Think twice before leaving your summer/winter tires in a shop

Hephaestus

Well-known member
Sep 25, 2025
988
861
93
Only a third were able to get their tires back. Better check with your insurance of they're covered, you could be losing thousands. Maybe better renting a storage if you don't have a garage.

GTA tire shop goes out of business, leaving customers’ summer tires locked inside

Now that the warmer weather has arrived, many drivers are starting to think about switching over from their winter tires to summer ones.

However, some customers got a surprise when a Thornhill tire shop closed its doors for good, leaving their summer tires locked inside.

The Tire Depot and Auto Services, located at 34 Doncaster Ave., had been in business for over 20 years before they put an ‘Out of Business’ sign on their door.

Customers who had their summer tires stored in the shop are trying to find out how to get them back.

“It’s been around forever, you store your tires in the winter and pick them up in the summer and showing up today, they are out of business,” said Terry Riyasat, a customer who came to the shop after no one answered his phone calls.

He told CTV News he wanted to make an appointment to swap his winter tires for summer tires and rims, and was shocked to see the “closed, out of business” sign.

Riyasat is one of many customers looking for answers and there are many Post-It notes and messages on the front door from the customers saying they want to pick up their tires and rims.

CTV News contacted the business and the landlord of the building and left messages, but our calls were not returned.

In Riyasat’s case, he drives a leased car and said he needs his rims and tires back soon.

“I need to return a leased vehicle with the original tires and rims, and I don’t have access to them because they have shut down the shop,” said Riyasat.

Tires have also gotten a lot more expensive. If customers must replace their tires and rims, it could cost between $1,500 to $3,000, depending on the vehicle and custom or original factory rims will cost even more.

Often, many drivers will use cheaper steel rims for winter driving and store their original factory rims during the winter months. Replacing factory rims could get extremely costly.

“I have tires that have tire sensors in them, and that makes them that much more expensive,” said Michelle Goldstein.

Michelle and her husband, Elliot Goldstein, have three sets of tires, two on rims, in the shop for them, their son and their daughter.

Elliot also works as a lawyer and told CTV News that even if the business has ceased operating, customers who paid in advance to store their tires should have them returned.

“If the ownership of the tires belongs to a third party, you can’t go and sell someone else’s stuff,” said Elliot and added, “There are hundreds of people involved who stored their tires there.”

Tires were stored according to licence plate numbers; however, complicating matters is that some tires were stored in the building and some were stored off-site.

Riyasat and the Goldsteins are hoping the matter can be dealt with soon, and they can get their tires and rims back, especially since warm weather has arrived from

 

Forzafonz

NotTheCatThatYouLike :)
Jun 27, 2019
491
721
93
that's why i only get AWD and all-season tires. No headache :) But also no 718 Boxster, my love 😭😭
 

Ceiling Cat

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2009
29,818
2,373
113
Get yourself a jack and negociate rims into the deal when you buy your cars. No waiting at the tire shop twice a year. You can do the job yourself in 20-30 minutes. I have been changing over my winter/summer tires myself for the last 25 years.



 
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LTO_3

Well-known member
Aug 27, 2004
1,772
1,593
113
Niagara Region
I've been fortunate that I've stored my tires with my mechanics. My former mechanic had to close his shop because of health issues and called me to get my stored tires. And my current mechanic does the same as my first mechanic for tire storage. I thought about storing my tires at home but didn't do it because it wasn't practical for me.

LTO_3
 

xmontrealer

(he/him/it)
May 23, 2005
12,541
10,646
113
Get yourself a jack and negociate rims into the deal when you buy your cars. No waiting at the tire shop twice a year. You can do the job yourself in 20-30 minutes. I have been changing over my winter/summer tires myself for the last 25 years.



Do you do seasonal wheel alignments like the car dealers do when they change the mounted tires each season?

Or is that really unnecessary and just another dealer add-on scam?
 

wigglee

Well-known member
Oct 13, 2010
11,319
3,646
113
I bought all weather tires last fall and plan to leave them on 12 months a year.
 

Andy Bernard

Well-known member
Aug 30, 2025
137
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63
Do you do seasonal wheel alignments like the car dealers do when they change the mounted tires each season?

Or is that really unnecessary and just another dealer add-on scam?
You think the dealership actually does that? They get an apprentice to change the tires over and charge you book value on the job. They don't rebalance unless you ask them to. Unless you are getting the tires swapped onto the same rims, then they have to rebalance. But any kind of alignment? No chance.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: xmontrealer

Spunky1

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2019
1,146
1,112
113
Think twice about leaving tires in an elderly parent’s spacious garage.
Almost 80 dad decided to move the tires ( on rims) into a van that was also parked inside the garage, locked the van and the garage then lost the keys.
 
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corrie fan

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2014
1,059
552
113
I recently had my summer tires put on. The buggers lost my wheel covers during the winter. They said they would look for them and if they could not find them they would order a new set. Fortunately they called before I got home with the news that they had found them.
 

Ceiling Cat

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2009
29,818
2,373
113
Do you do seasonal wheel alignments like the car dealers do when they change the mounted tires each season?

Or is that really unnecessary and just another dealer add-on scam?

No wheel alignment nessesary unless you hit a curb or pothole. I have had cars for 5-6 years without a wheel alignment.
 

opieshuffle

Well-known member
Oct 30, 2004
676
664
93
Another home tire changer for 30+ years. Two sets of rims. Snows / All seasons. Shed out back to store.
Doing it on my "premium" car now too. Get a good torque wrench. Set according to OEM specs. Bam... 30 minute job on a nice evening.

Do NOT do it for neighbours though. Not worth any liability. I do it because i like working on my cars.
 

Goodoer

Doing Good. Looking for cohorts.
Feb 20, 2004
3,300
2,399
113
GTA & Thereabouts...
Stop patronizing Tim’s for the love of god. I’ll buy you a coffee from anywhere else!!! And some interesting conversation and you don’t have to change my tires, in fact, we could have a contest. My best time is 7 minutes per.
I’ll move mountains when a lady makes me a sandwich. 😉
 

superstar_88

The Chiseler
Jan 4, 2008
6,326
1,715
113
Think twice about leaving tires in an elderly parent’s spacious garage.
Almost 80 dad decided to move the tires ( on rims) into a van that was also parked inside the garage, locked the van and the garage then lost the keys.
Hence why you carry the spare keys. Every key of significance should have a spare.
 

JohnHenry

Well-known member
Aug 27, 2003
1,449
407
83
rural ontario
I still have
Nah man, it’s total NASCAR vibes!! Manual floor jack and tire iron and four way wrench. I’ve done it in less with a manual floor jack and impact gun. 😊
I still have the truck to do. Handicap for 6 lugs per wheel, and age, 1 minute for each year over 30.
 

Ryan_Coke

Active member
Oct 18, 2024
156
226
43
I got a jack, electric impact drill and a torque wrench during a 50% off sale at Canadian Tire maybe 20 years ago. Did my swaps for 10 or 15 years. Saw a post on our neighbourhood facebook group of an apprentice mechanic who would come and do your swap for 10 bucks a tire and he brought the tools. It was cool because he would also check things out while the wheels were off and make suggestions for anything we might need and also confirm things for me like the brakes were still good.
 
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Plisken

New member
Apr 24, 2026
22
15
3
They showed this store on CTV news yesterday, its terrible that the owners of the business wouldn't call their loyal customers to come and pick up their tires, instead of dropping them like this.
 
Ashley Madison
Toronto Escorts