I just called Skoda Insurance for a quote and whilst it was about £80 more than I currently pay I like the 'UK only' call centre aspect and the fact that all repairs would be carried out by a Skoda approved body shop so probably worth it overall. When i asked about the winter wheel/tyre issue the advisor was initially unsure and spoke to a supervisor who said that any wheels/tyres fitted in line with Skoda dealer recommendations would not constitute a notifiable modification.

Agreed and all the work carries the Skoda warranty and support - when I phoned this morning it was soooooooo good to talk to someone that I did not have to work hard at understanding what I was talking about.

Also if the worst happens you get a car for as long as it takes to get yours back on the road and uninsured driver accident cover.

There are lots of deals out there and in the end you pays your money etc.

ernieb

Yes I was wondering that as I want to move from my existing insurers who said they will charge me for changing to winter wheels and tyres !! I am angry at having to pay for trying to do something proactive to make my car safer to drive in bad weather.

RE. Informing insurer if winter tyres are fitted.

I just called my insurer (Bradford and Bingley Insurance) and asked...

(i) Is there any implication regarding any change of risk or is it considered a 'modification' if I fit winter tyres? .....and

(ii) Ditto, but if I fit steel wheels to replace the alloys fitted as standard, plus the same winter tyres?

Answer. There isn't a change of risk and it's not considered a modification provided the size remains the same.

He likened the change from Summer to Winter to that of a change between fitting cheap remoulds and top class Pirelli's....i.e. they're different tyres but both would be permitted.

The emphasis was that the size remained the same - not wider than existing.

I don't have this in writing however. If I did ask for it in writing then, who knows? I just state here was I was told today on the phone, but the advisor I spoke to adopted the logical, sensible reasoning that most here would like to hear. (They're also very reasonably priced, have UK call centres and answer the phone promptly - which is mainly why I use them).

Hope this may be of some assistance.

PS. The additional premium to change from my Honda Jazz Auto - to a I.2 DSG 'S' Trim Yeti would be about £25 per annum extra (plus £25 admin fee to change details).

Edited 14 October, 201015 yr by oldstan

RE. Informing insurer if winter tyres are fitted.

I just called my insurer (Bradford and Bingley Insurance) and asked...

(i) Is there any implication regarding any change of risk or is it considered a 'modification' if I fit winter tyres? .....and

(ii) Ditto, but if I fit steel wheels to replace the alloys fitted as standard, plus the same winter tyres?

Answer. There isn't a change of risk and it's not considered a modification provided the size remains the same.

He likened the change from Summer to Winter to that of a change between fitting cheap remoulds and top class Pirelli's....i.e. they're different tyres but both would be permitted.

The emphasis was that the size remained the same - not wider than existing.

I don't have this in writing however. If I did ask for it in writing then, who knows? I just state here was I was told today on the phone, but the advisor I spoke to adopted the logical, sensible reasoning that most here would like to hear. (They're also very reasonably priced, have UK call centres and answer the phone promptly - which is mainly why I use them).

Hope this may be of some assistance.

PS. The additional premium to change from my Honda Jazz Auto - to a I.2 DSG 'S' Trim Yeti would be about £25 per annum extra (plus £25 admin fee to change details).

I have emailed my own insurers, Saga, but as yet have had no reply.

I will try to call them tomorrow but this is the tack I will take.

My handbook says I cannot use snowchains with the standard fit of 225/50-17 on 7Jx17 rims. The handbook does however give three alternative sizes of rims and tyres.

I will be taking my car to Austria in January.

There is a legal requirement in Austria to have winter tyres fitted between 1st November and 15th April if driving on snow covered roads. I sincerely hope to be driving on some snow covered roads but to ensure I do not find myself illegal, I have to fit approved winter tyres. In addition it is a legal requirement that chains are carried, that the driver is capable of fitting them and that they are used where signs specificaly require it. Germany with some slight differences is not dissimilar.

Therefore to remain legal, I have to change both my rim size and my tyre size to an alternative size as instructed in the manufacturer's handbook.

