Buying tires at Costco
Warehouse club, selling tires since 1983, 647 stores. What tires cost there, what shipping and installation add, how returns work and what customers rate them.
Who owns it
Publicly traded Costco Wholesale Corporation (Nasdaq: COST), with no controlling owner; the first Costco warehouse opened in Seattle in 1983 under James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, and the company took its present form in the 1993 merger with Price Club. The revenue recorded here is company-wide, not the tire business: net sales of $297.2 billion for fiscal 2026 (ended 30 August 2026), $303.2 billion of total revenue once $5.907 billion of membership fees are added. The employee figure, about 341,000 in fiscal 2025, is company-wide too. Tire centers are an ancillary department inside the warehouses and Costco does not report their sales separately.
What you can buy there
The brand list is deliberately short: Michelin, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Firestone and Pirelli for cars and light trucks, plus trailer, golf cart and ATV tires. No budget Chinese brands, no wheels and no used tires. Sizes are limited to what the warehouse program buys, so performance fitments, staggered sets, many large light-truck sizes and odd single sizes are not stocked at all.
Shipping
Tires bought at tires.costco.com are shipped free, but only to the Costco tire center selected at checkout, and Costco's own FAQ gives roughly 5 to 10 business days for the tires to reach the warehouse. Alaska and Hawaii take about 10 to 20 business days. There is no home delivery for installed tires; golf, trailer and ATV tires ship without installation included.
Installation
Fitting is done by Costco staff in bays attached to the warehouse. There is no separate installation charge, because the cost is inside the member price: the site states that a tire purchase "includes installation at No charge" and that the price covers mounting, nitrogen inflation and new rubber valve stems, then rotation, balancing, inflation checks and flat repair for the life of the tire. A road hazard warranty valid for 60 months is included, paying a prorated credit worked out by multiplying usable remaining tread by the price paid net of discounts. Installation is only available on tires bought from the Costco tire center by a Costco member, and there is no mobile fitting.
Returns and warranty
Returns and cancellations are handled at the warehouse rather than by mail, under Costco's general member satisfaction guarantee, and Costco does not publish a separate day window for tires. Once the tires are mounted and worn, the route is the 60-month road hazard warranty, which pays a prorated credit and stops when tread reaches 2/32 inch, whichever comes first. Manufacturer defect claims for the five brands carried are taken at the tire center, which files them rather than sending the customer to the brand.
Where they sit on price
For the five brands it carries, member prices sit low for the quality tier, and the figure quoted already contains installation, lifetime rotation and balancing, and the five-year road hazard warranty instead of adding them at the counter. Manufacturer rebates run almost continuously: for 21 September to 18 October 2026 the site listed $80 off a set of Michelin and $60 off a set of BFGoodrich. A membership is required before any of it applies, $65 a year for Gold Star or Business and $130 for Executive.
What it does well
- Installation, nitrogen, valve stems, lifetime rotation and balancing, flat repair and a 60-month road hazard warranty are all inside the member price
- Only premium brands are carried, so there is no budget tier to sort through
- Manufacturer rebates run nearly year-round, at $60 to $80 off a set of four in the September to October 2026 window
- 647 warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, and free shipping from tires.costco.com to the tire center
- Claims and warranty work are handled at the tire center rather than passed to the tire maker
Where it falls short
- A paid membership, $65 or $130 a year, is required before you can buy tires or have them fitted
- Five brands and a narrow size range; performance tires, staggered sets and many large light-truck sizes are simply unavailable, and a single odd size often cannot be bought at all
- Appointments are hard to get and waits are long; consumer press coverage in 2024 and 2025 quoted customers calling the tire center a waste of time over hours-long waits, and forum reports describe booked appointments missing from the tire center's own system
- No home delivery and no mobile installation, and the bays will not fit tires that were not bought from Costco
- The corporate BBB profile records 2,513 complaints closed in three years, and Trustpilot shows 2.6 out of 5 across 3,128 reviews, with 73 percent of them one star
What Costco is rated
Ratings move, so we print the month we read each one. We never average different sites into a single number.
