If winter tires run out this year it will probably happen in the next two weeks says an Ottawa area dealer.
“The demand is very high, the supply short. We can’t keep the tires in stock fast enough,” said Lee Troke, a sales representative at Prestige Tire & Auto Service on Merivale Road in Nepean.
There was a tire shortage last year, after Quebec passed a law in 2008 making winter tires mandatory.
Troke said so far, the suppliers have been good, and so have sales.
“A month ago, we were doing about $2,000 a day. Right now, we’re sitting at $5,000 to 6,000,” he said.
And they’re expecting business to pick up.
“The madness never really ends. Tire stock does go down eventually,” said sales manager Derek Warren.
The appointment book is nearly full, the phone is ringing off the hook, and the lineup is almost out the door.
At the front of the line is Eugene DeAngelis, who’s shopping around for his 23-year-old son, Gino.
DeAngelis said he has already been to three places, and is looking to spend under $1,000 for a custom order.
“The fronts are different than the back. Different prices so I’m going to shop around,” he said.
Igor Kobelev has lived in Nepean for five years.
He said he bought his winter tires last year and only came in to get them mounted.
“All-season tires are not for the Canadian winter,” he said.
kelly.roche@sunmedia.ca
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/11/02/15923601.html
Kelly Roche - Storyteller 