Winter tyres and wheels or a cheap AWD vehicle

[TigerW211]

Hi,

I have a Merc E280 Sport Petrol with 18" wheels
265/35/R18

These are low profiles and winter driving in snow is awkward.
I have weighted the boot which helps but my wife mainly drives this car
and she is not experienced with winter driving.
We live in the sticks and do get snowed in and local roads are not well gritted.

I am considering winter tyres as so many people say this helps a lot.
I believe i can put 17" wheels and maybe go for a smaller width tyre.
Any recommendations? Has anyone else with this vehicle done this?
Your advice would be much appreciated.

My choice is either to buy cheap winter wheels and tyres, i have storage for them
or buy a cheap 4WD / AWD car such as the jag x type AWD. Then if it does get banged i
dont care. It happens and even driving slow and safe wont stop someone else hitting
our car, such is life. Recently i have noticed people driving fast in bad conditions like everyone
is in a hurry to get to where they are going. I prefer to take my time and be safe.
I dont wish to spend too much money as i'm saving for a nice car. This car is an 07 but very
well spec'ed and in very good condition and has sentimental value. We will keep it till the
bitter end, when my wife will cry for weeks. If anything ever happens to me, she will move on
within a few minutes.

Any help would be great.

 

[ph47mf]

I am in a similar situation though I don't live in the sticks. We didn't have any food at home so my wife sent me out on a life threatening KFC bucket seeking mission yesterday in my E-class and the 5 minute journey took me 30 minutes, i kept getting stuck at junctions where I had to stop, once stopped it's hard to get going again.

The winter tyre thing is not feasible for me as I have nowhere to store a spare set of tyres. My next car will definitely be a 4x4 and it may mean moving away from Merc as there aren't as many options as say Audi and BMW.

I would say you should get a cheap 4x4 for now. The snow is not going to stay for long but with you in the sticks, it will help you in heavy rain too.

 

[CaptainChaos]

Winter tyres make the difference. NOT 4x4. If your tyres have no grip, it doesn't matter how many of them are driving, you have no grip. 4 x 0 = 0.
4x4 also doesn't help you steer or brake which is even more important than going!

Have a look for a set of used Mercedes wheels and tyres. German ebay is a good source. Your manual will tell you what size you should use. Whilst there is an initial outlay, once you are using winter tyres you are not wearing out your summer tyres. When you sell your car you can sell the winter wheels and tyres so it doesn't work out too bad over the life of the car, especially if you can store them and fit them yourself.

 

[TigerW211]

I am in a similar situation though I don't live in the sticks. We didn't have any food at home so my wife sent me out on a life threatening KFC bucket seeking mission yesterday in my E-class and the 5 minute journey took me 30 minutes, i kept getting stuck at junctions where I had to stop, once stopped it's hard to get going again.

The winter tyre thing is not feasible for me as I have nowhere to store a spare set of tyres. My next car will definitely be a 4x4 and it may mean moving away from Merc as there aren't as many options as say Audi and BMW.

I would say you should get a cheap 4x4 for now. The snow is not going to stay for long but with you in the sticks, it will help you in heavy rain too.

Hi,

I think you are right matey, I was just discussing this with my wife and she agrees with you, Would you like to take her off may hands?!?!

I have been looking at 4WD and AWD cheap runs arounds for £1k to £2k.
We have had a few cars in the past at this price and have had very few issues so hope this will be the case again.
We also live at the end of a cul-de-sac, last house!! typical!! so very few cars pass though making the first third of
getting out of our road very difficult.

thanks for your message.

 

[CaptainChaos]

I am in a similar situation though I don't live in the sticks. We didn't have any food at home so my wife sent me out on a life threatening KFC bucket seeking mission yesterday in my E-class and the 5 minute journey took me 30 minutes, i kept getting stuck at junctions where I had to stop, once stopped it's hard to get going again.

The winter tyre thing is not feasible for me as I have nowhere to store a spare set of tyres. My next car will definitely be a 4x4 and it may mean moving away from Merc as there aren't as many options as say Audi and BMW.

I would say you should get a cheap 4x4 for now. The snow is not going to stay for long but with you in the sticks, it will help you in heavy rain too.

If you buy a four wheel drive BMW or Audi on high performance summer tyres you will be no better off.
If you can only have one set of tyres look at the new All Season types such as Michelin Cross Climate or Goodyear Four Season.

 

[CaptainChaos]

OK, here's one for you. A few years ago I had a rear wheel drive BMW on winter tyres and a Range Rover with road biased tyres.
Which do you think started, stopped and steered better in the snow?

 

[ph47mf]

Hi,

I think you are right matey, I was just discussing this with my wife and she agrees with you, Would you like to take her off may hands?!?!

Not unless you do delivery as well , after the KFC mission yesterday, i won't drive anywhere with my useless car.

