Sale of snow tires gaining traction locally
Earl Bugaile takes off tires at Coen Tire before putting snow tires on a vehicle. Coen’s was quickly booked for the day with snow tire appointments as the winter storm arrived in the area.
Nathan Klinzing gets new snow tires ready to be put on a car while an old tire sits in the foreground at Coen Tire in Washington. With the winter storm arriving, residents were rushing to get their snow tires on in time.
John Grow takes a tire off a wheel while working on a car Tuesday. Coen Tire in Washington was booked solid all day as people made last-minute preparations for the winter storm.
It never fails. With the first, heavy snow of the season, crowds flock to nearby tire stores to get some new rubber put on their vehicles.
“Usually, as people travel during this time of year with more wet weather, they notice they hydroplane or slide a little,” said Bob McFall, a sales representative with Valley Tire Co. in Washington, said. “They know it’s time to get new tires.”
As forecasts predicted several inches of snow and a mixture of sleet and freezing rain through today, McFall said customers started requesting snow tires as early as Monday.
“We’ve been very busy,” he said. “On average, our wait time is a couple hours.”
Jerica Briggs, a secretary at Briggs Tire Service in Washington, said the last two days have been “crazy.”
“But we pretty much expect it anytime there is snow in the forecast,” she said.
Tracy Wheeler, a sales representative with Coen Tire in Washington, said business started picking up at the start of the month.
“It started with that first snow,” she said. “We have an eight hour wait (Tuesday).”
Wheeler said the demand for snow or new tires should be steady, as long as there is snow on the ground.
“It happens every year,” Wheeler said. “It’s worse if people are traveling for the holidays.”
Winter storm Boreas is expected to continue to dump between two and four inches of snow today in Washington, impeding holiday travel plans, according to the National Weather Service. A small chance of snow is predicted for Thanksgiving morning, with temperatures and conditions improving throughout the weekend.
On Monday and Tuesday, Wheeler said the daily 25 appointment slots were booked before noon.
“This will be as bad as it gets,” she said.
After calling Coen Tire on Monday only to find they were booked, Joe Fields made sure he was waiting in the parking lot at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
“I’ve been here three hours,” Fields, of Washington, said. “I figured I’d better get them on before it got too sloppy.”
Kevin Blanchard had decided in advance he was going to get new tires put on his vehicle for the winter. Unaware of the forecast, Blanchard made an appointment for Tuesday.
“I’m glad I did,” said Blanchard, of Washington. “When I walked in here, I was like ‘Wow.'”
Coen Tire’s waiting room was full, with people constantly walking in and out.
Wheeler said the majority of Coen Tire’s business is walk-in based. While it’s busy, Wheeler said things will calm down soon.
“It will only be like this for a few more weeks,” she said.