Buying tyres online has become very easy on the one hand, it can be done all in the comfort of you’re armchair but on the other hand, the choice available online can confusing for some people. We have come up with a brief guide to help you select the right tyres. After you have selected your size, you will often end up with a long list of products sometimes over 100 makes and brands. That’s all okay if you know exactly what you want or if you’re matching with the same make and brand you had before, but which tyres do you buy online if you want to select something different or the brand you had before is no longer available.
Tyres online are usually categorised in Premium, mid-range and budget, what does this mean and which would be best for you car. Essentially the main difference between a budget, mid range or premium brand is the price. The price is the obvious difference between the categories there are also performance and a difference in the quality. Often the question in people minds are, is a budget brand just cheap and is the premium brand going to last x amount longer? Are budget brands safe? Is the mid-range brand going to perform just as good as a premium make tyre? We have tried to explain the difference between premium, budget and mid range makes.
Budget
If you’re on a tight budget or just don’t want to spend money on your tyres, then you should look at the budget sector. The budget sector has some decent quality tyres, some are slightly better than others. However today’s market a lot of the low-quality ones have largely finished. The budgets brands today are largely good quality. New E mark quality and sound quality standards have cleaned up the market for many Chinese brands that were below standards. A budget brand is sometimes two times cheaper than a premium brand, and there are quality budget tyres on the market, however because the price is very important factor the majority of really cheap brands lack the performance and quality of slightly dearer ones. Our advice is make you're choice carefully it may be better to pay £3-4 pounds more for a better tyre albeit still a budget.
Mid range
The mid-range sector has come about because new brands that emerged in the market that were unknown but the quality of the tyres were as good as premium brands. The mid-range market includes brands like Falken, Kumho, Hankook, Nexen etc. The mid range is also 20% to 50% dearer than the budget sector. Some of the mid range have also out performed the premium sector tyres. However because these brands have not been about as long as the premium makes and overall some of them still have some catching up to do in terms of performance. If you require tyres as good as premium brands but at a cheaper price than mid range tyres like the Falken and Hankook are real good choices.
Premium
Premium brands are the well-known brands every one knows about, they have been around of decades and have a long history of making tyres. They are all global companies and sell tyres in billions and have become house hold names. If your buying a premium brand, then no doubt you are buying a top of the range product. This basically means you are buying a product that has been tried and tested to perform in wet and dry and is comfortable and durable. There is tough competition in the branded sector, manufactures try to beat the competition by making better tyres. There is also a difference in price, some premium brands are £20-£30 cheaper. It is also worthwhile reading customer reviews before you purchase online, as this will give you good feedback if your deciding on a new make or pattern.