This is under £500

Jaguar X-Type 2.5 V6 (AWD) 4dr

 

[TigerW211]

Winter tyres make the difference. NOT 4x4. If your tyres have no grip, it doesn't matter how many of them are driving, you have no grip. 4 x 0 = 0.
4x4 also doesn't help you steer or brake which is even more important than going!

Have a look for a set of used Mercedes wheels and tyres. German ebay is a good source. Your manual will tell you what size you should use. Whilst there is an initial outlay, once you are using winter tyres you are not wearing out your summer tyres. When you sell your car you can sell the winter wheels and tyres so it doesn't work out too bad over the life of the car, especially if you can store them and fit them yourself.

Hi,

Agreed with the 4x4 being also not very good if the tyres are not winter tyres however i would have winter tyres fitted and left on permanently
and just use the 4WD / AWD for winter use and very occasional summer use just to keep it alive. However my wife doen't want the headache
of storing tyres even though we have the space and then having to fit them for winter only. Though great that i could also sell winter wheels and
tyres with the car, certainly an advantage but doubt that car will ever be sold.
I also wonder about the balancing of the car with a different set of tyres.
I also wonder if i need to inform my insurance company about new wheels and tyres!?!?
Also buying a cheap winter car has the advantage of not having to worry if it gets banged, it is certainly slippery where
we live and people seem to be driving quite fast considering the weather and stopping distances being increased.
I've always been a cautious driver and more so in winter, even if i had a 4WD / AWD i would still drive slowly but people seem
to think they can drive faster in a 4WD and some even in normal cars.

thanks for your advice.

 

[TigerW211]

OK, here's one for you. A few years ago I had a rear wheel drive BMW on winter tyres and a Range Rover with road biased tyres.
Which do you think started, stopped and steered better in the snow?

Hi,

The BMW on winter tyres??

Thanks

 

[CaptainChaos]

Yes t

Hi,

The BMW on winter tyres??

Thanks

Yes!

No problem if you can run a 4x4 with winters on it. I was worried you were assuming 4x4 was the answer to your problems, when it's not. The only hassle comes from taxing, insuring, storing another car. Will it be reliable? Will it start etc. etc. At least if you have winter tyres on your everyday car you know that it will work when you need it to.

You don't need to inform your insurers if you are using the correct manufacturer approved size. It will be in the handbook or on the label on the filler flap or door shut as M+S.
There is no problem with balancing. Your tyres are not balanced to your car, they are balanced to the wheel. As long as you store them with plenty of air in them they are fine.

Anyway, good luck with it. Don't dismiss some of the smaller 4x4 cars - Suzuki SX4 and Fiat Pandas are exceptionally good in the snow and will be cheaper and easier to run and store than an old Jag.

 

[TigerW211]

Not unless you do delivery as well , after the KFC mission yesterday, i won't drive anywhere with my useless car.

This is under £500

Jaguar X-Type 2.5 V6 (AWD) 4dr

Hi,

Indeed i may be able to box her up and use our courier to deliver, however no refunds for damaged or used goods i'm afraid,
please do not quote the distance selling act!!!!!

I did see that car also and there is another slightly more that i saw also.
I really like the car and though not the most reliable for the price and mainly winter use only
i think is a great bargain and solution as new or second hand wheels with new winter tyres would
set me back more.

what do you think of the Jag AWD for winter use??

I am tiling two bathrooms in my house so chucked them in the boot as we could not move more than 5 feet yesterday
but i had to as my accountant has adopted two children and one has her 6th Birthday in a few days so we had to go and
get her some gifts as this will be her first Xmas so will be very important for them otherwise i would not have gone out.
You have a W212 which is newer than mine so better. I know it kills the fuel economy but i dont care as it makes my car
drive-able. I dont mind but my wife worries and would be heart broken if she damaged her car so a cheap jag seems a good option.
I would defo recommend putting something in your boot, worse case you can open a card board box and get the cheapest sand
from Wickes or other such product which is cheap and heavy to balance out your car.

thanks again for your advice.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I bought a kia sportage for this exact reason. Mrs feels so much more secure in the bad weather and when its her day off i use it if weathers bad.

 

[TigerW211]

Yes t


Yes!

No problem if you can run a 4x4 with winters on it. I was worried you were assuming 4x4 was the answer to your problems, when it's not. The only hassle comes from taxing, insuring, storing another car. Will it be reliable? Will it start etc. etc. At least if you have winter tyres on your everyday car you know that it will work when you need it to.

You don't need to inform your insurers if you are using the correct manufacturer approved size. It will be in the handbook or on the label on the filler flap or door shut as M+S.
There is no problem with balancing. Your tyres are not balanced to your car, they are balanced to the wheel. As long as you store them with plenty of air in them they are fine.

Anyway, good luck with it. Don't dismiss some of the smaller 4x4 cars - Suzuki SX4 and Fiat Pandas are exceptionally good in the snow and will be cheaper and easier to run and store than an old Jag.

