Costco has cursed my Stinger

[Doel]

Two weeks ago I was leaving Costco and as soon as I left their parking lot, I hit a pothole and popped a tire. $300 later I’m back at Costco having a new tire put on. After getting my car back, they put the rear tire on the front and the front on the back, the back tire was at 42 lbs and the front was at 23 lbs. To make it worse, the idiot tech who put my tire on scratched the crap out of both rims trying to get the wheel cap off.

The store manager promised to take care of it and would make sure I would be happy with the repair. He suggested I get them powder coated at a local wheel shop that did the wheels on his Panamera 4S and he would pay for it, I checked out his car and it, along with the wheels looked fantastic. My question is, if they just powder coat the two, I don’t see how they get them to perfectly match the other two. Should I tell him that I need all four done? And if I get all four done, I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t change their color?

Maybe after this fiasco I can leave with some free custom powder coated rims... just fixing it isn’t enough for me since I’ll have to spend my personal time and drop off my car at a shop for several days.

What would you guys expect in this type of situation?

 

[Roarbomb]

Two weeks ago I was leaving Costco and as soon as I left their parking lot, I hit a pothole and popped a tire. $300 later I’m back at Costco having a new tire put on. After getting my car back, they put the rear tire on the front and the front on the back, the back tire was at 42 lbs and the front was at 23 lbs. To make it worse, the idiot tech who put my tire on scratched the crap out of both rims trying to get the wheel cap off.

The store manager promised to take care of it and would make sure I would be happy with the repair. He suggested I get them powder coated at a local wheel shop that did the wheels on his Panamera 4S and he would pay for it, I checked out his car and it, along with the wheels looked fantastic. My question is, if they just powder coat the two, I don’t see how they get them to perfectly match the other two. Should I tell him that I need all four done? And if I get all four done, I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t change their color?

Maybe after this fiasco I can leave with some free custom powder coated rims... just fixing it isn’t enough for me since I’ll have to spend my personal time and drop off my car at a shop for several days.

What would you guys expect in this type of situation?

Get all 4 done, have him pay half.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Get all 4 done, have him pay half.

I don’t always agree with Roarbomb, but when I do, I prefer black powder coating.

 

[MerlintheMad]

What would you guys expect in this type of situation?

Ask how the repair is going to be done; and if it is going to match the rim paint exactly, take the offered free repair. If there is any doubt that it will match, then raise the spectre of unmatched rims and ask for all four.

I am terribly surprised that Costco has techs that are that bad. When I decided on my A/S tires, that decided that Costco was out of the picture: I really tried to find tires that would work on my staggered setup that Costco could provide. But deciding on Nitto Motivos sent me to Big O, again: I've got almost all of my tires from them over the years. Now, I am glad I didn't use Costco! And that is a big disappointment.

When I had my KIA hubcaps pried off by Big O, I made sure they understood first that they needed to wrap the pry bar, which they did. But, I still don't want to use Big O to rotate/flip my wheels: on my last maintenance and oil change, I had the dealer do that, which they have done three times now. Not a mark on the rims; obviously they know about how to get the caps off competently.

 

[ShannonC]

Costco is only liable for the damage caused. If you want anything above that you will need to negotiate and be prepared to make a contribution.

 

[DiabloStinger]

Hey might only be liable for the damaged they cause, but painting two wheels a different color or shade is not an acceptable repair. he must be made whole.

 

[Doel]

Ask how the repair is going to be done; and if it is going to match the rim paint exactly, take the offered free repair. If there is any doubt that it will match, then raise the spectre of unmatched rims and ask for all four.

I am terribly surprised that Costco has techs that are that bad. When I decided on my A/S tires, that decided that Costco was out of the picture: I really tried to find tires that would work on my staggered setup that Costco could provide. But deciding on Nitto Motivos sent me to Big O, again: I've got almost all of my tires from them over the years. Now, I am glad I didn't use Costco! And that is a big disappointment.

When I had my KIA hubcaps pried off by Big O, I made sure they understood first that they needed to wrap the pry bar, which they did. But, I still don't want to use Big O to rotate/flip my wheels: on my last maintenance and oil change, I had the dealer do that, which they have done three times now. Not a mark on the rims; obviously they know about how to get the caps off competently.

I've gotten several sets of tires installed there on other vehicles and never had an issue. That's why I was saying my Stinger is Costco cursed lol. Any organization can have a few bad apples, clearly the tech that worked on my car is one of them. I go with Costco because their prices are competitive with anyone else, they usually offer free install on all 4, free 60 month road hazard warranty, lifetime rotations and balances, free nitro fills, and most importantly, if anything goes wrong (like some idiot tech scratching my rims) they will take care of you 100%. Well that last one has been my experience with anything I've purchased from them, I fully expect the same to happen with my wheels.

