Costco/Sams for tire installation?

Wait until it can be done correctly with a chrome socket (does not scratch) and a tech who knows what he/she is doing. Properly torqued. Rarely happens at a high volume shop. No offense but, you can't save money by doing things this way. Nor should you. Your car is not something upon which to skimp.

 

If you must... then offer a $50 bonus to the tech if he/she can complete the job without scratching/damaging anything.

BTW, don't forget to make sure that you get your valve caps back.

 

Is there anyway you could remove/install yourself? Then, take just the wheels and tires by themselves down to the tire shop? That is my preference since I would rather not have an inexperienced tech accidentally put the car up on the rack incorrectly, or damage anything including the lugs. Not to be mean or put anyone down.......But the tire techs at Costco are mostly "kids" working in there. At least at the locations near me.

If you do take your tires in separately......as Wade mentioned, don't forget the valve caps. I personally take the valve caps, center caps, and the old weights off before I take them in. With stick on weights, some will use a screwdriver to "scrape" them off, and potentially scratching your wheel finish!

 

You did not say what type of vehicle you have.
All vehicles have jacking points.
Low cost shops will use a roller jack to remove each tire one by one, a higher quality shop will raise the entire vehicle off the floor.
High cost rims require special care, such as nylon sliders to protect the rim edge.
A production shop will use air pneumatic gun to remove and install lug nuts, a quality shop will do the same procedure by hand.
Anti-seize compound should be applied to wheel studs to prevent thread galling.
Finally all lug nuts should be torqued to OEM specs and then re-torqued after 100 miles
Giving a bribe should never be done before work and a respectable shop would never accept one.
One should inspect their wheels before and after the job is completed and then any discrepancies can be noted to the technicians.

 

I must say that the guys at the Costco in Fullteron, CA did superb job on the wifes Lexus. They change the tires without damaging the rims or the vehicle, filled the tires with nitrogen, removed the lugs with an impact gun with a chrome socket, and installed the lugs by hand and used a torque wrench to set to proper tension. They even recommended she return at a later date within 10 days to re-torque the lugs nuts. They even cleaned the wheels of finger prints and such.

The only thing I disliked, was the green air valve caps denoting the use of nitrogen. I reinstalled the factory caps when we arrived home.

 

LOL!

 

DON'T DO IT!

The guys at costo/sams are high volume and quality is not their first priority. I had my tires changed on my Turbo at a Discount Tires. It was too low for a lift, so they jacked up the car to get the tires off. The problem was that one of the jacks was not at the jack point. I went outside to point it out and tell him he was going to break the sill. He proceeded to let it down without letting the other side down. Before I could tell him to stop, the whole car slipped off the other jack and slammed to the ground. Good thing the wheel was still on, but it bent the jack point and broke both sills.

They paid for the repair, but on my higher end cars, I go to someone I trust.

 

Wow! That's pretty bad! Sorry you had to go through that! This is why I remove the wheels/tires off the car myself, and take them in separately to the tire shop. I only do this for my higher end cars though. More hassle for me........but this way is more comforting for me!

 

It's not like your asking them to index the cams & change the timing belts.

It's a tire change. 5 bolts, a no-brainer. Point out to the tech where the jack points are & if you have key for the lug bolt. Most will understand they are working on something "special" & take precautions.

I had Sears do a tire dismount for me so I could inspect the rim for a slow leak on my 360. I found a pin hole due to porosity in the casting. Previous mounting & dismounting had scraped the coatcoat & exposed it.

I had it repaired, Sears remounted & balanced the tire.

I explained what I had found & they offered to replace the rim if I felt they had originally caused the damage.

I told them they weren't at fault, adding that the rim came off a Ferrari & sells for $3,500. The tech was in shock & asked if that was for the set. "Nope, just one" I replied

I can understand you should advise them the proper torque specs & sequence.

As for the guy who had his car damaged by incorrect jacking............ You can't fix stupid. He has probably F'ed up other cars, but the owners didn't have a clue.

