The dramatic shift in weather this week has local tire shops booked up, swapping vehicles over to winter tires.
Chris Dyck from Kal Tire in Steinbach says they are as busy as they can possibly be right now. He notes generally speaking, it is a good idea to get winter tires on when the temperature is consistently below 7 degrees.
“With that shift in the weather, that gets everyone up and going. We were enjoying such nice weather that no one was thinking about winter tire season, so everyone's all hands on deck now. We've had our little scare of winter weather as a start, so we are now well into keeping everyone safe on the road by getting their winters on.”
Unfortunately, Dyck says this has resulted in fairly long lead times.
“We have a couple options, so if you call in, we'll give you the best opportunities to get in as quickly as we can, but we are booking out a way in advance right now for getting your changeovers done.”
Colin Penner from K.K. Penner Tire Centres in Blumenort says they are in a similar position right now. He notes it was a slow trickle through fall, but things started to pick up in November.
“When the calendar changed, it seemed like there was a bit of an increase in traffic for sure, because I think people just realized it's coming. So, we definitely saw an uptick starting already in November, but those first few flakes is when it really gets very busy. Everybody just says, 'Oh winter's here, let's get our winter tires on and let's make sure we're safe when it gets icy.”
Both Penner and Dyck say they expect their respective shops to be very busy until about mid-December when most changeovers are complete.
Dyck says, in addition to tires, many of their customers are asking them to do a quick winter inspection, checking things like wiper blades and light bulbs as we are now in the darkest months.