Its that time again, doesn't seem so long since you last did it, you can still remember the pain of the bill but yes it is that time again. Time to replace your tyres!
New, part worn, free quote, free delivery, 100% free delivery (as opposed to 95% free delivery?), discount etc. etc. etc.
So is this the best approach to get you back on the road? Maybe, if you know the exact tyre you want, make model part no. Compare apples with apples, well actually green golden delicious with a diameter of 10cm with another golden delicious of similar size and stature.
On the other hand if you just want the cheapest tyre you can get your hands on there are numerous suppliers who will help you out here. And you may as well get familiar with them because you will be back to them again and again and again.
Going back to the apple example, apples and most foods in the supermarket have a very useful label that break down every item to price per kilogram. I find it particularly useful when buying tea. It brings all the different shapes and weights and sizes of everything to one simple comparison.
Bringing this back to the tyre world, what if you could see the price per kilometer per tyre, would this effect your decision ?
Because all the leading tyre manufacturers genuinely believe they give you more KM for your cash. So while you may be saving €30, €40, €50 per tyre today. In the long run you end up paying more.
The EU tyre labelling system was introduced to try and identify this last year. But it's only now that the results are starting to show, according to a study by Lanxess “Green Tyres” reduce the fuel consumption of trucks by 8.5%.
So the evidence is there and we are starting to see a TAAS ("Tyres as a Service") business evolve from this to remove the final barrier to implementation, which is the upfront cost of the tyres.
In the end every one benefits, the roads will be a safer place without cheap tyres!
