The pros and cons of a winter tyre fit

HELPDESK:Answering all your motoring queries

From T Allen: Given the freezing weather we've had in recent weeks, should we consider using snow tyres here? What are the benefits and can you use them only in snow? I don't need high-performance tyres, so if they would work safely during summer, then I'd be happier to opt for these and be safer in winter.

The reality of motoring in Ireland makes them impractical. For a start, there is a difference between snow and winter tyres. Snow tyres are for more extreme conditions and often come with studs or spikes fitted. They are only for use when there is a thick covering of snow over all road surfaces and are not for general use. They make sense in northern Scandinavia – and for a few days a year on Sally’s Gap – but are not really suited for general use in Ireland.

Winter tyres are more appropriate for the recent conditions we’ve experienced here, where road temperatures fall below zero degrees. However, if you consider our weather over the past few decades, this cold spell is the exception rather than the rule.

Winter tyres differ from regular versions in the tread patterns and the compound of the rubber. According to Colm Conyngham of Bridgestone Ireland, once road temperatures rise above freezing, the grip is inferior to regular tyres.

“These tyres don’t perform as well as regular tyres once temperatures return to positive figures and on wet roads. Practically speaking most people would need a few weeks advanced notice of a cold spell to get a chance to get their tyres changed at a garage and would need to change them back once the weather improved. It would be pretty expensive for most motorists, given that they’d probably only get a few days use out of the winter tyres over a year,” he says. “Also, many tyre outlets don’t stock winter tyres as there is not really a market for them.”

It would make more economic sense for the Government and councils to invest some of the millions they receive in motor tax on a decent national supply of salt and grit for our roads rather than have motorists spending millions on winter tyres. If, as the Government claims, the current shortage of salt is not down to a lack of funds money, then clearly it’s down to poor contingency planning.

From H Sm: For all the talk about the new scrappage scheme, there is little relief for the rest of us motorists who don’t qualify. We have taken a big hit in the values of our cars, something that hasn’t got as much attention in the media as the new car market.

My case in point: I bought a new Mercedes E220 CDI back in the summer of 2006. By the time I drove it off the forecourt it was valued at just over €67,000. A new E200 CDI, which by all accounts is a much better car than mine, can now be driven away with Avantgarde trim for €45,165. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what this has done to the value of my car. I’ve made a few enquiries, and the offers I’m getting are in the region of €24,000. I’m facing a loss of €40,000 after four years.

Unfortunately, your story is not unique and is repeated not just with E-Class models but across the entire car market. Part of the drop in value is undoubtedly due to cuts in new car prices, but even if the new car price remained at €60,000-plus, you would still have expected a price drop in the region of €30,000 or so after four years. On top of this, tax changes introduced by the Government automatically pushed down prices of diesel models when we changed to an emissions-based system in July 2008.

Then there is the influence of used imports: buyers will invariably compare the price of your car with those of imports from Britain or the North. It’s not a very helpful response but ultimately the market dictates the prices, and many of the dealers quoting you trade-in values suffered themselves from the drop in used values. There is no easy solution and it shows that in the car market, falling prices is something of a double-edged sword.

If it’s any comfort, when you compare the net cost of change between a four-year-old E-Class traded in against a new one in 2006 and your trade-in now, the net spend will not be greatly different.