 

Haven't been to Costco or Sam's for a tire change, but I did have a "high-end" tire shop mount tires on my new 16" rims a couple of years ago.

They were all very proud to be working on a Ferrari, even though it's just a 30-year-old 308! They gave my car extra attention and care, even describing their whole process in detail before I could even tell them what to do.

When I came to pick up my car, they had it on a ramp in front of the building instead of parked with the other completed cars! They told me that they wanted to keep it away from the others to prevent anyone damaging it, which I do appreciate, but I suspect that they were also glad to have a somewhat rare, and (IMO) very attractive car sitting in front for a while to attract business. I didn't mind a bit!

Performance Wheel and Tire in Denver, BTW.

To answer your question: I wouldn't hesitate to take my 308 to Costco - if I got the sort of pre-operation assurances I got from Performance.

 

I have found that Costco will not mount tires that are not purchased from them in AZ. Also they have a limited selection of tires for many cars. Tire Rack or Discount Tires are two good sources for tires. I have used Walmart with good luck, but they wanted to see the car also and not just the tires.

 

I NEVER take a client's (or my own) Ferrari to ANY tire shop. It's a good way to get expensive damage from improper lifting.

I remove the wheels in my shop and take them in.

Sam's no longer will mount anything they didn't sell. Their selection for a Ferrari is very limited.

Discount Tire won't touch wire wheels.

 

Good advice on taking the wheels off yourself and just taking them to the shop. That's what I do.

Maybe ask the local fchat regional board for a recommendation on a local tire guy. That's what I had to do when I could not find any chain shops that would touch my three part wheels. I ended up being recommended a really good guy.

Regard
David.

 

Hawk eying and telling a tech what to do is a good way to have your car ****ed with. Would you go to a restaurant and watch/tell the chef how to prepare your food? That would not fly. It's disrespectful. It implies that the tech does not have the ability to complete the job and will feel looked down upon. If you can't do that, then maybe you need to work on your own vehicles?

 

I wouldn't insult you tire-shop guys by trying to micro-manage the job.

That's why I bring just the wheels.

 

Who says I am a tire shop guy?

 

I agree with you; I wouldn't "hawk-eye" anyone who is doing work for me. However, what I will do, and insist on doing, is meeting the person or people who will be working on my car. If s/he is willing to spend a few minutes with me, explain how my car will be treated, and learn of any special care that my car requires, that demonstrates professionalism and pride in work. And most people who have worked on my cars do demonstrate those qualities, and are willing to talk to me before they begin work on my vehicle.

Took the M-B to a chain tire store once. They wanted me to take a number and wouldn't take one minute to talk about my car's special needs, nor about their procedures.

I simply said, "Thank you, but I think I'll try somewhere else," and walked out the door.

Also, I would never take any of my cars to a shop that did not guarantee replacement of anything they destroy - even if my wheels did cost $3500 each! Insurance got invented for a reason, and the people who work on my cars better have it.

 

I pull the wheels at home and take them to my wheel repair shop for tire changes. This way I never have issues. One of the POs of my car had scratched up two wheels, I bought 2 for cheap from Ebay and had them redone, then swapped them in when I got tires.

 

Good advice.

I have two local shops slinging tires, I take them loose rims, if at all possible.

 

Question I have for the group is don't you typically have to sign some paperwork before any work begins for what the estimate will be and in that paperwork it typically states that they can't be held liable for any damage that will be done to your vehicle/rims during the process? How does one get around that if they end up scratching your rims?

 

I wouldn't do it unless you know someone there or have references. Sears couldn't even change the oil in my 996 without over tightening the drain bolt and stripping the thread. I have a good independent tire shop now.

 

There's risk in everything.

 

Had winter tires installed on a Benz once at a local Firestone (now Bridgestone) dealer and they overtightened the lug bolts and stripped the threads on the rotor. They 1) denied any wrongdoing and 2) said I would have to take it to the dealership to have it re-threaded (which was done under warranty) because they didn't have the 'equipement' to repair it. I asked them why the threads were stripped and they told me to "ask Mercedes."