Tire program gains traction

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/12/2014 (3417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance’s Winter Tire Program has been a big success since being announced this past spring.

“It’s going extremely well, more than 20,000 applications approved and filed for the program,” said MPI spokesman Brian Smiley.

The program offers eligible Manitobans low-interest financing on high-traction tires up to a cost of $2,000 per vehicle. The interest rate is prime plus two per cent, and the rates are determined by the Bank of Canada.

“It has been a lot busier,” said Melissa Farrell, administrator at Kal Tire on Brookside Boulevard. “The winter rush has been extended. Right now, we wouldn’t see as many people getting winter tires, as it tends to die down at the beginning of December. But with the (MPI) program, we are seeing a big boost.”

To qualify, Manitobans must be an MPI customer and purchasing a qualifying winter tire for a passenger vehicle or light truck registered under the owner’s name. Customers must not have any outstanding monies owing on their MPI account.

“It was super-easy,” said Wayne Erstelle, who got his set of four tires from Vickar Mitsubishi. “The dealership already had my info from buying the car from them last year. They just put my info into the MPI page on their computer, and asked me what day I would like to make my payments. I told them the same day as insurance is withdrawn, and that was that.”

Erstelle chose the budget option for his winter tires, which were installed for just over $1,200 after applicable taxes and fees.

“I just made the appointment for eight days later, waited for an hour to have the tires installed and off I went.”

The process might be streamlined in terms of signing up for the program. Getting tires on your vehicle can be a different story.

“Some of the tire providers were unprepared,” said Wes Michel, service adviser at Fountain Tire on Vermillion Road. “Goodyear, for example, makes their winter tires in the off-season, so summer, and their summer tires in winter. Also, there are a lot of popular sizes — Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Ford and Dodge Trucks.”

Smiley said he is aware some retailers are having trouble keeping tires in stock.

“We were in close contact with retailers and had discussions last summer about the upcoming season and our pilot project,” he said. “There are issues, but there are probably 300 retailers in Winnipeg alone for customers.”

For more information, and to check your eligibility for the program, go to: http://apps.mpi.mb.ca/wtp/cst/default.aspx.

sbilleck@freepress.mb.ca

Tired of waiting for tires?

Manitoba Public Insurance’s Winter Tire Program is well underway. MPI has seen over 20,000 applicants to date, which has led to substantial wait times in some instances:

A random sample of wait times as of Wednesday morning is listed below.

Each business was asked for tires fitting the popular Honda Civic.

Birchwood Honda West — Portage Ave.

• Tires in stock.
• Earliest appointment: Dec. 23.

Canadian Tire — Fermor Ave.

• Tires in stock.
• Earliest appointment: 9 a.m. Thursday; walk-ins each day.

Kal Tire — Lowson Cres.

• No tires on hand, could have them in by Friday if ordered Wednesday.
• Earliest appointment: Late January 2015; walk-ins accepted on first-come, first-serve basis any time.

Denray Tire — Oak Point Hwy.

• Tires in stock.
• Earliest appointment: Today.

Costco — St. James St.

• 7-10 days for tires.
• Earliest appointment: This week if they have the tires; next week they switch to first-come, first-serve.

Fountain Tire — Portage Ave.

• Tires in stock.
• Earliest appointment: Today.

 

Did you make use of the provincial program to buy winter tires?
Do you feel safer?
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