Are new winter tires cheaper in the summer?

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Aug 12, 2015
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Central NY
245/75/16. Right now a pair of Uniroyal Tiger Paw ice&snow 3 runs $241.

ive never checked seasonal prices so I have no clue. Are new winter tires cheaper in the summer?

my Tacoma’s rear tires are being worn 2x faster than the front due to payload and towing. They’re sitting at 6/32nds rear and 8/32nds front now. Considering they were all 7-8/32nds in April, At this rate my rears will be pretty worn by November. Just looking to get by another season or two until I can get my hands on the new lightning. I literally just sold my set of new Duratracs to a friend, then I noticed my HT tires were getting low. If I had known I would have kept them through the winter.

would it bet better to rotate now and have a set of tires at 6/32nds during winter(possibly just buying a new set depending how much is left), or 7/32nd front and new snows on the rear?

trying to not spend money on this truck if I don’t have to, but I’m not willing to risk an accident over a couple hundred dollars.
 
My experience has been that there are very few bargains for snow tires in the middle of the summer. I've seen the best prices for snow tires to be late winter, when the snow tire season is about half over. The second best time to buy snow tires is early before first snowstorm. But don't expect any bargains right now.
 
I have bought several sets of snow tires the last few seasons and the best deals are late fall/early winter when competition is best, like @BHopkins said above.

That said Some tips:

That size is extremely common, you should be able to get good deals. I was able to get four tires installed on my SUV in that size in 2019 for UNDER $300 after rebate. I got Hankooks, which were price-matched by the local GM dealer, and then given a $200 additional rebate ($100 GM fall tire rebate, + $100 additional rebate using a GM buy power credit card). This deal will pop back up again this fall, they do it twice a year. Ford does a similar thing through their dealers, too.

OTOH, just rotate the tires to even out the wear, and you may find by winter you have even tires and enough to get through next winter. If you are running the snow tires in summer, the wear will be astronomically higher in the warmer temps vs. winter. The wear rate will drop dramatically when the temps drop. The softer winter compound wears very rapidly in summer temps.
 
When DTD sales were good I always got my snows on Labor Day. Best selection and there were typically manufacturer rebates too.

I got a set of four new cooper snows on ebay for $115 in July though so it pays to keep your ear to the ground. You can track amazon with camelcamelcamel.com and see what their prices have been up to.
 
I have had the best luck in august/September
Best selections and best prices. Date codes may be a little further out so watch for that.
I have found some killer deals at places like newegg. And now defunct jet.com.
One place to try is CarID.com
I CALLED them and saved like 40 bucks off the internet price by calling then got another $20 off by barely dragging my feet. The guy said here is your special price which it was a very good deal. But if you buy now how about another $10.
I said make it 20 and I will buy it NOW.
I could not have purchased the tires for any cheaper that I could find.
 
245/75/16. Right now a pair of Uniroyal Tiger Paw ice&snow 3 runs $241.

ive never checked seasonal prices so I have no clue. Are new winter tires cheaper in the summer?

my Tacoma’s rear tires are being worn 2x faster than the front due to payload and towing. They’re sitting at 6/32nds rear and 8/32nds front now. Considering they were all 7-8/32nds in April, At this rate my rears will be pretty worn by November. Just looking to get by another season or two until I can get my hands on the new lightning. I literally just sold my set of new Duratracs to a friend, then I noticed my HT tires were getting low. If I had known I would have kept them through the winter.

would it bet better to rotate now and have a set of tires at 6/32nds during winter(possibly just buying a new set depending how much is left), or 7/32nd front and new snows on the rear?

trying to not spend money on this truck if I don’t have to, but I’m not willing to risk an accident over a couple hundred dollars.

If you buy them in the summer they will likely be a year ol, the manufacturers start making winter tyres near end of summer. I guess the price would depend on availability the winter before, as low availability would increase prices and makes summer pricing appear better.
 
I ended up getting a pair of new Toyo Observe GSI5 for $216 with free shipping. Can’t find em at this price anymore. Then I came across a set of steel wheels with Firestone winter forces for $150 locally. I was able to salvage 2 of the firestones so I have a full winter set for less then $400. The most expensive part was mount and balance. Ran $120 with 2 tire disposals. Crazy how labor prices shot up. Used to be able to do em for $20/tire
 
along w/tires April is the time for reduced rates on used car buying, car service and parts. (I can list other item savings by mo too such as laptops, camping gear & back-to-school items in August). I think the reason the price drop is ppl R thinking abt the car after a hard winter. Sales are to catch that, keep purchases away from other companies.
 
My understanding is winter tires are not made in masse during summer if at all and are not stocked my retailers due to storage space needed.
Every year there are sales on those tires, just buy a set winter before you need them or during running sale same winter season if you and your current tires can wait.
 
My understanding is winter tires are not made in masse during summer if at all and are not stocked my retailers due to storage space needed.
Every year there are sales on those tires, just buy a set winter before you need them or during running sale same winter season if you and your current tires can wait.
I just bought a set. Most, if not almost all winter tires in a couple of sizes I was looking at were unobtanium right now so I'd agree with dubber on this.
 
In the past I was able to score some deals in the late winter season, but availability was hit and miss. Second best time was mid-fall - when availability was best and there was competition between retailers. Last two sets of winter tires had mid summer production dates - one made in the USA, the other in Japan. Reality is they make them in mid summer to get distributed and transported ahead of the winter season - particularly when made overseas...
 
for the national listings I have just "April" as time for tire savngs (year round). Perhapse the lack of discernment is due to national climate variation. Smaller enclaves have different climates - some dont need winter tires at all / some do. I'd look in Aug/SeptOct if U R in the 'sno belt'? "...new winter tires..." may B less expensive then (as asked). Suggested as per the reasonng in #9 above~
 
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