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

Only Need 2 Winter Tires · Dec 9, 2010

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.

DavidLeR · Dec 9, 2010

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.

Guest-0417 · Feb 27, 2011

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

MBCTer · Aug 27, 2011

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.

Angry CT Guy · Aug 27, 2011

MBCTer said:
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.

MBCTer · Aug 28, 2011

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.

Angry CT Guy · Aug 28, 2011

MBCTer said:
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.

CT Challenger · Aug 28, 2011

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.

MBCTer · Aug 28, 2011

Unregistered said:
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.

CT Challenger · Aug 28, 2011

MBCTer said:
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?

MBCTer · Aug 28, 2011

Unregistered said:
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.

Your post is the very first time the word "law" appeared in this entire thread. I just re-read through the entire thread, and until you did, no one had mentioned the word "law" so I don't know where you came up with that.

Also, there is no restriction as to selling winter tires. You could come in and cash and carry 1,2,3, or 4 tires and I'll sell them to you no questions asked. However if you buy less than 4 AND want them installed, the only way I can do that is if the tires not being replaced are winter tires, meaning once your new tires are installed there are 4 winter tires on the car. Is there a law forcing CDN Tire to do this? I don't know. But it is store policy.

As I said before, the OP should have been able to buy & install 2 winter tires at the CT store he visited BECAUSE he already had 2 winter tires on the car.

CT Challenger · Aug 28, 2011

MBCTer said:
Your post is the very first time the word "law" appeared in this entire thread. I just re-read through the entire thread, and until you did, no one had mentioned the word "law" so I don't know where you came up with that.

Also, there is no restriction as to selling winter tires. You could come in and cash and carry 1,2,3, or 4 tires and I'll sell them to you no questions asked. However if you buy less than 4 AND want them installed, the only way I can do that is if the tires not being replaced are winter tires, meaning once your new tires are installed there are 4 winter tires on the car. Is there a law forcing CDN Tire to do this? I don't know. But it is store policy.

As I said before, the OP should have been able to buy & install 2 winter tires at the CT store he visited BECAUSE he already had 2 winter tires on the car.

There are other threads.

Have a look at this one:

https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/c...te-2401-hwy-2-bowmanville-store.html#post4710

So, what can you provide to help customers who want to buy 2 winter tires, and are told there's a policy and/or law against it?

What about a customer who wanted to have 2 winter tires mounted on rims for a car that already has 2 winter tires installed in the other 2 positions, and is told about a policy and/or law? Any help for them?

And what about the customers who want to buy 2 winter tires, have them mounted on rims, and installed on a car that already has 2 winter tires installed in the other 2 positions? Any links to the CT policy? Any links to the bylaws that are claimed to exist?

Anything of use to the customers who are having problems in this regard?

Or, just an opinion on a web site from an anonymous person who calls himself MBCTer?

MBCTer · Aug 28, 2011

Unregistered said:
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?

The only winter tire by-law of any way, shape, or form that I know of is in Quebec, where they mandated all vehicles to have winter tires. I think its a bull shit law, but that's a whole different debate.

Here's the only thing I could find regarding winter tire policy. Click the first "read more" button.

The Best Snow Tires: Winter Tires or All Season Tires? | Canadian Tire | Canadian Tire

It says " Canadian Tire’s policy to install winter tires in sets of four." In my experience, that entails situations like the OP's where buying 2 winter tires would fufill a set of four.

CT Me / Lawguy · Aug 28, 2011

There is no law, by-law or written policy in regards to buying, selling, mounting, balancing, installing, not installing etc... two winter tires.

HOWEVER

As a result of some very expensive lawsuits in the United States in the early 2000's whereby tire shops were successfully sued for installing two winter tires on a vehicle (girl crashes car in winter storm, dies, family sues tire shop) AND the recommendations made by tire manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, rubber & tire associations... many stores (Dealers decision) opted to only allow 4 winter tires to be installed on vehicles. If a customer came with two and wnated to add two, absolutely no problem. At the end of the day, vehicles leaving those shops, had 4 winter tires.

I always believed it should be four, not two, and as a result when i was a service manager, general manager and now dealer, i have ensured this policy was in play at my stores. I have personally taken a winter tire driving school where we played with all combinations....FWD, RWD, AWD & 4x4 with winter tires installed as 4's, as pairs in the front, as pairs in the rear, and of coursee not at all. Until you have sat behind the wheel and truly understood the differences in safety, car control, skid control, steering, braking etc.... you may not understand the decicision.
I'd rather sacrifice the sale of two tires then put someone at risk. It's four for snow...yo!

MBCTer · Aug 28, 2011

Haha, funny stuff, an "unregistered guest" calling me an anonymous person.

CT Challenger · Aug 28, 2011

MBCTer said:
Haha, funny stuff, an "unregistered guest" calling me an anonymous person.

So, what have you provided to the customers who have been getting jerked around by the stores that claim to have a "policy" to only "sell" winter tires in sets of 4? What have you provided to the customers who've been lied to, and told there's a "bylaw" about this?

Have you provided an official policy statement that says they can "sell" any number of tires?

Have you provied an official policy statement that says they can "mount" any number of tires?

Have you provided at least the official policy statement that says they can only "install" winter tires in sets of 4 tires?