This ought to be cut and dried, but we'll see!

John

I have emailed my own insurers, Saga, but as yet have had no reply.

I will try to call them tomorrow but this is the tack I will take.

My handbook says I cannot use snowchains with the standard fit of 225/50-17 on 7Jx17 rims. The handbook does however give three alternative sizes of rims and tyres.

I will be taking my car to Austria in January.

There is a legal requirement in Austria to have winter tyres fitted between 1st November and 15th April if driving on snow covered roads. I sincerely hope to be driving on some snow covered roads but to ensure I do not find myself illegal, I have to fit approved winter tyres. In addition it is a legal requirement that chains are carried, that the driver is capable of fitting them and that they are used where signs specificaly require it. Germany with some slight differences is not dissimilar.

Therefore to remain legal, I have to change both my rim size and my tyre size to an alternative size as instructed in the manufacturer's handbook.

This ought to be cut and dried, but we'll see!

John

Hi all

By way of update, I've just spoken to Saga and outlined my situation as above. The very positive response I've had is (after the lady on the phone went to speak to her supervisor) "we do not consider this a modification or performance enhancement and do not need you to notify us". I asked if I should put anything in writing to which she commented that I did not need to but if I had any future concerns I could refer to the phone call which would be logged.

For anyone else going down this line I would suggest the following:

• Stress that the winter tyres and alternative wheel sizes are a standard Skoda option that could have been ordered on the car when it was new or as a dealer accessory;
  
• If you may be taking your Yeti abroad this winter, lean heavily on the legality aspects stating that you need to have winter tyres or snow chains as you are visting a country where they are a legal requirement. You could say that even if you're not! Note the following link: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/snow-chains-winter-tyres.html;
  
• Finally, stress that these are not a performance enhancement and again, they are a bona fide Skoda Auto option.
  

So there it is.

John

OK; it looks simple to me now .......

...... for those of us who want to use winter tyres and/or wheels we better switch to Skoda Insurance of SAGA.

OK; it looks simple to me now .......

...... for those of us who want to use winter tyres and/or wheels we better switch to Skoda Insurance of SAGA.

That is pretty much what Honest John* said when i passed it past him:

"Direct Insurers computer systems are basically too stupid to cater for

this sort of thing.

If you can get to speak to a real person you can probably sort it out.

HJ"

* We're not worthy

Replace existing tyres with winter tyres on existing wheels - no problem

Get a set of identical wheels with winter tyres - no problem

You don't need to inform the insurance company as no modification has taken place in the above cases. Many insurers take the view that if you are asking there must be some doubt as to whether it's a modification. If in doubt - charge for it.

Spot on. Sometimes, even in the car insurance minefield, the best policy is to "ask for forgiveness, rather than ask for permission". Use your own judgement & common sense because you can be sure that the call centre staff won't.

Imagine the scenario; you have (safer) winter tyres, have an accident, and the insurer cites it as a reason not to accept a claim? Can't see it happening myself.

Spot on. Sometimes, even in the car insurance minefield, the best policy is to "ask for forgiveness, rather than ask for permission". Use your own judgement & common sense because you can be sure that the call centre staff won't.

Imagine the scenario; you have (safer) winter tyres, have an accident, and the insurer cites it as a reason not to accept a claim? Can't see it happening myself.

I prefer the old fashioned life rule:

"If you can't live with the answer, don't ask the question"

tom

I prefer the old fashioned life rule:

"If you can't live with the answer, don't ask the question"

tom

Or even more pointed: If you do not KNOW the answer, don't ask the question.

Or even more pointed: If you do not KNOW the answer, don't ask the question.

Too true! LOL!!

I just called Skoda Insurance for a quote and whilst it was about £80 more than I currently pay I like the 'UK only' call centre aspect and the fact that all repairs would be carried out by a Skoda approved body shop so probably worth it overall. When i asked about the winter wheel/tyre issue the advisor was initially unsure and spoke to a supervisor who said that any wheels/tyres fitted in line with Skoda dealer recommendations would not constitute a notifiable modification.