Hi,

Ahh i see, no i would have thought it was obvious to use winter tyres on any vehicle regardless as this seems to be a very important factor.
I'm not overly worried about costs but dont want to overspend as i am saving for a nice car hopefully next year. I've had a few cheap cars in the
past and all auto's with no issue's but yes the jag can be unreliable, but if cheap i can sell it on and try again with another car. I bought a BMW compact
for £1100, drove it for 3 years, it failed it's MOT with a list of issues and sold it as such for £500, so this to me was a bargain.
I even sold it telling the guy i wouldn't drive it as it was not safe but he said he was handy and could fix it.
I dont mind insurance, its actually very cheap, but yes if something big goes wrong i can just sell it or bin it, i'm sure i could sell it for even £200
and i will start again and buy another. I've seen some wheels and tyres being much more so it seems to make better sense to buy a whole car!!
Then i would drive it very occasionally every couple of months or so just to keep it ticking over.

I will check the manual, there is tyre info on the petrol cap also so i will have a read.
However, no offense intended but i could not see myself or the wife in a panda or SX4 i'm afraid.
Not trying to be stuck up but that jag is very good looking compared to the panda or SX4.
I know jags can be unreliable and will cost more to run etc but not overly expensive, also i do have
space for another few vehicles so thats not an issue either.

I'm thinking of giving a jag a try, even if it doesn't last long i would try the same again, sell it and buy another
but if that didn't work then i guess i would go for winter wheels and tyres and learn my lesson. But if it costs me £1k
to buy the car and lasts for 2/3 years i would be happy with that. I would service it myself, tax and insurance is very cheap
and i could go for 3rd party insurance to save a little more.

Thanks for your advice indeed it is good advice.

 

[CaptainChaos]

No worries. Sounds like you have a plan!

 

[TigerW211]

I bought a kia sportage for this exact reason. Mrs feels so much more secure in the bad weather and when its her day off i use it if weathers bad.

Hi,

The kia's are rare in petrol and double the price of a Jag (minimum) and the older ones not as good looking as the jag i'm afraid.
Both my wife and I are avid car fans watching F1 races so i'm sure she wouldn't like the old kia sportage or sorento
models. The sorento is better looking but has a bigger engine 3.5 litre's as opposed to the 2.7 sportage.
I really would rather not drive the older kia models but i would happily drive the Jag and the Jag is not a favorite of mine to drive.
I did have one as a hire car and really wasn't keen on the comfort handling, the merc we have is a E280 Sport which has great stiff
suspension, very nice around bends and roundabouts!! However the Jag for AWD would be great for winter driving and short trips
between winter use to keep it alive. For other journeys and longer trips i would always use the merc. But for winter use it is quite low, low profiles
dont help, neither do the wide tyres on it. The Jag or something similar would fill the gap. Something cheap and good looking would be nice.
SUV's being heavy would only cost more in fuel also.

I do like the newer Kia models but sorry the old ones are not appealing and newer ones much more than i want to spend.
Indeed my wife would feel safer driving an AWD but she prefers cars to SUV's, she believes she has better visibility.
Not sure which MY Kia you have but now i've said all this i hope its a new shape!!!
I hope i'm not being offensive, just straight and honest.
I'm sure she would refuse to drive an older model Kia and my wife is very soft and never demanding. She does work hard
so i have to have some understanding also. If something is not appealing to her she would be right to not want to drive it.

Getting a jag for say £1k gives me the ability to keep £1k as a slush fund just in case and would be a saving if nothing went wrong.
BMW better for reliability but no 4WD or AWD in what i want to spend.
Maybe an Audi quattro but still the jag is a bit cheaper.

Thanks though, the reasoning is the same.
Which MY Kia do you have and how has it been for reliability? Is it petrol or Diesel?

 

[TigerW211]

No worries. Sounds like you have a plan!

Well trying to put one together!! And get the balance right. I just spoke to the wife after posting this and she is not keen
on getting winter tyres to change over which i thought might be a good solution. However it also seems it will cost a similar amount or less even,
to get an old AWD jag. Also when her BMW was hit she was very upset for sentimental reasons though i didn't care and just bought
her another one. The merc is nicer and has more sentimental value. i think she would be hurt if someone hit it or if she hit someone
which is easily done in slippery conditions.
So i guess its another car, which was not what i was expecting when i woke up if i'm honest!!!
Some wheels and tyres i have seen are quite expensive.
I cheap Jag may be unreliable but this also goes for any car at any price, a lot is down to luck.
German cars tend to be reliable but i may buy the lemon out of a bunch.

thanks for your advice though.

 

[CaptainChaos]

Have a look on ebay.de for w211 winterreifen
w211 winterreifen | eBay
I would have thought you would get some for £500 or so.
Got to be cheaper than buying an old Jag and some winter tyres for that?