Rubber meets road for mobile tire business
Mobile Tire Xchange brings service to customers’ homes
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This article was published 27/03/2017 (3135 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Spring can be heralded in many ways: the arrival of Canadian geese, the potholes that plague Winnipeg’s streets, and daylight that stretches past 5 p.m.
For some, spring arrives when Ethan Matras’ converted bus and mobile shop rumbles down their residential street.
Matras has been operating Mobile Tire Xchange since 2013, offering Winnipeggers a convenient one stop shop to swap and store seasonal tires.
“We do it the same as any of the big tire shops or any smaller shops,” Matras explained. “The real differentiating factor is that we’re mobile.
“So it eliminates waiting in line, it eliminates you having to load up your snow tires or your all-season tires into your trunk, and we also do storage as well.”
The 35-year-old from River Heights has modified an old school bus into his garage — stocked with tools, a tire mounting machine, and tire balancing machine — that he drives to his customer’s home or workplace, where he begins the work of getting their vehicle ready to roll.
Matras, a former human resources consultant and dispute mediator, took on Mobile Tire Xchange as his full-time job after recognizing the demand for a more convenient tire service experience.
The self-taught hobby mechanic began with strictly swapping tires, but more of his clients began asking for mounting, balancing, storage and retail, prompting him to build the mobile shop — which his kids have dubbed the “Cool Bus” — and expand his range of services.
“Since I was 12-years-old I was always tinkering with things,” Matras said. “The challenge of figuring out how to build a mobile shop was exciting for me.
“I saw this as an excellent opportunity to really try something on my own,” he added.
According to Matras, the low overhead allows him to keep his service rates in-line with brick and mortar shops, while providing added convenience. Seasonal tires are stored in a secure facility during the off-season and Matras said the tires he sells are at competitive prices.
“The idea of a click or call service really eliminates all the effort involved on the part of the customer,” Matras said. “I’m happy to work hard to offer this convenience to people.”
Matras said he doesn’t tire of the chores the changing of the seasons can bring and is happy to take on the load.
“I never take for granted the fact that these are the vehicles people put their kids in and they travel at high speed, so safety is really No. 1,” he said. “We make sure every job we do is quality and it’s done right.”
To get in touch with Matras and Mobile Tire Xchange call 204-899-8473 or find them on Facebook.