Winter tire package price increase...

I've been debating whether to get winter tires or not, and for this first winter I decided against it. I did something similar to what you're thinking of, and bought a beat up old Subaru which seems to be running just fine, and that will be my winter back-up.
I'm going to see how this winter goes, maybe once I've moved to CT where (in theory) I can expect a third of the snowfall I get now, I will get the winter package and have the MS as an only car.

Remember how much $$$ in gas you'll be pouring into a used truck :wink:. I just traded in a newer truck and the mpg in winter was about 14........

anthony said:

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I'm leaning towards picking up a used truck for that kind of money, as sad as it would be, at least I wouldn't feel like I was throwing 2k in the trash.

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If pumping gas doesn't feel like throwing money in the trash I don't know what does.
Add insurance, upkeep, fees, etc and well...

The price of the wheels also went up. Quite possibly the tires didn't go up at all.
If it seems really out of line to you, you can always buy your own tires and get them mounted.

It feels like price gauging. I was calling around yesterday to see if anyone had come out with a winter tire and all season tire for the 21's, the shop guy I spoke with at Les Schuab pointed out that whatever I'd be saving on gas I'll be spending on tires with the model S and the 21's ... I couldn't disagree. that combined with how Tesla is making the switch to 19's, the size that has a lot more reasonable options, excessively expensive, is disappointing.

You can always get third-party rims and tires.

There's a discussion thread on the main Model S forum about winter wheels. Please keep any discussion here New England specific.

100thMonkey said:

It feels like price gauging. I was calling around yesterday to see if anyone had come out with a winter tire and all season tire for the 21's, the shop guy I spoke with at Les Schuab pointed out that whatever I'd be saving on gas I'll be spending on tires with the model S and the 21's ... I couldn't disagree. that combined with how Tesla is making the switch to 19's, the size that has a lot more reasonable options, excessively expensive, is disappointing.

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What do you mean when you say "Tesla is making the switch to 19s"?

On a somewhat related note for the New England/Boston area readers: I got the 21s. Picked up my car on 9/12 and already hit a curb. Total operator error and plan to have the curb rash fixed this winter (great place in Tewksbury called Rim Pros - one could check them out for aftermarket rims, too). I ordered the Tesla 19s and winter tires when I ordered the car and thankfully paid the old price.

FWIW, I have had no problems driving around the city or immediate suburb streets of Boston with my 21s.

For the winter tires, has anyone found a good options?
I may end up being secretly happy for the price increase, as now I'm not justifying to myself that the $2400 was reasonable. It was, but only if you factored in the tires and wheels. Now, I can look specifically for good tires, and put them on my 19" wheels. Hopefully, this will end up costing me about $200-300 per tire... about $1000 for 4 good winter tires... save myself some money that way too.

Hi.... Jeff Orlinsky @ Wheel DynamiX in Natick quoted me about $2700 for four 19" turbine-looking silver wheels and four of the fancy Nokiaan [sp?] winter tires. Plus another $175 yearly for mounting/unmounting the 21s & 19s twice a year, and storing the unused set (since I don't want to store them in the house). I don't think I'd've gone this direction if Tesla hadn't raised their price from $2400 to $4000 (plus no tire storage option).

Pollux said:

Hi.... Jeff Orlinsky @ Wheel DynamiX in Natick quoted me about $2700 for four 19" turbine-looking silver wheels and four of the fancy Nokiaan [sp?] winter tires. Plus another $175 yearly for mounting/unmounting the 21s & 19s twice a year, and storing the unused set (since I don't want to store them in the house). I don't think I'd've gone this direction if Tesla hadn't raised their price from $2400 to $4000 (plus no tire storage option).

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Do you have any photos you can post?

Sorry, @dgmanny, no pictures as of yet. I'm going to pull the trigger on the purchase this week, but will have Jeff store them until mid-November. Maybe I can get Jeff to give me a URL for a pic of the wheels; if so, I'll pass it along here.

HiTech said:

For the winter tires, has anyone found a good options?

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Any winter tire which meets the specs is OK, and there are usually several available from Tire Rack. Wheels are often expensive, but a set of four good winter tires from Tire Rack is about $1000.