112 posts, read 176,222 times Originally Posted by Ryde41 CostCo includes a road hazard warranty with their tires. Originally Posted by bmwguydcWhen I bought carpet through them recently, they explicitly stated that it couldn't be returned unless I changed my mind within three days--even if it wasn't installed yet. Not sure if I can return the five-year-old DVD player that failed recently. I bought it from them because those bought elsewhere kept failing within two years, wanted to be able to return it. I might still be able to if I find the receipt, since the policy change occurred after I bought it. 390 posts, read 1,216,796 times 38,406 posts, read 38,965,690 times 19 posts, read 50,727 times 2 posts, read 5,295 times Sadly, I'm thinking I'm gonna be putting my head on the chopping block with this confession, but I work at Costco, in the Tire Department, Installing Tires. I am the low man on the totem pole. I'm the ground, if you will.

But hey, I'm an "inside" source. Ask me, and I will tell what I know and can tell. I don't have "company secrets", just actual "behind the scenes" experience. My name's Blaine, let me be your Costco Guide 1 posts, read 2,636 times Tires only 25K of the 80K guarantyThe Tale of the Flat TireFlat tires rarely happen in convenient places and at opportune times. Compounding the inconvenience is the unfortunate fact that new cars increasingly do not have a spare tire. Instead, they either come with run-flat tires or a so-called tire repair kit, consisting of an electric air pump and a can of goop that will seal a hole in a tire (but the use of which may void the tire’s warranty). Neither no-spare tire solution will do you any good in the case of a catastrophic tire failure, if it is damaged beyond repair.My story begins in Orange County, California where I was attending the four-day DisneyanaMania convention. My intention was to commute back and forth from San Diego each day.Late on the second night of the convention I was nearly home when I stopped at an ATM to get some cash.

I noticed something round and metallic in the tread of my driver's side front tire. It was a very worn, Phillips head screw. I was determined to complete my trip, but as I drove the Tire Pressure Monitoring System’s indicator lit up. Nevertheless I kept going and made it back home, where I refilled the tire.The next morning the tire was flat. I left the Prius at home and drove to the convention in my gas-guzzling Mustang V-8.In Garden Grove I drove to the Costco Tire Center (#126) to inquire about tire repairs. To be on the safe side I also got two price quotes for new tires, since my tires – which had been on my 2012 Prius since that car was new — already had 65,000 miles on them and the tread depth was looking iffy. They open at 7am.That night when I returned to San Diego I saw that the damaged Prius tire was completely flat again. I decided to refill the tire immediately before leaving in the morning and arrive at the nearby Carlsbad Costco Tire Center by 7am. I decided to leave my air tank at home, rather than risk leaving it in a hot car all day.

I arrived at the Carlsbad Costco Tire Center before 7am, but it was deserted. Their sign said they did not open until 9:30am. Axolotl For Sale Pets At HomeIf I waited, by the time the necessary work was done I’d be very late for the convention. Electrolux Twin Clean Vacuum Cleaner PartsI decided that my best option was to drive to Garden Grove and get the work done there. Second Hand Furniture In Doha QatarThe problem was that my tire was steadily losing air pressure.I phoned the Garden Grove Costco to make arrangements, headed out on the highway again and soon found a gas station. For 75 cents I refilled my leaky tire, in the hope that would be enough to complete my journey. Even though it was already a busy Saturday, by 9:00am Costco was inspecting my punctured tire.

Unfortunately the screw was too close to the edge of the tread to enable a safe repair. The tire needed to be replaced.Costco really came through by selling me four 70,000 mile-warranted Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus tires for my Prius – including mounting and balancing, scrap tire recycling fee and Tire Pressure Monitoring System service packs – for only $416.27 out the door!While I waited, I took photos and began to write this column. Then at 9:30, when the warehouse opened, I bought a berry smoothie and a chicken Caesar salad to eat later for lunch. By the time that I returned to the tire center my car was ready. I got to my convention by 10:00am. Not too shabby, considering all that I had accomplished already.I cannot say enough good things about Costco’s wonderful customer service. I’ve been a loyal Costco customer (and before that Price Club) for decades.“), “A Beautiful Planet” illustrates humanity’s impact on our world through breathtaking views of Earth, as observed from the International Space Station.

By day it is a beautiful blue world of water, vast deserts, jungles and melting glacial ice; dramatically transforming at night, as the lights of civilization reveal the enormity of mankind’s impact.Join in the conversation. .Copyright © 2016 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #446 I have a 2011 Ford Focus, and while the car itself is good quality, I have now ruined two tires in three months by merely driving over a screw. Ford offers no road hazard on their tires, so I am pretty annoyed with Ford. Both Costco and Discount Tires advise me I should either replace all 4 tires, or at least replace 2 tires. They also tell me that the replacement tires should be of the same speed rating. I can go to Ford and get ONE other tissue thin breaks on sight good for two month Hankook Optimo no road hazard OEM tire for $135. I can go to Discount and get TWO Yokohamas with road hazard for $100 a piece magically costing $280 total by the time they are installed. And both Discount and Costco will sell me 4 tires with road hazard for about $550.

Discount will sell me ONE Yokohama Avid (touring s I think), but they advise against it. The Ford service rep offers no advice. I am very tempted to get the one Yokohama, because of the road hazard, and I am trying to determine what the impact of having one different tire amongst three really is. The answer is NO. It is never a good idea to replace a single tire, because each tire has different performance characteristics. You may not notice it during day-to-day driving, but any non-ordinary actions, such as swerving to avoid an accident, turning or braking in a rain storm, etc you may suddenly find the car doing something completely unexpected. Also, check with your insurance company - they may decide that because the car was "improperly maintained" that your coverage would not be good in the case of an accident with mis-matched tires. Personally, I would not drive with different tires on the front and back. Even similar tires will have different behaviors. A simple screw puncture should be repairable, however, unless you continued to drive on the flat.

Not recommended to just replace one, but unless you're pushing 9/10s of the capability of your car, you'd probably never notice the difference. When I was working construction, nobody would do full set or even axle set replacements. When you're having tires destroyed as fast as happens from all the loose nails lost at construction sites, it's foolish to replace all of them each time. At a minimum you end up with mismatched tread wear, and more typically you end up with a different brand as the make/model/size that one buys never seems to be available even just a couple months later. If you've just driven over a screw you ought to be able to get the tyre repaired. I've had it done before and they basically glue a rubber plug into the hole. As others have said, it's not usually a good idea to have mismatched tyres. The rules will vary depending where you are, but some countries (particularly France) won't allow mismatched tyres across the same axle. The UK allows them, but they must all be the same size and speed rating.

Obviously I don't know what the rules are in the US or whether it varies from state to state. Mismatch between axles is less of a problem (my car has different size tyres between front and back axles as standard), but best avoided if you can. Most tyre dealers here will insist on fitting new tyres to the back axle if only two are being replaced. The real answer is yes and no. It's perfectly safe to drive four completely separate tires as long as tires on the same axle are the same size. It's probably a good idea to get tires with the same tread life so that they wear evenly. As far as the performance that Chris was talking about goes, the tires have an addition property between them. So if one had NO traction you'd have 50% performance, but if one was a snow tire and the other was summer you'd drive just fine in non-snowy conditions. In my opinion, get matching tires per axle to save yourself from looking like an idiot.And always rotate your tires and never put a donut tire on the front if its a front wheel drive or back of its rear wheel drive