UPDATE: I emailed Skoda UK to get an official ruling on the approved wheel/tyre size for a Yeti 1.2 DSG and I got the following reply:

"Skoda UK's position with regard to this matter is as follows. As long as the change in tyre keeps certain variables constant to

those standard to the vehicle, then we would not consider it a performance modification. These are as follows:

1. Aspect Ratio

2. Diameter

3. Load index

4. Speed Rating

I hope this information is of use to you. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to call me on the

number below.

Thank you for contacting Skoda Customer Services."

In other words it took them 2 weeks to state the blindingly obvious and provide no meaningful information. I've gone back and asked what the 'standard variables' are for my car but am not holding my breath. Although not the cheapest option I'm leaning towards a spare set of Dolomite alloys + Nokians.

Page 221 of the owners Manual shows permitted wheel and tyre sizes, if you comply with the manufactures specification it is not an upgrade (other than improved safety). Are insurance companies also then saying if you fit snow chains or socks then this is a modification to the wheels (which it is) and insurance cover would be invalidated? Better ask them :-) All a bit silly. Page 221 is proof you have not made an un-approved change to your cars set up.

Page 221 of the owners Manual shows permitted wheel and tyre sizes, if you comply with the manufactures specification it is not an upgrade (other than improved safety). Are insurance companies also then saying if you fit snow chains or socks then this is a modification to the wheels (which it is) and insurance cover would be invalidated? Better ask them :-) All a bit silly. Page 221 is proof you have not made an un-approved change to your cars set up.

Yes, but not quite - it doesn't actually state that although i agree you could argue it is implied.

What it does say however is: "You must only fit those types of winter tyre which are approved for your vehicle. The permissible sizes of winter tyres are stated in your vehicle documents. Approvals may differ because of national legislation." I've not been able to find which vehicle documents are referred to and neither can my dealer.

Edited 8 November, 201015 yr by Del B

Yes, but not quite - it doesn't actually state that although i agree you could argue it is implied.

What it does say however is: "You must only fit those types of winter tyre which are approved for your vehicle. The permissible sizes of winter tyres are stated in your vehicle documents. Approvals may differ because of national legislation." I've not been able to find which vehicle documents are referred to and neither can my dealer.

I rang SUK Customer Service the other day to ask what wheels / tyres they approve for winter use. I spoke to a fairly polite young lady. It was like talking to a machine which couldn't quite grasp what I was after so kept repeating the same answer. That being - without a chassis number they couldn't tell me anything. I asked to speak to a supervisor but had my request declined saying the supervisor would only repeat the same script that she was reading from (she didn't actually say that, but you know what I mean). I asked to speak to the person in 'technical' that she had referred my question to..... "No, 'technical' isn't customer facing". I said I'd contact Robert Hazelwood, Skoda's CEO (or whatever title he has)...she said he would only repeat what she had said. I persisted and the following day received a call back from a supervisor/team leader, I repeated that I would like some information, prior to purchase about the tyres approved by them for winter use. He politely repeated that without a chassis number no-one could address my enquiry....again I said I don't have a chassis number as I hadn't bought one yet - again he said without a chassis number they couldn't advise me.

You get my drift......

The supervisor did say he'd pass on my exasperation to someone further up the line.

The bruised area where my head continually struck the brick wall is now healing quite nicely, thanks for asking.

Yes, but not quite - it doesn't actually state that although i agree you could argue it is implied.

What it does say however is: "You must only fit those types of winter tyre which are approved for your vehicle. The permissible sizes of winter tyres are stated in your vehicle documents. Approvals may differ because of national legislation." I've not been able to find which vehicle documents are referred to and neither can my dealer.

Skoda UK do not produce this additional documentation as they do not see tyres as part of the vehicle as such for some strange reason. More a consumable that's the owners responsibility.

However Skoda Germany do, as they take tyre safety a lot more seriously; so I refer to there regularly updated PDF guide on approved tyre and rim sizes.

