[JTV]

Summer tires will be very, very risky in snow, regardless of which car you are driving.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by NGT2

You used to sell cars, right?

What annoys the hell out of me is that so many of these cars, especially BMW like the X7, come equipped with larger wheels that only come with performance tire options. But the average buyer doesn’t know all this. So your average suburban family in Memphis buys an X7 as the main family hauler. The X7 has cool 22” wheels and everyone is pleased. But they have no idea about the tires. So even though there isnt much snow to speak of down here, they’re running around with the family for 3 months in temps routinely below 40 degrees, with no clue they’re at increased risk.

In northern and colder states, people are used to switching tires, etc. Down here, you just buy the car and drive on the tires all year. Maybe performance car customers are conditioned to the nuances but the average southern SUV buyer isn’t. They’ve been buying minivans and Tahoes and Explorers, etc. without ever giving a thought to tires because they’re used to a utility vehicle being sold with AS tires.

You could say that people should know they’re buying a different product in a BMW X7 than a Yukon SLT, maybe. But they’re all living in the same price universe now. It’s all just an SUV to the average buyer.

Okay, that’s my rant. But I think dealers should make more effort to educate the buyer.

I specifically found an X7 with 21” wheels for this reason. Most don’t do the research that I and others on these forums will do before purchasing.

Yes I did sell BMWs and MINIs back in 2007 through 2014. And your rant is a fair one. Because of different options available, if people had the time to wait I always encouraged ordering a car with the options they wanted, and the ordering process gave me an opportunity to go over things like tires and wheels with the buyers. But most buyers want a car now and they are at the mercy of what the dealer orders for inventory, although at least back then we could search BMW dealers' inventories and arrange dealer trades to get a different car than those on the lot. Don't know if that is happening currently; I know it wasn't during the pandemic inventory shortages. In reality, most sales people don't really want to educate buyers, they just want them to buy and buy quickly. And buy whatever is on the lot. Early on I asked a veteran salesman what was the best color 5 Series and he said "Whatever color we have on the lot". If a buyer likes the looks of one model with big wheels and summer tires, a good sales person would not want to kill that enthusiasm. Usually we would suggest that they might want to consider getting a second set of wheels with snow tires for winter use (more things for us to sell). But we wouldn't want to discourage them from buying a car they seem to like. Just the way it was. --Bob

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Yes I did sell BMWs and MINIs back in 2007 through 2014. And your rant is a fair one. Because of different options available, if people had the time to wait I always encouraged ordering a car with the options they wanted, and the ordering process gave me an opportunity to go over things like tires and wheels with the buyers. But most buyers want a car now and they are at the mercy of what the dealer orders for inventory, although at least back then we could search BMW dealers' inventories and arrange dealer trades to get a different car than those on the lot. Don't know if that is happening currently; I know it wasn't during the pandemic inventory shortages. In reality, most sales people don't really want to educate buyers, they just want them to buy and buy quickly. And buy whatever is on the lot. Early on I asked a veteran salesman what was the best color 5 Series and he said "Whatever color we have on the lot". If a buyer likes the looks of one model with big wheels and summer tires, a good sales person would not want to kill that enthusiasm. Usually we would suggest that they might want to consider getting a second set of wheels with snow tires for winter use (more things for us to sell). But we wouldn't want to discourage them from buying a car they seem to like. Just the way it was. —Bob

Oh yeah, I get all that. I’ve been in sales berore, I understand. I just wish there was some more stated method of education for these particular buyers. Performance summer tires on a mass marketed, car pool hauler SUV just seems like a relatively new thing and so it doesn’t occur to people. That’s my take, anyway.