# TIRERACK & COSTCO: SAVE BIG $$



## The Roadstergal (Sep 7, 2002)

Dawg90 said:


> and sometimes 16" Contis can be found for $88 - can't beat that.


205/55/16 Azenis Sports for $77. :eeps:


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## LeucX3 (Dec 26, 2001)

rwg said:


> Believe it or not, they stock the 330i sizes (at least at the Costco closest to me). They would have installed them that day, first come first serve. They ordered tires for a friend once and I think it took about 5 days to get them in.


I still have the spare on the right rear of my car because no place i called in the area had any in stock for my staggered setting. Anyway, Costco - Carlsbad ordered Bridgestone RE950s all for just less than $700. They should come in tomorrow, but i won't be able to go there for installation until Friday.

If they suck at it, I probably won't be able to notice. Plus to me it's just not that big a deal, it's just a car.


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## JetBlack330i (Feb 8, 2002)

The Roadstergal said:


> The guys at Discount overtorque my nuts every time. But they do a good job with the mount and balance.


So does my wife. Oh you're talking about tires... never mind... :eeps:


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## low (Jan 2, 2002)

Leuc330Ci said:


> I still have the spare on the right rear of my car because no place i called in the area had any in stock for my staggered setting. Anyway, Costco - Carlsbad ordered Bridgestone RE950s all for just less than $700. They should come in tomorrow, but i won't be able to go there for installation until Friday.
> 
> If they suck at it, I probably won't be able to notice. Plus to me it's just not that big a deal, it's just a car.


 tell me how you like these tires, im debating on these or toyo proxes 4...looking for less road noise than my damn evs100s!!! argh!!


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## TGray5 (Jan 22, 2002)

I had costco flip my track tires on their rims and rebalance and they did a great job...no damage that I could notice, although the track wheels are a little rashed up already. Can't beat the price and their equipment and employees look top notch. Still not sure if I'll take my good wheels there or not.


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## panther_v (Jul 3, 2003)

*i'm satisfied with my local costco....*

hello...

i recently got a set of bridgestoen potenza s-03 from costco. i took advantage of their $60 bucks off coupon. the tires are great! no complains so far!

this is 1st set of tires since the car purchase. i'm surprised that the original set lasted me 5 yrs 42k miles.

my local costco is good. took about 3 days for tires to arrive. because of the $60 coupon, the tire center was extremely busy. the wait to install was 3 hours!

i watched them as they did my tires. the mechanics were professional and friendly. they torqued the nuts while car is still on the lift; they used a metal block to prevent tires from rotating while torquing.

i have to say.. my overall experience was good w/ them. i would bring my car there.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Leuc330Ci said:


> I still have the spare on the right rear of my car because no place i called in the area had any in stock for my staggered setting. Anyway, Costco - Carlsbad ordered Bridgestone RE950s all for just less than $700. They should come in tomorrow, but i won't be able to go there for installation until Friday.
> 
> If they suck at it, I probably won't be able to notice. Plus to me it's just not that big a deal, it's just a car.


I should have said stocked the 330i sizes in Michelins - which they seem to stock more than other brands.

If they suck at it, you won't be able to help but notice. Sucking at tire mounting means they will put a gash in one of those expensive wheels. Sucking at balancing means the car won't ride smoothly on the highway.

I don't have anything against Costco (in fact, I should buy stock and get some of my money spent there back . . .) and I haven't heard any bad stories.

I am just not going to let a high volume, low cost shop get their hands on my car. While it is "just a car," it's also a very big hassle to undo a careless mistake. Sure, Costco would probably fix any damage they caused, but I would prefer not to go through it at all.


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## emPoWaH (Dec 26, 2002)

panther_v said:


> hello...
> 
> i recently got a set of bridgestoen potenza s-03 from costco. i took advantage of their $60 bucks off coupon. the tires are great! no complains so far!
> 
> ...


Agreed. Our one in Torrance was very busy - we took advantage of their $60 off coupon and ordered (4) Bridgestone Turanza LS-H's. They came in about 10 days, was cheaper than TireRack, and the people who worked there seemed fairly experienced. They had all the torque specifications on their computer, and I watched to make sure it was correct. Overall, a good experience... we will order from them again.


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## LeucX3 (Dec 26, 2001)

low said:


> tell me how you like these tires, im debating on these or toyo proxes 4...looking for less road noise than my damn evs100s!!! argh!!


Well, i went there after work and it took them about an hour to install and everything. So far so good, but i didn't drive it too much. And tomorrow i'm going out of town on a business trip, so its going to sit at long term parking for a day or so. Hopefully i'll get to do some driving this weekend.


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## waapples (Jan 5, 2004)

i really wanted to use costco tire center for balancing tires but they wouldn't do the job here in washington state, i've been to the Everett, Kirklan, & Aurora, WA. haven't gone to the Federal Way, WA location yet but their price is just reasonable while other places charge like $20 for the mounting/balancing tires. that's crazy......

((btw, i'm referring to the 17" tires here...))


