As most Vancouverites do when threatened by bad weather, I pulled my studded tires out of storage and mounted them on the front of my Ford. Alas, one was flat and somewhat worn, so I made the decision to buy new studded tires. Imagine my chagrin when told by the large tire stores in the area that they could only sell me four tires. Not two —four. Say what? That reminded me of my high school science teacher who wore a belt and suspenders to hold up his trousers. How safe do we need to be? Good grief. We have been driving front-wheel drive cars since 1980 with studs on the front — only. Never had a problem. If we lived where there is snow and ice 6 months of the year, well, maybe. But we don’t.
When I asked what the reasoning is for this four-tire rip-off, I was told “corporate rules.” It’s not a law; it’s simply a way for the greedy tire companies to make a lot of money by trying to frighten the consumers into thinking they need these tires.
It would have cost me well over $600 to buy four tires and have them mounted. Ludicrous. I bought two tires from an independent dealer and mounted them myself.
Don’t fall victim to corporate greed.
Scotty Richardson
Vancouver
