Winter Tire Policy??? Tried to Buy and Install 2, was told I had to buy 4?

Does anyone know of a "Winter Tire Policy" at Crappy Tire? Today I tried to purchase and install 2 Winter Tires (Hankook) from CT Eglinton, Scarborough. I already had 2 new Winter Tires (Nexxen) purchased and installed at Walmart in 2009. The parts guy wrote 4 tires on the slip of paper, at which point I clarified that I only needed 2 winter tires. He scratched out the 4 and said to go ask at the Service counter and told me that "They are fussy and may not do it". The Auto Manager refused to sell and install only 2 tires and said I had to buy 4. I asked to see the policy, as I only needed 2 not 4. He showed me a letter posted from GoodYear, not Canadian Tire. Then he took a poster off the wall, that said you should install 4 tires. In any case, I left without getting the winter tires installed that I was willing to pay for.

I believe the issue is having a pair of all-seasons tires at the back, and a pair of snows on the front.

Lots of web sites describe this: during braking, the all-seasons will lose traction first, causing the rear end to slide, making the car unstable, and maybe put you in a spin.

However, this is completely different from having 2 snows from Nexxen and 2 from Hankook. I mean, how different can the traction be between the two makers?

One might expect the "automotive experts" (LOL) at a store with "Tire" in the name to understand this nuance. Oh, wait: it's CT.

Or, they might just be trying to up-sell you to a full set. You'd think they'd rather sell you 2, than to tick you off and not sell anything.

Either way, they don't sound like people you'd want to trust with your car.

Ya crappy tire policy but if you bring in 2 rims we'll put on 2 winter tires (ta072n)
i'm ct sa

Your tires should've been installed, because you already have two winter tires on the vehicle. Now if you had 2 all seasons on the back, the store would not have installed them. They gladly would have sold them to you, but cannot install them.

Now there are ways around this. If you had just brought in 2 rims they could install the tires, as they do not know what kind of tires would be on the back of the car.

Originally Posted by MBCTer

Your tires should've been installed, because you already have two winter tires on the vehicle. Now if you had 2 all seasons on the back, the store would not have installed them. They gladly would have sold them to you, but cannot install them.

Now there are ways around this. If you had just brought in 2 rims they could install the tires, as they do not know what kind of tires would be on the back of the car.

Not making any sense. Please clarify.

They can only install 2 winter tires if it makes a full set, meaning 4 winter tires on the car.

If he had taken the wheels off of the car himself, THEN brought them into the store, they would have installed the winter tires on the rims no questions asked.

Originally Posted by MBCTer

They can only install 2 winter tires if it makes a full set, meaning 4 winter tires on the car.

If he had taken the wheels off of the car himself, THEN brought them into the store, they would have installed the winter tires on the rims no questions asked.

Ah....you are not talking about installing (ie. mounting them on the car), you're talking about mounting them and balancing the tire on the rim...no installation.
Yes, that can be done.

We're still waiting for a link to that "by law" some Crappy Person said prevented them from "selling" just 2 winter tires.

Could there be a law against "mounting" only 2 winter tires on 2 rims? Maybe, but the Crappy Person hasn't said that there is - only a law against "selling" only 2.

Could there be a law against "installing" only 2 rims with winter tires on a car that does not have 2 winter tires in the other 2 positions? I sure hope so! But, again, the Crappy Person hasn't said that: only that there's a "law" against "selling" only 2 tires.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ah....you are not talking about installing (ie. mounting them on the car), you're talking about mounting them and balancing the tire on the rim...no installation.
Yes, that can be done.

Yeah, poor choice of words on my part, I should've said they'd mount them but not install them.

Originally Posted by MBCTer

Yeah, poor choice of words on my part, I should've said they'd mount them but not install them.

There are a couple of stories on this site from customers who were told there was a bylaw and/or a story policy against "selling" just 2 winter tires.

What would you say to those customers? Do you have a copy of the policy? A link to the by-law? Anything concrete to help people out?