Tire Shops Busy Before Stud Deadline

SPOKANE — Despite our late winter storms, studded snow tires have to come off before the April 1st deadline.

Last year, snow forced the state of Washington to move the deadline twice, but this is not the case this year.

It takes the guys at Perfection Tire about five to ten minutes to take studded snow tires off any car and put the regular ones back on. However, on Tuesday, the lines were still long as hundreds of people were scrambling to get their tires changed out.

“It’s like a NASCAR pit crew, and it’s all day long. Those kids work from seven in the morning to seven at night,’ Perfection Tire owner Jim Warner said.

The crew at Perfection Tire changed out tires on at least 200 cars on Tuesday alone.

The owner says every year people wait until last minute, but this year is worse because there isn’t an extension like last year.

“So the people that waited to the last minute, hoping for an extension, are sitting in here waiting to get their tires off,” Warner said.

At one point, people were waiting about a four and half hours to get your studs off, but employees were still working as fast as they could.

“It’s a young man’s ball game right back there,” Warner said about his crew at the store.

It’s a game the guys went into like a well-oiled machine

“Me and Matt have a good system. I mount three tires, he mounts one, he’ll start balancing them. The quicker they fire back on the car, the better we look,’ employee Jared Liberty said.

At most tire shops in Spokane there is a wait to get your studs off, but the wait is probably worth it because if caught driving on them tomorrow the fine is more than a $100.