Are Costco Tires Cheaper? Here’s How Costco Prices Stack Up
Is the tread depth on your tires looking a little skimpy these days? Costco just might be the place to go to save some money on your next set of tires. In this article, I dive into the pricing at Costco along with some handy tire shop “hacks”, along with the warranty they give you. But more importantly, I look at the price of Costco tires and how it stacks up to Walmart, Big O Tires, and America’s Tire Company. (Hint: The savings secret is in the coupon.)
In order to compare “apples to apples”, I’m gonna use my 2004 Chevy Silverado as an example.
I’ll see what 4 new tires would cost me at Costco, then I’ll use the same tire and compare my other options.
I choose a tire from Michelin, specifically the Defender LTX M/S, as it’s a popular worldwide brand that pretty much everybody sells.
What Is The Cost of 4 New Tires at Costco?
So my Chevy truck needs 4 new tires. My first stop is Costco.com to see what it’ll cost me.
After entering my vehicle’s specs, four new Michelin Defender LTX tires will run me $186.49 each.
Add an install fee of $15 per tire, and a $2.99 service fee per tire, and I’m out the door for $817.92. (before tax)
Note: Check out the screenshot above, the $70 coupon for 4 Michelin tires was VERY helpful. Costco almost ALWAYS has a coupon like this.
The coupon might not always be for Michelin. Could be for Goodyear, Pirelli, or BF Goodrich. (More on this later)
Of course you’ll need to be a Costco member to be eligible for their tire deals.
See Also: 7 Ways to Essentially Get a $60 Costco Membership for Free
How Does Costco Compare to the Competition?
With the $817.92 number in-hand, I went out and compared the Costco price to the following local competitors…
Walmart:
The same exact tire at Walmart, the Michelin Defender LTX M/S, sells for $203.99 per tire.
Throw in their basic tire installation of $15 per tire and the total (minus tax) would be $875.96.
For those of you who don’t want to do the math, Costco is over $58 cheaper than Walmart.
Big O Tires:
The same Michelin tire at my local Big O Tires is even more expensive than Walmart and WAY more than Costco.
As you can tell from the screenshot above, I’d be out the door at Big O for $965.
That’s $147 more than my local Costco.
See Also: Are The Prices of Walmart Tires a Better Deal Than Costco?
America’s Tire:
The folks at America’s Tire are also more expensive than Costco.
Four new Michelin tires would run me $816 + $80 install fee + $10 disposal fee = $906.
A little cheaper than Big O Ties, plus they offer a lifetime tire service which gets you free rotations and free flat repair for the life of the tire.
My Conclusion:
Costco tire prices beat the competition quite easily in my scenario.
But surprisingly the only way to consistency get a lower price at Costco is to use one of their current coupons which will get you a discount on a set of 4 new tires.
The key here is to NOT be a “brand specific” tire shopper.
Maximize your savings by taking advantage of whatever coupon they’re currently offering.
With that said, Costco often (if not always) has great tire coupons available for brands like Michelin, Goodyear, BF Goodrich, and Bridgestone.
Take advantage and you’ll save enough money to cover the cost of your annual Costco membership.
By the way, I thought I might find a similar Michelin tire coupon at some of the other retailers that I price-checked, but surprisingly there were NONE to be found.
Current Costco Tire Coupon:
Bridgestone Coupon: Save $60 – $90 OFF a set of 4 Bridgestone tires, installation included.
Expires: 7/21/24
Just print out the coupon here and take it with you.
Any Cool Costco Tire “Extras” to Be Aware Of?
Yes, glad you asked.
Every tire you buy from Costco comes with their 5-Year Road Hazard Warranty which you should factor into your buying decision.
This warranty will get you the following:
– Flat Repair: If one of your tires has a flat, Costco will fix it for free.
– Free Tire Rotations – Bring your car in every 5,000 miles for a free tire rotation. This will make your tire tread last much longer.
– Free Pressure & Inflation Checks – If your low tire pressure light comes on you can bring your car back to Costco and they’ll take care of you.
Conversely, the Costco Road Hazard Warranty DOES NOT cover the following:
– Tire Damaged from Certain Situations: These situations include an accident, vandalism, racing, commercial use, off-road use, snow chains, and worn mechanical components.
– Tire Transferred from Another Vehicle – Only the car which the tire was originally installed on is eligible.
The Costco warranty just might sway you when all other things are equal, namely price per tire.
See Also: AutoZone Return Policy: Here’s How It Works
BONUS: 4 Costco Tire Center “Hacks”
1. Always Make an Appointment – Showing up at Costco to get new tires, especially on a weekend, it gonna lead you to a 2-3 hour wait (at least).
Be smart and call ahead to schedule an appointment or do it online.
2. Keep an Eye Out for Penny Installation Deals – A few times per year Costco will roll out their “1 Cent Install Deal” which will save you an easy $60.
3. Costco Offers FREE Tire Rotations and Flat Repairs – When comparing the Costco price to your local competitors be sure to take this into account.