Hey might only be liable for the damaged they cause, but painting two wheels a different color or shade is not an acceptable repair. he must be made whole.

Exactly, fixing the two scratched rims won' suffice if they cause another issue of them not matching the other two rims. Plus I'll have to spend my time taking care of it, leave my car with the shop and have to find alternative transportation, time is money. I think the only thing I'll accept is two new factory wheels ($$$) or having all four wheels powder coated to my preferences ($$). I refuse to leave my car at a shop for several days and not get anything out of it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

if anything goes wrong (like some idiot tech scratching my rims) they will take care of you 100%. Well that last one has been my experience with anything I've purchased from them, I fully expect the same to happen with my wheels.

I want this to be true and won't borrow trouble. But for the foreseeable future my tires are serviced elsewhere. The Stinger with staggered rims and Costco tire center just didn't interface.

 

[Doel]

I want this to be true and won't borrow trouble. But for the foreseeable future my tires are serviced elsewhere. The Stinger with staggered rims and Costco tire center just didn't interface.

when I brought it to the attention of the garage manager, he immediately apologized and swapped them out, so in general they understand staggered set ups. If I continue to bring my car there, I think I'll just remove the caps myself from now on.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Usually Costco is a safe bet here in Canada for wheels/tires, the techs really just install tires all day long so they get really good at it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Must have been the luck of the draw: a new guy.

Usually Costco is a safe bet here in Canada for wheels/tires, the techs really just install tires all day long so they get really good at it.

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Two weeks ago I was leaving Costco and as soon as I left their parking lot, I hit a pothole and popped a tire. $300 later I’m back at Costco having a new tire put on. After getting my car back, they put the rear tire on the front and the front on the back, the back tire was at 42 lbs and the front was at 23 lbs. To make it worse, the idiot tech who put my tire on scratched the crap out of both rims trying to get the wheel cap off.

More to the point, why would you remove two wheels to replace just one tyre? Something is not right.
For me I would push for all 4 wheels unless the wheel company can guarantee a match.

 

[Doel]

More to the point, why would you remove two wheels to replace just one tyre? Something is not right.
For me I would push for all 4 wheels unless the wheel company can guarantee a match.

They automatically put new tires on the back on rwd cars, except on staggered vehicles. The tech forgot the staggered part.

 

[Paihan Lee]

Two weeks ago I was leaving Costco and as soon as I left their parking lot, I hit a pothole and popped a tire. $300 later I’m back at Costco having a new tire put on. After getting my car back, they put the rear tire on the front and the front on the back, the back tire was at 42 lbs and the front was at 23 lbs. To make it worse, the idiot tech who put my tire on scratched the crap out of both rims trying to get the wheel cap off.

What would you guys expect in this type of situation?

I had new tires installed several years ago on my Golf TDI at our local Costco. The lift they used placed noticeable dents into both sides of the car where the lift comes into contact with the bottom of the car. I was luckily standing outside the service bay and noticed it when my car was on the lift. I was able to take a picture of it to show that it was indeed making contact with my car, causing the dents. The store manager filled out an incident report and it was forwarded to Costco corporate. They were very responsive and requested the pictures I took that day. Long story short, they allowed me to take my car to get a quote for repair (around $1200) and reimbursed me for the exact amount.

This was the route I took so hopefully this info can help you out somehow. Good luck!

 

[Doel]

I had new tires installed several years ago on my Golf TDI at our local Costco. The lift they used placed noticeable dents into both sides of the car where the lift comes into contact with the bottom of the car. I was luckily standing outside the service bay and noticed it when my car was on the lift. I was able to take a picture of it to show that it was indeed making contact with my car, causing the dents. The store manager filled out an incident report and it was forwarded to Costco corporate. They were very responsive and requested the pictures I took that day. Long story short, they allowed me to take my car to get a quote for repair (around $1200) and reimbursed me for the exact amount.

This was the route I took so hopefully this info can help you out somehow. Good luck!

thanks for the info! From my experience, this is the type of stuff you can run into at virtually any regular tire shop, expect Costco is more likely to completely take care of any issue while other shops will try to BS you.

They're paying to powdercoat all 4 wheels, I'm changing the color so in the end it was all worth it

 

[Paihan Lee]

thanks for the info! From my experience, this is the type of stuff you can run into at virtually any regular tire shop, expect Costco is more likely to completely take care of any issue while other shops will try to BS you.

They're paying to powdercoat all 4 wheels, I'm changing the color so in the end it was all worth it

Yep, you are right. Costco is much more reputable than most places out there. That's fantastic news, I'm glad to hear that!!