LAC LA BICHE - The changing seasons and changing weather mean it’s again a time of change for drivers in Alberta’s Lakeland. With the season ice and snow fast approaching, drivers in the Lac La Biche area have begun heading to local tire shops to have winter tires put on their vehicles.
Alan Moghrabi, the manager of Trail Tire in Lac La Biche, said people generally start coming in during October to have snow tires installed. He added that the local auto shop and others in the region are quite busy throughout the months of October and November changing out summer tires for winter ones.
“This is about the time everybody should start looking at getting their winter stuff done,” he told Lakeland This Week. “You don’t want to wait until last minute either, because sometimes people wait for the first snowfall, then it’s kind of crazy.”
The process of installing winter tires is fairly straightforward. Moghrabi said if people have their own snow tires, they can bring them in and tire shops like his will install and balance them. If customers need new tires, he added, they can be purchase at the tire shop.
According to Moghrabi, a big trend among drivers is going with all-weather tires.
“Those are usually good for winter, summer, and everything,” he stated.
The price tag for changing over and balancing four tires, he explained, will generally set people back about $150-$160. For tires that are already on rims, the cost is around $80.
A lot of new vehicles, Moghrabi said, come with all-season tires, which he says are basically a summer tire.
Having snow tires on their vehicles as opposed to only all-season tires, Moghrabi says, is very beneficial for folks as it provides them with better winter traction. Those who only use all-season tires, he explained, tend to find that they get stuck easier.
Dennis Doucet of Fountain Tire in Lac La Biche said the tire shop gets a lot of business during this time of the year specifically from customers who want to have their winter tires on and ready to go before the snow flies.
“We usually advise by Thanksgiving it’s time start putting on winter tires,” he said.
As for the types and models of snow tires people use for their vehicles, according to Doucet, those can vary. Tires, like any other product, he continued, not only range in price, but also in quality, adding that the better ones tend to cost more.
“If you want cheap, you’re not getting the best on the market,” he stated.
According to Matthew McNall at OK Tire in Lac La Biche, while some customers are proactive and making appointments to get snow tires put on while the ground is still dry, quite a few more wait until after the first snow of the season has fallen.
As for why many people hold off in getting winter tires installed, McNall says it’s all about cost. Tires, he explained, due in large part to inflation, have jumped in price since last year.
“Our busiest time is right after that first snowfall . . . everybody panics,” he said.