How, exactly, have you empowered these customers, who've been mis-treated by other, lesser CT stores? What are they able to do, now that you've posted your wisdom and insights here?

Well, they can now stand up boldly and pronounce, "Someone who's anonymous, but says they run a Crappy Tire store, and goes by the name 'MBCTer' on the Canadian Tire Suck web site, says you have to sell any number of tires I ask for, and mount any number of tires I ask for, as long as the vehicle doesn't end up with 2 winters and 2 all-seasons".

I'm sure that will be very, very persuasive, for the Crappy Tires stores who've been jerking around customers!

Yes, indeed! Winter tire customers across the whole country will be so happy, now that you've so generously shared your deep and expansive wisdom with them!

Thank you, MBCTer! You've been so, so very helpful!

Guest-0533 · Aug 28, 2011

ahh give it up, you asked what the rules were, i`ve told you and you`re still being a dick.

My team is clearly instructed on how to handle these situations. First and foremost is to educate customers. Inform them of the policy, the reason for the policy and the risks involved if they choose to have two winter tires on their vehicle. Some people will leave pissed off, some will leave understandingly and some will take the advice and convert to four tires. In the grand scheme of things, the amount of people asking for just a pair is fairly low in comparison to how many go for the usual four. So we work with those customers to the best of our ability, and if they choose to shop at another business`, we respect that decision.

We don`t provide literature, we don`t provide compensation.... we simply educate and allow customers to make their own decision. I don`t apologize for giving customers knowledge that they can use to make good decisions.

CT Challenger · Aug 28, 2011

No, but all the other stores should apologize for giving customers incorrect information.

Thank God you are the one true beacon of truth an honesty amongst the hoard of misguided CT Dealers!

All Hail MBCTer!

Code 55 Forever!

MBCTer · Aug 29, 2011

Unregistered said:
So, what have you provided to the customers who have been getting jerked around by the stores that claim to have a "policy" to only "sell" winter tires in sets of 4? What have you provided to the customers who've been lied to, and told there's a "bylaw" about this?

Have you provided an official policy statement that says they can "sell" any number of tires?

Have you provied an official policy statement that says they can "mount" any number of tires?

Have you provided at least the official policy statement that says they can only "install" winter tires in sets of 4 tires?

How, exactly, have you empowered these customers, who've been mis-treated by other, lesser CT stores? What are they able to do, now that you've posted your wisdom and insights here?

Well, they can now stand up boldly and pronounce, "Someone who's anonymous, but says they run a Crappy Tire store, and goes by the name 'MBCTer' on the Canadian Tire Suck web site, says you have to sell any number of tires I ask for, and mount any number of tires I ask for, as long as the vehicle doesn't end up with 2 winters and 2 all-seasons".

I'm sure that will be very, very persuasive, for the Crappy Tires stores who've been jerking around customers!

Yes, indeed! Winter tire customers across the whole country will be so happy, now that you've so generously shared your deep and expansive wisdom with them!

Thank you, MBCTer! You've been so, so very helpful!

Listen buddy, I've explained the situation quite clearly to you, but you refuse to listen. So I'll try it one more time.

If you bring your car into the service centre and want our garage to install winter tires, AND you do not have any winter tires on your car, corprate policy states we can ONLY sell you 4 tires. I can't install 1 tire. I can't install 2. Nor can I install 3 tires for you.

If you come to the parts desk for a CASH AND CARRY sale, I can give you however many tires you want.

If you bring 2 rims to the service centre, I can sell you 2 winter tires, and mount them.

If other stores aren't doing that, I feel sorry for the customers, but quite frankly its out of my hands how John Doe in *insert city here* runs his store. What I can tell you is that if you came to the store I work at (I never said I run a store, nor did I say I was a dealer) you would be told exactly what I just explained to everyone, for the 3rd time.

Does that make it clear enough for you??

CT Challenger · Aug 29, 2011

MBCTer said:
Listen buddy, I've explained the situation quite clearly to you, but you refuse to listen. So I'll try it one more time.

If you bring your car into the service centre and want our garage to install winter tires, AND you do not have any winter tires on your car, corprate policy states we can ONLY sell you 4 tires. I can't install 1 tire. I can't install 2. Nor can I install 3 tires for you.

If you come to the parts desk for a CASH AND CARRY sale, I can give you however many tires you want.

If you bring 2 rims to the service centre, I can sell you 2 winter tires, and mount them.

If other stores aren't doing that, I feel sorry for the customers, but quite frankly its out of my hands how John Doe in *insert city here* runs his store. What I can tell you is that if you came to the store I work at (I never said I run a store, nor did I say I was a dealer) you would be told exactly what I just explained to everyone, for the 3rd time.

Does that make it clear enough for you??

Pretty funny, how the Crappy People like to keep saying the same thing, over and over, and not address the real issue.

This MBCTer came on here, all puffed up and proud, yet couldn't do a single thing to help any of the customers who've been lied to.

Instead of admitting how useless he was, he instead blames others, and repeats the same, useless claims about how some unnamed store would act.

So typical.

And so useless.

Nice job, anonymous Crappy Person!

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

Only Need 2 Winter Tires

Guest

New member

Posted by an unregistered user

New member

Posted by an unregistered user

New member

Posted by an unregistered user

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

Posted by an unregistered user

New member

New member

Posted by an unregistered user

New member

New member

New member

Similar threads

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency