<VV> 5th Degree over new tires at Costco (long)

[Ron]

I had the same type of problem when I wanted Michelins for my 2000 Solara. 
They wouldn't sell the ones I wanted.  So, I walked out and went to a tire 
store where I bought a set of Kumhos for a lot less money and am very 
satisfied with them.  I now have a set of them on our Lakewood.
RonH

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan & Synde" <dsjkling@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Virtual Vairs Submission" <virtualvairs@corvair.org>
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2005 9:48 PM
Subject: <VV> 5th Degree over new tires at Costco (long)


>A few weeks ago it became apparent it was time to get some new tires for 
>the
> Greenbrier.  When I say "apparent" I actually mean critical.  My van had 
> sat
> for about 5 years and even though the tires had lots of tread left, they
> started separating on a trip back from LA to the Bay Area.  I knew the to
> watch the tires but after 3,000 miles since getting it back on the road, I
> figured they were okay for a while.  The sustained high speed and load 
> from
> the trip took its toll and I started noticing a vibration which turned out
> to be a bubble. I ended up limping it home on a spare but the other tires
> were not far behind.  I figured getting tires would be no big deal so I
> limped it over to Costco to get some new treads.
>
> I knew what I wanted and so when the salesman came over I told him how 
> many
> tires I wanted and how long would it take.  He wanted to know what year,
> make, model etc.  I told him and he said he would have to go look at it. 
> I
> began walking with him out to the van when I said that those were the 
> tires
> I wanted on it.  He said that it was policy that Costco could only install
> on it the tires the manufacturer of the vehicle recommended.  He proceeded
> to open the drivers side door and look around for a plate that gave him 
> the
> tire size, torque and inflation specs.  I told him that all he would find
> would be a VIN number and a Gross Vehicle Weight number.  I told him they
> didn't used to put that info on cars.  We went back into the salesroom and
> he tried to look it up in his books; none of which went back further than
> 1972.  I told him that if he put a smaller or larger tire on it that the
> speedometer would be off.  I also told him that Costco had installed the
> tires that were currently on the vehicle so they must have been right at
> some time.  I think I finally convinced him of the correct tire size and
> load rating but he couldn't find a torque spec for the lug nuts.  I told 
> him
> to just torque them to around 60 Ft Lbs.  He said he couldn't do that.  He
> had to have a factory recommended spec.  I asked him if he would install 
> the
> tires if I just brought in the loose rims and he said he would.  I then 
> told
> him to just install the tires and that I would retorque the lug nuts in 
> the
> parking lot right in front of him and sign on the receipt that I had done
> so.  He said he couldn't do it.  I ended up leaving, pissed off on tires
> that were separating because of some new policy that Costco has regarding
> tire installations.  Apparently it is statewide and possibly corporate 
> wide
> because I went to another Costco and got the same run around.  This time I
> was prepared and brought the shop manual.  They cross-referenced the tire
> size and obtained the factory torque spec which is 45-65 Ft Lbs.
>
> I now have new tires on the Greenbrier but what a pain in the butt.
> According to one of the tire guys at Costco, the industry is moving toward
> such strict standards with regards to replacement tire installations and
> that currently Costco is following these standards to the letter. 
> Probably
> driven by law suits from people insisting on having tires that are way too
> big or to small  be installed on their cars and then sueing when they have
> problems.
>
> [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type application/ms-tnef which had 
> a name of winmail.dat]
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