Costco Vs. America's Tire for new tires?

[jambaman84]

Going to be getting new 22" tires soon. The costco by me says they can do the change, as they have the pucks now.

Anyone have any input on where to go to get new tires? Any place has better deals or warranties?

Thanks

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[ksurfier]

Going to be getting new 22" tires soon. The costco by me says they can do the change, as they have the pucks now.

Anyone have any input on where to go to get new tires? Any place has better deals or warranties?

Thanks

Big Brand is the best, not sure you have any near you or not…

 

[SANZC02]

I’ve been using America’s Tire in SoCal for years. They stand behind the tread life warranties and have fixed a couple of flats for free.

I’ve been happy with them, prices a decent. I prefer to stay with places I’m happy with than shop around for lowest price.

I’m considering the Michelin Defender M/S2 275/50/R22 $1437 out the door.

 

[jambaman84]

I’ve been using America’s Tire in SoCal for years. They stand behind the tread life warranties and have fixed a couple of flats for free.

I’ve been happy with them, prices a decent. I prefer to stay with places I’m happy with than shop around for lowest price.

I’m considering the Michelin Defender M/S2 275/50/R22 $1437 out the door.

Awesome! That's what I am looking to change to also.

 

[Ngkgb]

I used Americas tire here in Cali for the 21” Defenders. They have worked on a lot of Rivians and I had no issues. They were 85 bucks more expensive than Costco but were able to get the tires a lot quicker. My local Costco wasn’t even able to order them.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I like my local Costco, and I have become VERY comfortable with that store, but it's far more than just whether they have the pucks or not!

Training and comfort levels (yours and theirs) are just as necessary as the pucks, and much more variable.

***

You should probably carry your own set of pucks anyway, because you don't want to need tire service in the field and have no pucks on the rescue truck. I like @Mark_AZR1T's JackPucks brand and customer service, but you might have a different preference.

My Costco now has their own pucks, but our pucks never leave their vehicles, so we give Costco a choice about which pucks to use. I don't think it matters much which pucks they use in a well-controlled setting like a tire store.

***

I recommend you interview the manager at each tire store, going beyond pucks to at least these questions:
What Rivian-related training have the manager and other employees had?
Have they read Rivian's "Tire Service Guide"?
Do they know not to put the pucks into the small holes in the underbody panel, but to remove all four in-panel caps to find the actual jack points at the metal frame?
How many Rivians have they worked on, and were there any problems?
Do they know how to set the suspension into the Highest setting (which often requires Off-Road mode) and then use the "Settings --> Service" menu to put it in Tire Change mode? Or do they expect you to do that?
Will they make an appointment on a day when their best Rivian-oriented person is working?
Are they willing to have you watch the whole tire change process, start to finish, from the customer's side of the window?

Add questions as they occur to you. You're looking for enough confidence to do it right, but not so much confidence that they screw it up. If they haven't successfully worked on dozens of Rivians, you're looking for a team that is humble about learning and eager to learn!!!

***

Both Costco and America's Tire (which operates as Discount Tire outside California) have reputations for Headquarters making it right if the store screws up. But that's extra work and distress. Best to avoid screwing it up in the first place.

After those interviews, you'll have a better idea of which people are most likely to do the job right the first time.

***

Very best wishes, @jambaman84! Enjoy your Rivian!

 

[9527]

No matter who you choose, make sure you watch them like a hawk when they jack up your car! Make sure they jack it up at the right spot. Don’t give a ?if they tell you they know what they’re doing or you’re bothering them. Watch them!

 

[cff1349]

If you go off-roading, you may want to stick with America’s Tire / Discount Tire. A Costco tire tech told me that Costco voids warranty and road hazard if damage from off-roading. Not sure how true that is.

 

[ericzlot]

Both Costco and America's tire were unable to properly balance my 22s. The car ended up with a steering wheel shake after each place tried to rotate and balance. Had to take to rivian to rebalance on both occasions. I wish either one could do it properly but I think I'm stuck with rivian only at this point.

 

[SANZC02]

Both Costco and America's tire were unable to properly balance my 22s. The car ended up with a steering wheel shake after each place tried to rotate and balance. Had to take to rivian to rebalance on both occasions. I wish either one could do it properly but I think I'm stuck with rivian only at this point.

Curious what the issue could have been.

I’ve never had an issue at the America’s Tire I go to here in SoCal balancing my tires.

I’ve purchased many sets of tires for various vehicles over the years including 2 sets on a Tahoe I had running 24s.

 

[ericzlot]

Not sure what they did but rivian rebalanced the wheels and the shake went away. Took to America and had to go to rivian to fix them 7k miles later I tried Costco for rotation and had to take back to rivian again to fix. Rivian put on counter balance weights both times. The other shops removed those when they balanced. They claim counter weights are bad. Rivian claims they are a standard in industry. Rivian's balance has zero shake with counter balance weights. The others have shake when counter weights are removed. I'm not sure

 

[SANZC02]

Not sure what they did but rivian rebalanced the wheels and the shake went away. Took to America and had to go to rivian to fix them 7k miles later I tried Costco for rotation and had to take back to rivian again to fix. Rivian put on counter balance weights both times. The other shops removed those when they balanced. They claim counter weights are bad. Rivian claims they are a standard in industry. Rivian's balance has zero shake with counter balance weights. The others have shake when counter weights are removed. I'm not sure

Interesting.

As a side note I always do my own rotations. I just go front to back on same side. Many years ago I would sometimes pick up a shimmy doing the x rotation pattern, has never happened keeping the tires on the same side of the vehicle.

Could be a coincidence but as long as it keeps working no reason for me to change.

 

[Johnus]

The Costco in Irvine, CA refused work on my Audi Q5 last year because they "don't really know how to work on them" and "wouldn't want to mess it up".

I certainly wouldn't trust them with my R1T.

 

[richguess]

I’ve used both thru the years. My last two tire changes (RAV4 Prime and Dynamax Mercedes RV) were at Americas Tires. Costco usually takes a lot longer, ordering longer. Plus, if you go when the store opens you go in and spend $200 in there. Can’t speak to the puck issue. Prices are pretty close, I put Michelins on both.

 

[NorcalMark]

I’ve been using America’s Tire in SoCal for years. They stand behind the tread life warranties and have fixed a couple of flats for free.

I’ve been happy with them, prices a decent. I prefer to stay with places I’m happy with than shop around for lowest price.

I’m considering the Michelin Defender M/S2 275/50/R22 $1437 out the door.

Be advised- when I bought 21” Perrelli tires at Discount Tire in San Diego they explicitly stated there is NO Warranty. Said it was because it is an EV.

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