HOW MUCH DO WINTER TIRES COST?
With more people becoming keenly aware of the benefits of having winter tires, 7 in 10 Canadian drivers now use them on their vehicle (1), up from 51% in 2014.
These numbers do not include Quebec where the law says that drivers must use winter tires between December 1st and March 15th (2).
If winter tires are so much better and safer, why do around 30% of people not have them?
Some drivers feel their all season tires are adequate while others don’t feel they drive enough during the winter to warrant them, the primary hurdle to getting them for around 22% of people without winter tires is the price tag.
Generally speaking the cost of winter tires ranges between $100 and $200, meaning it can be a significant expense for many people to purchase a new set of winter tires.
What determines the cost of winter tires?
NEW VS USED WINTER TIRES
While the cost of new winter tires can be significant, a potential way to save yourself some money is to find quality used winter tires. You can often find these at local auto recyclers all year round, but the fall and early winter is likely when you’ll see the best deals.
Sometimes you can locate lightly used winter tires that were only on a vehicle during 1 season for various reasons.
As long as there is still plenty of tread left on the tires and they’re in good condition overall, you could end up paying less than half the price you would for new winter tires.
Get a quote for used winter tires here.
SIZE MATTERS
The bigger the tire the more traction it gets on the road, but it comes at a price.
Larger tires cost more than smaller tires.
“Take the popular Michelin Defender all-season tire, which comes in a wide range of sizes to fit small to large cars. Expect to pay about $82 for a 175/70R13, sized for a small, older car. For larger cars you could shell out more than $201 for a 215/55R17 version of the same tire.” (6)
Wondering how you find out what size tires you already have? Click here.
AMOUNT OF TREAD LEFT
If you’re looking into used winter tires, one of the biggest variables that will have a heavy influence on price is the amount of tread left on the tire.
The less tread, the less expensive the tire will be but also the less life the tire will have left in it.
While it’s probably not the ideal solution, if you’re looking for a short term solution, used winter tires with reduced tread would be your cheapest option.
THE BRAND
Not all tires are created equal.
Some higher end winter tires like the Pirelli Scorpion Winter cost a little more, but then there are other more economical brands like the Sailun IceBlazer WST1 that come with a smaller price tag.
Some of Canada’s top winter tire brands include:
HOW WINTER TIRES CAN SAVE YOU MONEY
Cheaper Insurance.
As of January 1, 2016 all Canadian insurance providers began offering some type of winter tire car insurance discount. For example, Erie Mutual Insurance offers a 2.5% discount on auto insurance for private passenger vehicles that use winter tires between November – April.
If you’d normally spend $200 per month for auto insurance, this would save you around $60 per year, not too shabby.
Spend less on gas.
During the cold months, winter tires will increase traction and handling resulting in less work for the engine. Using winter tires means using less gas compared to not used winter tires.
Make sure to switch back to your all season tires before the start of the hot months because continuing to use your winter tires in the summer would hurt your vehicle fuel economy. (5).
Extend the life of your tires.
When you switch to winter tires between December - March and then back to all season tires from April - November, you’re reducing the wear on all 8 tires significantly.
This means that your tires will last longer and you won’t need to make new tires purchases as often as you would if you stuck with all season tires for the full year.
While everyone’s situation and decision making criteria is unique to them, we hope this information has helped shed some light on the cost of winter tires and how in a lot of cases it’s very much worth it!
Rectangle Auto Supply proudly offers quality used auto parts and used tires all over southern Ontario including St. Catharines, Thorold, Lincoln, Niagara on the Lake, Welland, Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Grimsby, Pelham, Hamilton (and more).
SOURCES:
1 - tracanada.ca
2 - saaq.gouv.qc.ca
3 - thinkinsure.ca
4 - cansumer.ca
5 - motorandwheels.com
6 - consumerreports.org
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