Press

Online discount car supplier now in Montreal


Speedy delivery; 22 area garages partner with site to in stalltires


The Gazette March 28, 2011 12:00 AM


It's that time of year again. As the temperature rises and the snow starts to melt away, it's time for car owners to change back to their summer tires.

As of March 15, you were legally allowed to put your summer tires back on your vehicle, but most people will choose to wait until a few weeks later just in case Mother Nature has one last wintry surprise in store for us.

One new option for Montreal consumers looking to buy new tires is Tires and Co., an online discount tire supplier (www.tiresandco.ca) that was started in Europe in 2001.

Now offering discounts of up to 50 per cent to Canadian consumers, it has partnered with 22 garages in and around Montreal to install the tires they sell.

When you order tires through the website, they promise delivery between 24 and 72 hours after your order is placed. And you can have them delivered to your house, or to the garage you have chosen to install your tires.

The company offers 33 brands with more than 3,500 models of tires for sale in Canada, the company says.

On its website, it is also possible to compare different models of tires and installers, as well as to view ratings and reviews left by customers.

One type of tire the company and others are starting to sell is called a green tire, which reduces rolling resistance, thus enhancing fuel efficiency and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.

Tires and Co. offers green tires from at least three manufacturers.BridgestoneEcopia, Pirelli Energy and Michelin Energy models are available through the website.

Also available online is a section dedicated to answering many questions consumers have about tires, which are important pieces of safety equipment on a vehicle. Too often, people give little or no thought to the type of tires they install on their vehicles when that decision should be made carefully.

Even with the best safety features on your car, if the four pieces of rubber that make contact with the pavement are inadequate, you are asking for trouble.

So Tires and Co. answers questions like how to read tire markings, understanding load and speed indexes, prepare for winter and maintain proper tire pressure.

Known as Pneus Online in Europe, the idea for the discount tires website came from Alexis Nerguisian, an information technology consultant and a sports car race fan.

As a race car driver, he would have to change tires after every race, a pricey endeavour.

So he set out to find cheaper tires on the Internet, and that is when he devised a plan to start a website to supply tires at discounted prices to consumers. After struggling for more than a year to get off the ground, the first orders started arriving in 2002.

Sales on the site have grown steadily since 2002, when only 600 tires were sold. Today, they ship about 200,000 tires per year.

For more information about the company or to shop for tires, go to www.tiresandco. ca




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