My link

My link

Regards,

TP

Edited 8 November, 201015 yr by The Plumber

Skoda UK do not produce this additional documentation as they do not see tyres as part of the vehicle as such for some strange reason. More a consumable that's the owners responsibility.

However Skoda Germany do, as they take tyre safety a lot more seriously; so I refer to there regularly updated PDF guide on approved tyre and rim sizes.

My link

My link

Regards,

TP

Thanks for that TP, and for your guide and other excellent contributions. What we really need is a definitive statement from Skoda unambiguously specifying the approved wheel sizes for a Yeti - anything else will be far too hard for an insurance company to understand. As mentioned in my earlier post the MORETHAN call centre person did not even understand what Winter tyres were.

Thanks for that TP, and for your guide and other excellent contributions. What we really need is a definitive statement from Skoda unambiguously specifying the approved wheel sizes for a Yeti - anything else will be far too hard for an insurance company to understand. As mentioned in my earlier post the MORETHAN call centre person did not even understand what Winter tyres were.

Well Del B; seeing where you are and knowing the weather forecast; I'd stop debating the issue and just get them winter tyres fitted.

Well Del B; seeing where you are and knowing the weather forecast; I'd stop debating the issue and just get them winter tyres fitted.

That's probably the best advice I've had from the forum! We've been walking about here in the frozen north with tennis racquets strapped to our feet for weeks now. Seriously though we'd planned to head up to Braemar today but have postponed the trip because of road conditions. BTW I spent a few days in Braemar in January 1981 where temperatures reached -27 and the warmest it got during the whole stay was -14.

I have been sweating this issue because it's another of those things in the UK that should be straightforward but isn't. I'm going to order a spare set of Dolomites and, subject to availability, Nokians. (Anybody looking to off-load a set of 17" alloys?!)

Edited 9 November, 201015 yr by Del B

Ahem, check out this well touted

on the subject, and then tell me that again.....

Niall

Great video link. Have just ordered a Yeti with (no doubt) summer tires. Live in London but concerned that for past 2 years, roads have been shut down during winter in my area and want to make sure I can get my pregnant girlfriend to hospital in a few weeks time. Looks like changing to winter tires might be way forward although am sure I'll get a shock with the cost...

. I'm going to order a spare set of Dolomites and, subject to availability, Nokians. (Anybody looking to off-load a set of 17" alloys?!)

DelB,

Since you live in a place, where real winter can be expected, and since you have decided on a spare set of wheels with winter tyres, why don't you go for the standard 16" size? Better suited to winter and probably cheaper and better availability.

There cannot be any insurance or waranty issues.

Edited 9 November, 201015 yr by Agerbundsen

DelB,

Since you live in a place, where real winter can be expected, and since you have decided on a spare set of wheels with winter tyres, why don't you go for the standard 16" size? Better suited to winter and probably cheaper and better availability.

There cannot be any insurance or waranty issues.

I totally agree - I've been making some phone calls today and tyre availability is an issue for the 17" wheels.

However the point of the thread, and subsequent posts, relates to the problems experienced with insurers. We have a duty to inform insurers of any modifications to the standard specification and for a Yeti 1.2 SE the standard fit is 17" wheels with no 16" option. My insurer (through ignorance) informed me it would treat the change as a modification for which it would probably seek an additional premium. I also called Skoda Insurance who said it would be OK if the wheels and tyres were in accordance with the sizes approved by the manufacturer for that particular model but I've not been able to get definitive information from Skoda UK (see above threads). I bet if Skoda offered a winter wheel/tyre package as part of the original sale (or retrofit) it would a very popular option. A local garage (5 Mile at Kinsgwells - excellent service BTW ) told me this morning that they do good trade with local vets with Octavias, many of whom had previously tried to source wheels and tyres from Skoda with no success.

[As an aside, one of the prompts for this thread was a well publicised case in England where an insurer rejected a woman's clam when her house was destroyed by fire because she had failed to notify the insurer of a fine for a minor criminal offence incurred three years previously.]