4. Costco Fills Your Tires with Nitrogen – Apparently this helps keep your tire pressure more stable and gives it less temperature swings in extreme weather.
Ask the Reader: Do you buy your tires at Costco? If so, was it an easy process and how much money did you save?
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Like you said, make an appointment, if not be prepared to eat a Costco hot dog and meander thru the warehouse for hours. Other than that, best prices, just super busy.
Costco tire shop is just putting tires on. That’s it. They don’t tell you if your car has little alignment issue. The issue could be very small to notice while driving and yet could decay your tire faster. You buy a 70K tire and get only 50K. Can someone please tell me where the savings are? There is no accountability. At least if you go to a tire shop, they can tell you about the alignment so if you spend more at other shops, in the end it all works about the same.
That is why I don’t like Costco/Sam’s because of that. Also, if they strip your lugnuts, they won’t fix them. If you argue, theyw ill reimburse you for the fix. I learned how to do it myself though. If you take it elsewhere like a Tiresplus or something, they will fix it free if you bought the tires there. Also, you have to deal with 2 days, one for rotation/balance, another day for alignment elsewhere. The price might be good enough to deal with the hassle though. I have a set from Sam’s and the price was so good, I had to do it. Under $500 for 4 Pirelli PZeros. So far I got 2.5 yrs on them, and about 40K. So I’m happy. Usually I get 2 yrs max and way under 30K on each set. . I’ll probably do Costco for my next ones, as the price is “decent” will all the inflation lately. Not being brand snob, even though I’d love to wait for a Bridgestone or Michy deal.
You’re joking, right? You need an alignment on your car. That’s not their problem that’s 100% your problem. Unless they took it out back and hit a curb or some potholes. Take some responsibility for your own vehicle.
Shekhar clearly wrote that they dont TELL you if your car has alignment issues; he wasnt advocating that Costco re-align. Please take some responsibilty for reading before posting patronizing comments.
Logged into Costco.com and provided tire size etc and then asked to choose store, which I did, but next option was “Find Tires” which returned me to “Choose Store”. Impossible to see brands and prices as was available in the past.
Costco is ALWAYS more expensive than Discount Count Tire, even the dealership was cheaper.
NOT TRUE!
Where do people come up with these alternative facts….Qanon?
Funny – Is Discount Tire open on Sunday or open till 7 pm? I can’t recall.
I went to Sam’s Club and they were $125 cheaper than Costco for 4 new tires.
Not true…see above from Anne Fischer.
Worst company I have ever had to deal with regarding tire warranty and tires wearing out prematurely. I have Bridgestone Turanza EL440 tires on my car and went in for my second tire failure in 2-3 months, and they checked the tire tread depth.
I have 1 new tire and the other 3 are 5/32 and 7/32 remaining after only 12,000 kms
About
You bought Bridgesones! Those are hot trash.
Make sure your Costco card doesn’t expire, because they will not service your tires . When I needed tires again I got them from American tires who gave me the same price .
John
Costco will not keep the commitment.When the situation arise to replace the tire they will not do it sharing different reasons.I had been 4 occasions I did not get any service rather wastage of hours and facing harassment by the aggressive staff (especially the lady in Woodbridge store).The same items are more cheaper in other stores like Walmart,sams club.The dealings by staff of these store also much more better.
Sep 12 2021.
Los Angeles, CA — prices may be different reader’s area.
2020 Camry 15″ wheels
Michelin Defender T H
Costco $500.92 (after discount)
American Tire Depot sells Michelin Defender T H $422.97 (after discount)
Walmart $563.96 (no apparent discount found, so possibly lower price available).
Your post did not specify which model of Silverado you have and there are several. I picked the Silverado 1500 4×2 Reg Cab (tire size 235/75R16), and the price was $675.96 at American Tire Depot’s website. Costco’s website did not have any tires for a 2004 Silverado, so I looked up tire by the size–found that it was out of stock.
I happened upon this article googling “why are costco tires so expensive”. Saw that the article was updated Aug 30 2021 and it is absolutely not the results I found for tire prices. I still don’t understand why Costco tires are so expensive. I just assumed Costco was by far the cheapest, but was shocked when they told me 500 for 4 tires for a common Camry. So I started looking and they’re so much cheaper everywhere else.
I imagine there are several other tire vendors that may offer cheaper prices. I will be shopping around a little more. American Tire just happened to be literally 3 blocks away from me so it was convenient. Local “mom & pop” stores may offer cheaper, but I would avoid these because their warranty is probably useless—especially if they go out of business…it’ll be a hassle.
Keeping shopping for prices before you go to Costco.
I hope you don’t have a problem on a Sunday at Discount Tires. They are closed.
I’ve been buying Michelin tires from Costco for years always with a coupon and have been pleased with their service.
Note, the road hazard is only 5 years. We picked up a nail on a trip in the truck with a Costco fairly near but when we called we were a couple of months beyond warranty.
Didn’t used to be so busy, but now, yes, definitely make an appointment!