Is this the right shop for you?
Yes, if: Costco members buying a mainstream size in a premium brand who want one price that already includes fitting, lifetime rotation and five years of road hazard cover.
Look elsewhere if: Non-members, anyone needing a performance, staggered, oversized or single odd-size tire, and anyone who cannot work around a tire center appointment weeks out.
Running right now
$80 off 4 Michelin and $60 off 4 BFGoodrich (9/21-10/18)
Member instant savings 9/21-10/18/2026: $80 on any set of 4 Michelin passenger/light-truck tires (CrossClimate2, Defender, Primacy, Pilot Sport, X-Ice, Agilis) and $60 on any 4 BFGoodrich incl. Trail-Terrain T/A+, installation package included (rotation, balancing, nitrogen, road-hazard warranty, flat repair, lifetime rotation). Limit 3 per household. Bridgestone usually gets a similar window in Nov.
The sizes people buy, and what they cost
These are the ten sizes US drivers buy most often. Prices are per tire, what the size actually goes for across the retailers we track, so you can tell a real offer from a marked-up one before you click anything.
| Size | Fits | Budget | Mid-range | Premium | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 195/65R15 | Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic | $50–$68 | $72–$98 | $102–$145 | Costco |
| 205/55R16 | Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla | $55–$75 | $80–$118 | $122–$175 | Costco |
| 215/55R17 | Toyota Camry, Honda Accord | $70–$95 | $100–$140 | $145–$205 | Costco |
| 225/45R17 | Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Golf | $82–$112 | $116–$165 | $168–$245 | Costco |
| 225/60R17 | Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 | $75–$102 | $106–$150 | $154–$220 | Costco |
| 225/65R17 | Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 | $75–$102 | $106–$150 | $154–$220 | Costco |
| 235/65R17 | Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue | $75–$102 | $106–$150 | $154–$220 | Costco |
| 265/70R17 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500 | $105–$138 | $142–$195 | $200–$275 | Costco |
| 235/60R18 | Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey | $95–$128 | $132–$180 | $184–$260 | Costco |
| 245/60R18 | Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot | $115–$152 | $156–$212 | $216–$300 | Costco |
Per tire, before installation and before any rebate. All 254 sizes we cover.
Questions people ask about Costco
Do I need a Costco membership to buy tires?
Yes. The tire center states that installation is only available on tires purchased from Costco by Costco members, so both the purchase and the fitting require a current card. Gold Star and Business memberships cost $65 a year and Executive costs $130. There is no non-member tire option and no day pass for the tire center.
Does Costco charge an installation fee per tire?
Not as a separate line. Costco's tire site says a tire purchase includes installation at no charge for members, covering mounting, nitrogen inflation and new rubber valve stems, plus rotation, balancing, inflation checks and flat repair for the life of the tire. The cost is built into the member price rather than added at the counter, so comparisons against a retailer that quotes a $18 to $25 fitting fee need the fee added to the other retailer, not to Costco.
How long does a Costco tire order take to arrive?
Costco's Tire Center FAQ gives roughly 5 to 10 business days for the order to reach the warehouse you selected, and about 10 to 20 business days for Alaska and Hawaii. Shipping is free but goes to the tire center, not to your home. You then book a fitting appointment separately, and those slots can be weeks out at busy warehouses.
What does the Costco road hazard warranty actually cover?
It runs 60 months from purchase, or until the tire is down to 2/32 inch of tread, whichever comes first, and covers cuts, non-repairable punctures and impact damage on most passenger, performance and light-truck tires. Credit is prorated: usable remaining tread multiplied by the price you paid after discounts. It applies only to the damaged tire, not the others on the car.
Sources
- tires.costco.com
- tires.costco.com
- tires.costco.com
- customerservice.costco.com
- investor.costco.com
- en.wikipedia.org
- trustpilot.com
- bbb.org
- bestlifeonline.com
Checked September 2026. Store counts, prices and ratings change; tell us if you find one of ours out of date.