Suzuki and BMW are promoting their interest in the topic.

See here for Suzuki's information.......see 'Promotions' and 'Vouchers' they're apparently fitting your winter tyres free etc..........

www.suzuki4.co.uk/mysuzuki

Not a ground breaker but maybe shows a bit of interest in the topic.

I totally agree - I've been making some phone calls today and tyre availability is an issue for the 17" wheels.

However the point of the thread, and subsequent posts, relates to the problems experienced with insurers.

I guess I missed the point. I kept thinking in realistic, practical,technical terms, and flubbed the crooked insurance part. Sorry.

I suppose I would phrase the question to the insurer thus: the Yeti was delivered with 17" XXXX wheels and tyre, but I want to use 16#´" xxx wheels and tyres for the winter. This size is also a standard fit on this vehicle from the factory. >OK?

Great video link. Have just ordered a Yeti with (no doubt) summer tires.

Can we get one thing straight.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING IN THE UK AS A SUMMER TYRE!!

All tyres sold in the UK are capable of dealing with all the seasons we have, however, as has been stated here, WINTER tyres are better at coping mostly, but see Fresshacre's link earlier,

My link

when temperatures dropped to a general 5 degrees.

Edited 9 November, 201015 yr by Llanigraham

I rang SUK Customer Service the other day to ask what wheels / tyres they approve for winter use. I spoke to a fairly polite young lady. It was like talking to a machine which couldn't quite grasp what I was after so kept repeating the same answer. That being - without a chassis number they couldn't tell me anything. I asked to speak to a supervisor but had my request declined saying the supervisor would only repeat the same script that she was reading from (she didn't actually say that, but you know what I mean). I asked to speak to the person in 'technical' that she had referred my question to..... "No, 'technical' isn't customer facing". I said I'd contact Robert Hazelwood, Skoda's CEO (or whatever title he has)...she said he would only repeat what she had said. I persisted and the following day received a call back from a supervisor/team leader, I repeated that I would like some information, prior to purchase about the tyres approved by them for winter use. He politely repeated that without a chassis number no-one could address my enquiry....again I said I don't have a chassis number as I hadn't bought one yet - again he said without a chassis number they couldn't advise me.

You get my drift......

The supervisor did say he'd pass on my exasperation to someone further up the line.

The bruised area where my head continually struck the brick wall is now healing quite nicely, thanks for asking.

I've now had a full response from Skoda UK on the 16" vs 17" wheel issue. I must give some credit to the SUK Case Manager (Ian) who has been very responsive and pursued the issue with his Technical Department over the past 3 weeks. That said (and I'm only the messenger :S ) SUK's response is not at all helpful - their position is that every part on the vehicle, including the wheels, has a PR Code and they cannot endorse ANY change that represents a departure from a particular vehicle's PR coding as this may have warranty and performance implications. They accept that changing from 17" to 16" wheels on a Yeti SE would be unlikely to produce any serious issues but it is NOT something they could approve.

In my reply to SUK I have included the following statements:

"It is slightly irksome that in other parts of Europe the 16" wheel option is offered across the entire Yeti range and the Continental contributors to the Skoda forums can't understand why we're making a fuss in the UK about fitting wheels to cars that are standard fit in their countries. ......To be safe I'm going to order another set of identical Dolomite alloys and fit winter tyres to them although I believe this is sub-optimal in terms of cost, tyre availability and performance........ May I suggest you feedback to your technical/commercial departments that there is a great deal of interest in this subject amongst Skoda owners as evidenced by the feedback on Briskoda forum (for all models) .............. One of the contributors to the Briskoda forum today mentioned that BMW and Suzuki are offering winter wheel and tyres packages - I really think this is something Skoda would find there's a significant demand for."

I think I've taken this as far as possible (even to Honest John ) and I will now take Agerbundsen's advice and move on, albeit with an extra set 17" alloys and whatever Winter tyres I can get to fit them!

Thanks to all who have contributed to this post.

Cheers

DelB