Opinion: Mounting problem for customer tires

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So I brought my DTD tires to Costco to have them mounted. Next day, one tire was almost flat. Found out I have a bead leak. Costco doesn't clean rims or apply bead sealer is my guess. If it leaks, bring it in, they will clean and apply bead seal ... and do it right as a "flat repair".

Here is the rub, they wanted to charge me $12 for a flat repair, since it was my own tire, not theirs. I disagreed, and said that it was not done right the first time, and should be done free of charge. We disagreed.

Thoughts?
 
I agree with you. If there was something wrong with the tire that you brought in I'd say they might have a case, but this seems like purely an install error.
 
You bought tires elsewhere on the cheap and got COSTCO to install them on the cheap. Sounds like you got viewed as a cheapo. Did you even give the tire mounter a tip? Ed
 
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I never clean wheels when mounting and balancing, if that needs to be done its an extra service. Tires are loss leaders, Imagine only getting paid less than a half hour that takes you more than that. Any bead issue would be on your wheels, that are oxidizing, and should be cleaned, more time spent on the wheel =more money spent.
 
its possible the bead was damaged on the install. or its possible the tire had a defective bead.. neither one will own up to it.

I had a similar issue with a tire mounted at walmart i bought off amazon. There was a piece of wood wedged between the bead and the rim.. they fixed it due to it being the next day and it was obvious..
 
Looks like the OP had the tires installed over a month ago(post from 11/10/17):

Originally Posted By: lairdwd
Just got back from Costco and had my DTD tires from July installed. I went right at 10 am when they opened. There was already a 2 hour wait. When I picked up the car 2 hours later, there was a 3 hour wait.
laugh.gif


But I had no issues having them install my customer provided tires. No back of the queue nonsense. Got slotted right in with the people buying their overpriced stuff. $15 per tire. Didn't want to rock the boat and try to save $4 by disposing of tires myself, but probably could have saved $4 more, since my town accepts tires with the trash.
 
Since you supplied the tires, good luck getting anyone to own up the problem.

This is why on the surface what seems like a good deal (not buying their "overpriced stuff" as the the OP put in their post from a month ago) doesn't always work that way.

Not saying never go that route, just saying be prepared to pay when not everything goes right...
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Looks like the OP had the tires installed over a month ago(post from 11/10/17):

Originally Posted By: lairdwd
Just got back from Costco and had my DTD tires from July installed. I went right at 10 am when they opened. There was already a 2 hour wait. When I picked up the car 2 hours later, there was a 3 hour wait.
laugh.gif


But I had no issues having them install my customer provided tires. No back of the queue nonsense. Got slotted right in with the people buying their overpriced stuff. $15 per tire. Didn't want to rock the boat and try to save $4 by disposing of tires myself, but probably could have saved $4 more, since my town accepts tires with the trash.


"had my DTD tires from July installed"

hes on his own.
 
Road hazard coverage covers bead leaks and mysterious air losses. The question is how is the road coverage warranty worded, I bet you have to buy the tires there.

Did your old tires leak?
 
First Off...Wrong Forum

You shoulda just paid the $12 because your just gonna have to pay someone else to do it. But yeah...I wouldn't suggest going there after that. They should guarantee there work like most other places.
 
Originally Posted By: Audios
I never clean wheels when mounting and balancing, if that needs to be done its an extra service. Tires are loss leaders, Imagine only getting paid less than a half hour that takes you more than that. Any bead issue would be on your wheels, that are oxidizing, and should be cleaned, more time spent on the wheel =more money spent.


How much time does it take to clean a rim? 1-2 minutes per? So 4-8 minutes longer on a 4 tire swap? I guess customer satisfaction matters more to some people.

Yes, tires are a loss leader. Yes, there's still a proper way to do things. Tires are not something to play with.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Costco is my go to place for everything...except tires.


Costco should help with the issue, and given their reputation for customer service, it's a bit surprising they wouldn't.

But, being loose tires gives them a plausible excuse to shift the blame. That's part of the risk.

There aren't any DT stores in the OP's area, but it should be noted that DTD tires installed by a DT store are treated as their own sale, so that's clearly the preferable route if possible.

There's nothing special about Costco's tire operation (including the pricing), and I'd avoid them based just solely on the wait times. It is a pretty good place to buy batteries, though.
 
Originally Posted By: Carmudgeon
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Costco is my go to place for everything...except tires.


but it should be noted that DTD tires installed by a DT store are treated as their own sale


really? because the DT by me treated my DTD tires as "foreign" and charged me extra to install them.
 
What do you mean tires are a loss leader? There are very large margins on tires unless you mean the installer.
My father in law used to work for Michelin and I could get some really good buys on tires direct until he retired. Normally $120 tires for under $40 and Michelin wasn't losing money on those.
 
DT said the same to me that DTD were not their own and their was a $40 upcharge to install 4 tires not from them. Walmart also charged me the extra $10 per tire this time. Have to say the new Goodyear Comfortred Touring Handles much better than the old Integrity's they replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Originally Posted By: Audios
I never clean wheels when mounting and balancing, if that needs to be done its an extra service. Tires are loss leaders, Imagine only getting paid less than a half hour that takes you more than that. Any bead issue would be on your wheels, that are oxidizing, and should be cleaned, more time spent on the wheel =more money spent.


How much time does it take to clean a rim? 1-2 minutes per? So 4-8 minutes longer on a 4 tire swap? I guess customer satisfaction matters more to some people.

Yes, tires are a loss leader. Yes, there's still a proper way to do things. Tires are not something to play with.


I was a tire tech and paid flat rate. Rims didn't get any polishing love unless they were super bad.

If the tire came back, it was .3 hours to fix the bead. There was no penalty for the tech nor did the come-back necessarily come to the initial tech.

If this is an upsetting situation, shop somewhere else. I didn't set policy.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Originally Posted By: Carmudgeon
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Costco is my go to place for everything...except tires.


but it should be noted that DTD tires installed by a DT store are treated as their own sale


really? because the DT by me treated my DTD tires as "foreign" and charged me extra to install them.



Yes. The guys at two different branches even said "no problem, we're part of the same company."

I had my Labor Day sale tires installed for $16/ea. They were entered into my system record as purchases, so I assume any issues going forward can be handled by the store.

I will say that compared to the past, there is more inconsistency from rep to rep, in terms of what I was quoted before going in, which is a regression. But neither branch balked at the fact that they were loose tires from DTD.

The guy who helped me actually forgot(?) to include a state fee from my original quote, so I saved a few bucks there.

As the consumer, one has to be armed with the knowledge of the company's policies, and be prepared to use it if needed. Unfortunate, but that's retail. The Help Wanted signs suggest they're short of people.

It also helps to get a printed quote and not rely on verbal promises; some people work differently when presented with written documents and are forced to engage their brains.

At least DT still gives their reps some latitude, which can be good...or bad.
 
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