Winter tires required for ED after Oct 15?

[Charlie Brown]

My ED date was changed from Oct 12 to Oct 25. My CA called yesterday and informed me that German law requires all vehicles have winter tires fitted after Oct 15. He also said that the Welt has a "partner" that will rent wheels and winter tires for ED and then refit your factory wheels and tires at the drop off point. This was all the information I was provided. Anyone else here know of such laws/requirements and how that impacts ED? Anyone experience this in prior years with ED (assuming some may have experienced fall/winter ED with other models)?

[TobiasMUC]

No that's wrong. There is no such law.
The choice of tires must be according to road conditions.
"Winter tires" are in winter conditions prescribed, so on icy, snowy roads, slush, ice or hoarfrost.
The Website is german. Bavarian police.
http://www.polizei.bayern.de/verkehr/index.html/25491


If you stay in Munich, you don't need winter tires. If you plan to drive in the apls i would recommend winter tires.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Charlie Brown

My ED date was changed from Oct 12 to Oct 25. My CA called yesterday and informed me that German law requires all vehicles have winter tires fitted after Oct 15. He also said that the Welt has a "partner" that will rent wheels and winter tires for ED and then refit your factory wheels and tires at the drop off point. This was all the information I was provided. Anyone else here know of such laws/requirements and how that impacts ED? Anyone experience this in prior years with ED (assuming some may have experienced fall/winter ED with other models)?

[chillin4now]

Originally Posted by Charlie Brown

My ED date was changed from Oct 12 to Oct 25. My CA called yesterday and informed me that German law requires all vehicles have winter tires fitted after Oct 15. He also said that the Welt has a "partner" that will rent wheels and winter tires for ED and then refit your factory wheels and tires at the drop off point. This was all the information I was provided. Anyone else here know of such laws/requirements and how that impacts ED? Anyone experience this in prior years with ED (assuming some may have experienced fall/winter ED with other models)?

From BMW USA website:

Germany passed a ruling that requires drivers to properly equip their vehicles according to inclement weather conditions. From October 15th until April 15th, driving conditions are dangerous due to ice or snow, cars must be equipped with All Season tires (also called 'M+S tires'). There might be street sections for which snow tires or even snow chains are declared mandatory. This often is the case for ski resorts and alpine passes. It is the responsibility of the car owner and driver to equip their vehicle appropriately for the prevailing weather conditions. If you do not appropriately equip your vehicle for the weather conditions that exist during your drive, obstruct traffic or get involved in an accident as a result thereof, it is possible you may be cited for a violation of the law by the local authorities or be found to be grossly negligent according to the law.Other countries you may visit including Austria and Switzerland may also have similar laws. If the Police find that you are not equipped with the appropriate items when the weather conditions deem them necessary, and if the officer feels that other traffic participants have been endangered, they have the authority to fine a driver 20 Euros or in some cases significantly higher.

Please carefully review the options, packages, wheels and standard equipment of the vehicle you ordered with your Client Advisor. Depending on the model and packages you selected, the wheels and tires may change. You should ensure you have the proper tires and wheel for the climate in which you plan to drive.

Customers have the option to leave their vehicle at BMW Welt for shipment to the U.S. if they prefer not to drive. There will be a fee of 60Euro cash (no credit cards accepted), payable to the BMW Welt, for transportation of the vehicle from the Welt to the Munich drop off location.

The following website outlines a snow tire rental option and includes pricing and details of booking the tire rental in Germany. Please be advised that all cars must come back to Munich to have your original BMW tires put back on the car before shipment to the U.S.

[dkreidel]

Winter tires are available for rent in Munich and are a good idea depending on where you are going and luck of the draw on wx. The rental people are great and store your wheels/tires while you use their winter gear; their location is about half way between the Welt and the Munich airport. They're open M-F 9 to 4/5 but not on weekends. For an extra 50 or 70 euros they will deliver the winter tires to the Welt and your car can be delivered with the snows already installed.

The rental isn't cheap...I've done it twice for December ED's and "gone bare" a couple of other late fall/early spring ED's.

dk

[stealth.pilot]

I did an October 17th ED last year and I wasn't required to buy winter tires. My car came with summer tires.

[mgallen]

Originally Posted by Charlie Brown

My ED date was changed from Oct 12 to Oct 25. My CA called yesterday and informed me that German law requires all vehicles have winter tires fitted after Oct 15. He also said that the Welt has a "partner" that will rent wheels and winter tires for ED and then refit your factory wheels and tires at the drop off point. This was all the information I was provided. Anyone else here know of such laws/requirements and how that impacts ED? Anyone experience this in prior years with ED (assuming some may have experienced fall/winter ED with other models)?

In our BMW European Delivery packet, there is information about the winter tire requirement effective October 15th through either March or April. The packet also provides information on where you can rent winter wheels while driving in Europe during this time period.

[nv6425]

I did ED last year from November 17th - November 21st and put over 1,500 miles on my M3 driving across Germany into Austria and the Czech Republic and didn't need winter tires. I had rented them and the process is quite simple, but I didn't see any snow at all, including the mountains near Vienna.

[m5huang]

" authority to fine a driver 20 Euros"

Maybe it's worth saving on tire rentals if the fine is only 20 Euros.

[Rad67]

This is the message I received from EDwinter when I tried to reserve tires for the M5 a little while back:

I am sorry but we do not stock any Winter tires for the M5.
In fact, and I'm not sure why, but we are told there are none to be bought
anywhere at the moment.

Regards
John
www.edwintertires.com

I have a contact looking into this at BMW NA, and if I get any information I'll post...

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks for the replies.. This forum is great to vet information like this. I'll be in Europe on business when I take ED so not a lot of time for touring. Right now my plan is to skip the winter tires and only drive the car in Munich.

[Rad67]

This is the response from EDwinter as of 9/21:

Yes, I've been told that there are still no Winter tires freely available for the M5, so I cannot buy any at this time.

It may change as we get closer to November.

Regards
John
www.edwintertires.com

No additional information available yet from BMW NA, so I guess I'll just have to re-route, but only had a couple of days exposure anyway.

[m5huang]

Originally Posted by Rad67

This is the response from EDwinter as of 9/21:

Yes, I've been told that there are still no Winter tires freely available for the M5, so I cannot buy any at this time.

It may change as we get closer to November.

Regards
John
www.edwintertires.com

No additional information available yet from BMW NA, so I guess I'll just have to re-route, but only had a couple of days exposure anyway.

Are you planning to do any of the passes? I'm going to risk it with my factory tires and try for the Stelvio pass. Since I am doing a drop off in Zurich, there's no way I can rent winter tires.

[Rad67]

Good news for those needing winter tires, as of today:

I am pleased to inform you that we will have a set of wheels & Winter tires for BMW M5's in stock as of mid-October.

If you wish to proceed with a rental, please complete the reservation form on www.edwintertires.com

Regards
John Lance
www.edwintertires.com

[Rad67]

Originally Posted by m5huang

Are you planning to do any of the passes? I'm going to risk it with my factory tires and try for the Stelvio pass. Since I am doing a drop off in Zurich, there's no way I can rent winter tires.

Hadn't planned on entering Italy, but the Stelvio Pass looks to be an awesome drive! That and the drive through Switzerland is very scenic as well. Enjoy