All-season tyres or two sets: how to compare the costs

Check the use case before the calculation

A financial comparison is useful only between suitable options. Regular winter journeys into the mountains have different demands from a second car that can stay at home in difficult conditions. A theoretical saving should not dictate an unsuitable tyre choice.

TCS assesses individual models and characteristics, rather than giving an entire category a single quality score. Its tyre questions and answers provide context. One test result does not automatically cover every size in a model family.

Use a common period

For two sets, include purchase or use over the period, seasonal swaps and any storage. All-season tyres still involve purchase, fitting and necessary checks. No seasonal change does not mean no maintenance.

You could compare four years, with the same mileage and consistent replacement assumptions. If one set still has substantial useful life at the end, do not fully write it off on one side while ignoring that on the other. A transparent list is more honest than an exact-looking figure built on uncertain service life.

Put a value on the avoided appointments

An invented example: two swaps at CHF 60 and CHF 100 annual storage total CHF 220 per year, or CHF 880 over four years. Those are only these cost items, not a guaranteed all-season saving. Purchase, wear and fitting still need comparison. The figures are not VANTIQ prices.

If you already have two good wheel sets and store them free of charge, the result changes. If you need rims and possibly sensors, the initial investment changes too. Your starting point matters more than an imaginary household’s.

Our decision guide

All-season tyres are worth examining when reduced seasonal organisation matters and the specific model covers your journeys. Two seasonal sets remain a deliberate choice for optimising summer and winter requirements separately.

Compare two suitable all-season candidates with a specific summer/winter solution. Enter real quotations and leave uncertain lifespans as ranges. Our size selection helps find offers; the fitting information helps you request the right work.

Illustrative photo: Erik Mclean / Pexels.