The Best Time To Buy Winter Tires Is... Summer?

00:00 - Show Open - Best Time To Buy Winter Tires

I hear drivers say all the time that they don't need winter tires for various reasons. They might say they have plenty of traction because their vehicle has 4-wheel drive with low range, or it has Quattro or maybe a torque-vectoring limited slip differential.

What they don't realize is that none of those mechanical systems give their vehicle traction. The only thing on a car, truck or SUV that provides traction is... the tires. It's those four little contact patches where the rubber meets the road. That's what provides a vehicle's traction. So if you drive in winter on tires that are ill suited to winter conditions, none of those mechanical systems I just mentioned will help you accelerate, turn or stop. Instead, if you routinely drive in snow, ice or slush, I recommend you get a dedicated set of winter tires. And the best time to get a bargain on winter tires is right at the end of summer.

03:35 - The Best Winter Wheel & Tire Values Are Found During Summer

There are several reasons winter tires (and wheels) are cheaper during summer and early fall, but mostly it's a supply and demand thing. There are simply less people looking for winter wheels and tires in late summer and there are less people preparing for winter driving when the latest batch of new winter tires hit the sales floor. But if you are paying attention, you can use this to your advantage and save a lot of money on your next winter wheel/tire purchase.

04:10 - Get A Set of Dedicated Wheels for Your Winter Tires

People often tell me that getting a second set of wheels to mount their winter tires on is too expensive, but these are the same people who pay a tire shop to install their winter tires on their stock wheels each fall and then pay again each spring to swap back to their fair weather tires. And they do this over a 3-5 year period depending on how many miles they put on their winter tires each season. If you are familiar with the prices tire shops charge to mount and balance a set of tires, then you know that is going to be one expensive annual swap out over the life of a typical set of winter tires.

06:40 - Buy Your Winter Wheels Before Your Winter Tires

I recommend buying a second set of four stock wheels that match your vehicle's bolt pattern and wheel off-set. You could buy them from the dealer, but that's expensive. So I recommend searching through Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, Offer-Up, etc. in your local market to find a compatible set. You can save a lot of money doing this, but it may take time to find matching wheels at a reasonable price, so start your search as early as possible in the summer leading into fall.

In this part of the episode, I give three examples of how I tracked down three sets of used matching OEM wheels for three different vehicles that I own (or have owned) over the last few years, including a Honda Pilot, an Audi wagon and a Toyota Highlander. And if I can track down a set of used winter wheels successfully, so can you.

15:25 - Should I Buy Used Winter Tires?

My one word answer is... maybe. But only if those winter tires are a year or maybe two old (max) and haven't been used much. There are two main reasons for that...

First, you obviously don't want tires that are worn out, especially when it comes to winter tires, since the tread pattern and depth plays an important role in the amount of traction those tires provide in wintery conditions. And when it comes to studless winter tires, the unique rubber compound that is designed to remain soft at low temperatures for additional grip on ice and snow, is often only present in the first half or so of the tread depth. After wearing through that, the remaining rubber in the second half of the tread is more like a typical all-season tire, so there's not as much useful winter traction in a half-worn studless winter tire.

The second reason is that tires have a shelf life, and no matter how much tread they have, if they are several years old, they may be past their prime. The number of years a tire can last varies to some degree based on tire type and manufacturer, plus how they are stored and cared for, but the general consensus is that by six years of age, tires should minimally be inspected by a specialist, if not outright replaced, and by ten years, they're done. Now I'm sure there are people rolling around on tires older than ten years, but it's not a good idea.

That said, in this episode I give an example of how I found an excellent set of used winter tires for my former 2005 Honda Pilot. I was just about to buy a new set, but I decided to check Craigslist before making a purchase and I found a set of Bridgestone Blizzak tires that were identical to the set I just wore out. The used set I found was less than a year old with very little use, so at least in that particular case, it paid to check my local Craigslist before buying a new set.

Tirerack.com article: How Do I Determine The Age Of My Tires

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

19:40 - How To Get The Best Deals On New Winter Tires In Summer

Assuming you can't find a set of suitable used winter tires, if you start your search for a set of new winter tires early enough before the winter season (in late summer, early fall), occasionally you can find a holdover set of winter tires from the previous season that a tire store still has in inventory. While those tires have never been used and were stored in a temperature controlled storage area, they are still a year old so they typically get a sold at a substantial discount.

Another reason that you want so start looking for winter tires in late summer and early fall is that many tire makers offer sizable preseason rebates on their winter tires to give a boost to sales. These rebates are typically in the form of a prepaid Visa card, and I have seen the rebate amounts vary from $50 and $100, with the typical rebate about half way in between.

23:35 - Which Winter Tires Should I Buy?

I would stick with Studless winter tires from major manufacturers. Over the last 8 years I have purchased various sets of Bridgestone Blizzaks, Michelin X-Ice and Continental Winter Contact studless tires and all offered excellent traction. However, tire tech is constantly evolving so it is a good idea to search online for the latest winter tire comparison tests. Online vendors such as Tirerack.com and others actually test winter tires in winter conditions, so you can see for yourself which tires currently offer the best winter traction.

Winter Tire vs. All-Season Tire vs. Summer Tire Comparison Video

Copy/paste link: https://bit.ly/3egc7Jo

This short video from Tirerack.com visually highlights the difference in traction, braking distance and cornering ability on ice between winter, all-season and summer tires.

2WD with Winter Tires vs. 4WD with Summer Tires Video

Copy/paste link: https://bit.ly/3ymY1wP

This video from Auto Express in the UK nicely demonstrates how a 2-wheel drive vehicle with winter tires is far superior to a 4-wheel drive vehicle with summer tires in snowy conditions. (hint: a 4-wheel drive with winter tires is even better!)

25:30 - Wrap Up

Hopefully I have convinced you to search for and buy your winter wheels and tires in summer. If you do, it can potentially save you a lot of money.