[BMW F22]

So after a few weeks debating on which tires to go with and also all-season vs summer, I decided to go with a set of Bridgestone summer tires at Costco (chose them over America's/Discount Tire for convenience even though they take longer to order the tires- 5-10 days).

Anyhow, they called me last night telling me that the tires were in (only took 4 days). They said Wednesday is the earliest they could install them. I told them to schedule it for any day after Wednesday because my spare won't be in until Wednesday night (which they require). So anyhow, the guy then went and talked to his manager, came back and said I would have to bring the car in for them to determine if they can/will do it or not. I asked why and they said "well it's because the tires are non-runflats so it's gonna be different specs than the original tires (uh huh)." My thought was "wtf??" so I decided to call them this morning.

Before calling them I called 4 other Costcos, all saying that as long as I have a spare, I can get non-runflats (pretty much what the original Costco told me after me asking them 4 fucking times). So I called them to schedule an appointment. About 45 minutes later the guy called back saying "oh we spoke with you last night right? you have to bring in your car and talk to the manager." Curious again, I asked them what specifically is the issue and they said some liability crap. They said it's not just about the spare but the non-RFT could cause damage to the suspension (). So after explaining to the guy he related the info to his manager whom in turn spoke to some district manager and they basically said they can't do it. The decision rests with the district manager and he would probably require some written statement from BMW saying that it will not damage the car.

So after everything- the asking, the making sure, the buying a spare, the ordering, the waiting, all the phone calls and explanations, and even after the tires have arrived- they decided to pull this shit on me. I even called BMW dealers for fun and asked SA's about it and they said it's not going to cause any adverse damage. I even told them that the majority of BMW owners have already swapped out their runflats to non-RFT and I have never heard of anything getting damaged.

So I called back those other Costcos and they said I can just buy the tires from the original one and have them installed at their location. I called America's tire and they said about a day to order the tires so it would take about the same amount of time for either one. So should I go with America's/Discount Tire or go to another Costco?

[persian54]

Costco is always like this

my uncle wanted tires for his Boxster, so I told him to get BF-Gs

but because they weren't Porsche oem ones they said 'o it's bad for the car, you have to get PS2s"
so he spent over 1200 versus 600...

stupid costco

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by persian54

Costco is always like this

my uncle wanted tires for his Boxster, so I told him to get BF-Gs

but because they weren't Porsche oem ones they said 'o it's bad for the car, you have to get PS2s"
so he spent over 1200 versus 600...

stupid costco

stupid uncle > stupid costco

[Seminole]

Just go to Discount Tire, they won't bitch at you.

[solefald]

Originally Posted by persian54

Costco is always like this

my uncle wanted tires for his Boxster, so I told him to get BF-Gs

wait.... he went to costco to get tires for the porsche?
does he go to wal*mart for oil changes too?

[Freakazoid]

eh, I know it's stupid in general, and even more stupid to us....but policy is policy....most of those exist because of that one lawsuit that landed someone tens of millions of dollars because of some silly thing like this.....

we're all way too 'sue happy', it's why policies like this exist

[Freakazoid]

eh, I know it's stupid in general, and even more stupid to us....but policy is policy....most of those exist because of that one lawsuit that landed someone tens of millions of dollars because of some silly thing like this.....

we're all way too 'sue happy', it's why policies like this exist

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by solefald

wait.... he went to costco to get tires for the porsche?
does he go to wal*mart for oil changes too?

its a boxter

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

its a boxter

Ohhhhhh snap.

With a mirage GT badge?

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

its a boxter

[Spoolin335]

To get around that all you have to do is take the rims off the car and take them in like that. This way they don't know what car the rims are going on so they will sell you any tires.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by persian54

Costco is always like this

my uncle wanted tires for his Boxster, so I told him to get BF-Gs

but because they weren't Porsche oem ones they said 'o it's bad for the car, you have to get PS2s"
so he spent over 1200 versus 600...

stupid costco

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

eh, I know it's stupid in general, and even more stupid to us....but policy is policy....most of those exist because of that one lawsuit that landed someone tens of millions of dollars because of some silly thing like this.....

we're all way too 'sue happy', it's why policies like this exist

I completely understand that. But isn't that why they require a spare wheel because the car didn't come with one? The only liability they told me is that they didn't want me to get stuck somewhere without a spare and then sue them. So I went and bought one. Thus I don't see any other reasonable excuse they have. I mean non-RFT will not fuck up the suspension. It's not gonna mess anything up. And not only that but the fact that other Costco's have no problem installing them as long as I have a spare is just shocking.

