₁₄ salesperson saw my car and provided an estimate of $ 400. He says that had tires for my car in the inventory.
⁹⁄₂₁ line is 3 – 4 hours long. Salesperson recommends that I come back a weekday before they stop taking cars (around 5:30pm) or Saturday (line starts forming at 8:30 am)
⁹⁄₂₄ I get at Costco at 4:40 pm and they are not taking any more cars. Salesperson says that they are understaffed.
⁹⁄₂₇ It’s a Saturday. I get at Costco at 8:30 AM. The initial estimate was incorrect. The tires will cost: $ 600. The tires were not in stock and had to be special ordered, but I could schedule an appointment. I pay for the tires. After that, I’m told can’t schedule appointments for weekends. In order to get a refund, I had to wait for the store to open.

*It was my first time having my tires changed so I have no other experience to base my review.
After getting an oil change, the mechanic recommended to have my front two tires replaced. I decided to replace all four since my car was a second-​hand 1996 Accord that I haven’t replaced the tires on.
Came in at around 950 to have my four tires replaced. The tire shop opens at 10 but there was already about 10 cars ahead of me. After reading the reviews I knew there would be a wait and I made sure my day was free before I came. I was told that my car would be done in three hours.
I was sold the tires they had available and there was $ 70 off coupon for the set of four. Tires were $ 409.96 before tax and after mounting, disposal fee and state tax was added my total came out to be $ 519.31. The tires also came with a 90k mile warranty or 5 years, whichever comes first as long as maintenance is properly done. I also saved for my back two tires to be saved just in case I needed them in the future.
Got a call 2.5 hours later saying my car was done. The two tires I asked to be saved were placed in my trunk in trash bags which was nice. I thought I would have needed to bring the tires into my car myself. The receipt came with maintenance instructions for the tires. The instructions included getting my alignment checked and when to get my tires rotated and balanced. I greatly appreciated it because I have no clue about tire maintenance.
Car is running smoothly so far with no noticeable issues. Also went to another place to get my alignment checked and it was not aligned properly so I was glad I was told to have it check.
The customer service wasn’t the friendliest but it was bad either. The job was done the way I asked for so I’m happy with my experience.

I fought my parents on getting tires from Costco for years. However– Awesome first time experience!
Arrived an hour and a half after opening. About 6 people ahead of me. I needed 4 new tires… STAT.
I went with Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Grand Touring which not only came with a 65,000 mi warranty– but were also on SALE (whoop whoop!). Saved $ 120.
I was given a 2.5 hour estimate however my car was ready in less than 2 hours !! The time passed quickly as I was busy shopping in Costco and making rounds on the samples. Also I managed to catch up with my mom on the phone. Very productive trip.
Gilberto was great. Quick to help me and each customer. Multitasking genius. And– kept a good sense of humor despite the varying moods of customers.
PS: hey Costco– get the man a new scanner and consider replacing the 19 yo cash register ! It would make Gilberto’s job easier. And he deserves it :)
See you soon tire center. I run over nails like it’s my job!
Xo