Winter Tire Debate

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Winter Tire Debate
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• There are two things I really get bent out of
  shape about, improperly installed car seats and
  people who refuse to even consider winter tires. 
  Since winter is just around the corner, lets
  focus on the latter.
• Every year during this time, I have countless
  conversations with customers over the importance
  of winter tires.  While perceptions are slowly
  changing, resistance still seems inherent to
  some. 

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• My main argument has always been centered
  around the stopping distance advantage that a car
  equipped with winter tires has over a vehicle
  with all season tires. How many close calls did
  you have last winter? Assume for a second that
  you could stop your car 20-30 ft sooner than the
  car in front of you. 

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• Whats that worth to you?  The Ministry of
  Transportation in Quebec supports justification
  of their mandatory snow tire law stating that the
  use of winter tires shortens stopping distance by
  25 and reduces fender-benders by 38.
• The fact is that below 7ºC all season tires
  start to show the first signs of loss of
  traction, at -5ºC they are essentially useless.  

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• Enter the winter tire, engineered to start
  functioning at these lower temps.  These tires
  are made from special compounds designed to grip
  the road in the snow, the freezing rain and even
  those sunny yet bitterly cold dry pavement days.
• There are countless other arguments that can be
  made coaxing you into a set of winter tires
  including various highly technical articles (here
  are a couple of my simpler favorite pitches).

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• Most drivers have an insurance deductible that
  is 500 or greater.  Lets assume for a second
  that the car you are following one fine winters
  day is equipped with a full set of winter tires,
  suddenly that car needs to perform a Hello what
  are they thinking panic stop.  It has a 20-30 ft
  stopping advantage, you dont.  Uh-oh, guess who
  just rear ended that brand new BMW.  

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• Your insurance company is going to love you.  
  The cost of your  insurance deductible would
  have  paid for your tires and as an added bonus
  youre going to have to pay larger premiums over
  the next few years.  As a side note, most
  insurance companies now offer a discount when you
  are have a set of winter tires installed.

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• Argument 2 is regarding longevity, you are
  switching between two sets of tires giving  the
  other set a break 6 months of the year,
  translating into half the wear and doubling their
  life span.
• Yes, unfortunately there is an up front cost,
  but its justifiable.   Most people have the
  thought process that when they buy a set of
  winter tires that they are spending for a luxury
  item which simply isnt the case. 

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• I have sold countless sets of winter tires
  based on my sales pitch I have yet had a single
  person come back and tell me that they feel their
  hard earned cash was wasted on winter tires.
• There are so many things in life that I cant
  control.  What I can control I will.  My family
  will never be without a car sporting winter
  tires, even if it were only one time per winter.

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• http//allaboutimports.com/