A Prince George tire shop is continuing to get a steady stream of customers as we brace for the winter season.
This year, putting winter tires on seems to be a tough and costly decision for many Canadians as a recent poll from Leger via the Tire and Rubber Commission of Canada said one in three people in this country (or 31%) are considering not investing in winter tires this year due to the rising cost of living.
The survey states 73 per cent of British Columbia drivers use winter tires.
Layne Getz is a service adviser at OK Tire in PG who told MyPGNow.com they continue to see people come by the shop but they are not nearly as overwhelmed as in past years.
“A lot of the times when we see the first snowfall, it gets absolutely insane. Surprisingly, after the first skiff of snow we got it hasn’t been too crazy.”
Getz added while the cost of winter tires may be a little expensive at times, it’s still a worthy investment.
“In this day and age, everything is through the roof expensive and is tough out there. In the same factor, the amount of money you spend purchasing a vehicle these days it is worth it too spend a little bit to extra to ensure you don’t get into any accidents or get into something that will cost you more in the future.”
“Cost does play a big factor in it. But, my personal preference is that a dedicated winter tire is going to be far more superior but the technology they have been putting into a lot of the all weathers has led us to really good feedback on those, if you are buying on set of tires as opposed to two.”
However, if people are making the decision to buy all weather or winter tires solely on dollars and cents they might be surprised that the price gap isn’t all that much.
“The all weathers as well as the winters do have a pretty comparable price point. A lot of the all weathers can be a little bit more expensive because there are not a ton of brands making them,” added Getz.
Winter tire regulations in the north took effect on October 1st, which includes many provincial highways and usually last until March 30th.
The timeline extends to April 30 for select highways, including mountain passes and rural routes in high snowfall areas.
Tires displaying the three-peaked mountain/snowflake symbol and M+S (mud and snow) tires both meet the legal requirement as long as they have at least 3.5 mm of tread.
Winter tires often outperform M+S tires in cold and snowy conditions according to the province.
A link to the survey can be found here.
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