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## JetBlack330i (Feb 8, 2002)

In Austin, we are fortunate to have a guy who does tire mounting, balancing and anything else enthusiasts may need before a track event. This guy is also a track instructor, so he can service you also during the event! :thumbup:


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## BahnBaum (Feb 25, 2004)

rumratt said:


> OLD THREAD BUMP
> 
> My local Costco charges $15/wheel for tire mounting. The tirerack-recommended places charge $30-35/wheel. :yikes:


What size wheels? My Tirerack recommended place charges $20 for 18" wheels.

Alex


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## AF (Dec 21, 2001)

rumratt said:


> OLD THREAD BUMP
> 
> My local Costco charges $15/wheel for tire mounting. The tirerack-recommended places charge $30-35/wheel. :yikes:
> 
> Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm thinking of giving Costco a shot. Sure there's a chance they'll do some damage, but a normal shop might too. In the long run, the $70 I save each time I buy tires would likely compensate for any wheel repair needed. And that's without considering the fact Costco might pay for damages as well. :dunno:


Everytime I have had wheels mounted they had marks left on them except for only one person who was the most anal tire mounter/balancer. The problem is the mounters usually don't take the extra time & effort which really sucks ...

Meanwhile you should forget repairing it after it's damage because then comes your next problem ... will they match the color of the finish ...


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## WAM (Jan 30, 2002)

Regarding Low's post about Tires, I recommend the Continental Sport Contact 2 tires. I had them fitted after I had the Yokohama AVS ES100's. Those tires were making a loud thump thump sound after about 5000 miles. I tried to live with it but at about 9000 miles I snapped and threw them out. The Yokohama customer service people could only offer a suggestion that I should rotate the tires. Apparently these tires work only with cars lighter than the E46.

The ContiSportContact 2's were excellent. I would rate dry grip at 9/10, wet at 8/10, noise at 10/10. They have a longitudinal tread design so I expected them to be quiet but tire noise was not a factor in my decision to choose them. 

After 17,000 miles my rears have worn out and I have just replaced them with BfGoodrich gForce Sport's. I made the decision to stick to the big tire companies, Michelin, Bridgestone or Continental. Have not tried Goodyear tires in several years so no comment on them. BfGoodrich is a Michelin brand now and their tires have always been excellent.

The gForce Sports in 225/47 ZR 17 weigh 22.25lbs. A freind got them about 6 months ago and the feedback from him has been very positive.

As far as tire installers go, I strongly recommend Nielsen Automotive in San Carlos, CA. These guys are the best tire installers I have ever come across. I would trust them with a set of wheels that cost $5000 with no hesitation.


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

rwg said:


> Depending on what tire you choose, you might get as good of a deal from Costco directly. They quoted me a price once for Pilot Sports that was within $20 either way of what I would expect to pay if I drop shipped from Tire Rack and paid for installation seperately.
> 
> I just can't let Costco touch my car though. Who are these tire mounters, how experienced are they and will they take appropriate care of expensive BMW wheels? Same reason I wouldn't dream of going to Jiffy Lube. It's a personal problem, but my independant mechanic will continue to be my tire mounter.


Bad assessment. Guys at Costco probably mount more tires than other places, and Jiffy Lube change more oil than your local mechanic. On the other hand, do you actually inqure about the people who work on your car? I think not. Maturity in workers is more important to me when it comes to changing tires and oil, but how do you know that the other places have mature workers?


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## AF (Dec 21, 2001)

WAM said:


> Regarding Low's post about Tires, I recommend the Continental Sport Contact 2 tires. I had them fitted after I had the Yokohama AVS ES100's. Those tires were making a loud thump thump sound after about 5000 miles. I tried to live with it but at about 9000 miles I snapped and threw them out. The Yokohama customer service people could only offer a suggestion that I should rotate the tires. Apparently these tires work only with cars lighter than the E46.
> 
> The ContiSportContact 2's were excellent. I would rate dry grip at 9/10, wet at 8/10, noise at 10/10. They have a longitudinal tread design so I expected them to be quiet but tire noise was not a factor in my decision to choose them.


I agree the Conti 2's are great tires ...


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## e46shift (Oct 12, 2002)

sams club is good when mounting, well my local one at least. no damage and if you order through them you get roadhazard warranty with the cheap price. if you bring in your own you don't.
i bet if they damaged them they would be good about it with their satisfaction guarantee


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## mickey513 (Jun 12, 2003)

rumratt said:


> OLD THREAD BUMP
> 
> My local Costco charges $15/wheel for tire mounting. The tirerack-recommended places charge $30-35/wheel. :yikes:


Just a heads up to everyone. Costco now only mount and balance tires IF you buy it from them.


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## 330ciPfmcePkg05 (Jan 17, 2005)




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## cwsqbm (Aug 4, 2004)

rwg said:


> I once got my car back from a BMW dealer with one nut torqued so tight that it just laughed at my 1/2" impact wrench. I eventually used a 2' cheater on my breaker bar and I still had trouble getting it off. The others were also too tight, but not like this.
> 
> I started checking torques whenver the dealer had the wheels off at that point. I also lost a lot of faith in their ability to follow the manufacturer's instructions (such as tighten them by hand).


I can top that. After my mom took her car ('83 Dodge Omni back in '87) to Sears for front struts, I went to torque the lugs to the correct value. I broke two studs with my impact wrench before I decided to stop and take the car back while it still had two studs left to hold the tire on. They had to replace all the studs on both front tires.


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