Originally Posted by Seminole

Just go to Discount Tire, they won't bitch at you.

You know I was going to go to them for some all-season tires but decided I didn't need all-season so I went to Costco for convenience. I'm starting to think that this Costco probably doesn't know wtf they're doing so they're trying to back out of the tires. I could just buy the tires from them and have them installed at another Costco though.

[Zephyr15]

Whoever came up with this policy at Costco is a real "maroon". This policy will not (1) prevent them from being sued; or (2) minimize their litigation costs when they are sued.

The absurd stuff people do out of fear of lawsuits never ceases to amaze me.

[Yearofthe1]

Originally Posted by Zephyr15

The absurd stuff people do out of fear of lawsuits never ceases to amaze me.

For a great solution to this problem, watch this: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/philip_howard.html

[Bimmer335i]

dude, just go to discount/america tire...they replaced my complete set of RFT with non-RFT, no issues..and it's lifetime fix/repair too...and sometimes you might get lucky that one of the techs there actually owns a BMW too, like mine does, so he took care of me...done.

[Topless 335i]

I got my RFTs switched to PS2s at costco and nobody said anything.

[BMW F22]

Update: I just got a call from the manager there. She said they misinterpreted a "policy" from Bridgestone so it was a bit confusing for everyone. She called to straighten out things and let me know that as long as I have a spare they can install the tires. Good thing too because I was gonna go to America's Tire today if it didn't get resolved. I'll let you guys know it goes in a few days.

[Bimmer335i]

Originally Posted by BMW E90

Update: I just got a call from the manager there. She said they misinterpreted a "policy" from Bridgestone so it was a bit confusing for everyone. She called to straighten out things and let me know that as long as I have a spare they can install the tires. Good thing too because I was gonna go to America's Tire today if it didn't get resolved. I'll let you guys know it goes in a few days.

and what if you don't have a freakin spare? my car doesn't have a spare..and i've been meaning to get a kit...been a bit lazy, should go to the stealership soon though...

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by Bimmer335i

and what if you don't have a freakin spare? my car doesn't have a spare..and i've been meaning to get a kit...been a bit lazy, should go to the stealership soon though...

If you don't have a spare they won't sell you the tires at Costco. Hence the reason why I bought one (which I would have bought either way since I don't have runflats). I know some Costco's don't require spare but you have to sign a liability release form. Other stores like America's Tire doesn't care if you have a spare or not. I don't know, Costco is pretty wack. They only carry like 3 brands and you have to get OEM sizes. They don't work on anything but OEM specs.

I will probably buy a full size spare in the future and carry it on long trips (donut for around town). You could also get the mobility kit in lieu of the spare. Some people have a spare and the mobility kit (or Conti kit from TireRack).

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by BMW E90

Update: I just got a call from the manager there. She said they misinterpreted a "policy" from Bridgestone so it was a bit confusing for everyone. She called to straighten out things and let me know that as long as I have a spare they can install the tires. Good thing too because I was gonna go to America's Tire today if it didn't get resolved. I'll let you guys know it goes in a few days.

Good deal. America's Tire Co. sucks. I went there once and asked about four tires for the wife's MB. $120 per tire. Total cost = $630.00. OK, so I ask them how they get from $120 per tire ($480) to $630 ?? Oh, we add a certificate for this, a fee for that. Yeah, right. Costco may have some stupid policies, but at least they don't jack up the prices.

Just my .02.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by solefald

wait.... he went to costco to get tires for the porsche?
does he go to wal*mart for oil changes too?

If he can get the same tires at Costco as the ones from the dealer for $100's less, why wouldn't he?

[bosstones]

Tire Rack + friendly local shop = win.