Also read your RAC fineprint. Apparently they will cover you via Skoda Assist for the first three years if you have gunk but after that won't cover cars that don't have physical spare wheels.... So you will be well and truly stuck come puncture time if the gunk can't fix it (which will be 4 times out of 5 if my experience with punctures are of any help).

Also worth taking into account is that the cheaper tyres do not have such good wear rates. My Dunlops look like I will get 20k out of them before they are near the wear strips. Will the cheaper makes get the same? From past experience on my Freelander I found Kumho's good but Hankook's didn't last as well.

I agree with the above, however, my tyres have recently become magnetic. Picking up 3 punctures within a month. 2 of the 3 punctures caused damage to the inner tyre casing and were beyond repair. With only 11k on the clock, the tyres had a lot left on them. I decided to try a Pair of Falkan Tyres at a price as low as £85 per corner.

So Far so good. They seem to be as good as my OEM tyres. I dont expect them to last as long as the originals. But is they get damaged, I'm not losing as much.

I have just got rid of a Mini Cooper S Clubman (to make way for the Yeti 170 Elegance on order)my wife runs a Mini Cooper D, both have runflat tyres, the ride is bone hard on both cars, worse on the Clubman because of the sports suspension. Run flat tyres, as previously mentioned, can only be fitted to specially designed rims and must have an automatic tyre monitoring system. The big drawback to these tyres are a) The ride, b)They are very expensive, c) Can be difficult to get hold of, d) And, depends who you believe, cannot be repaired.

However, they have one massive, undeniable advantage - SAFETY!

Last year we went on a driving holiday to the South of France in the Cooper D, we covered over 2000 miles door to door, I had the car serviced and had the tyres checked before we set off, 2 adults, 1 teenager and our luggage.

We went via the Channel Tunnel and arrived at our Gite the following afternoon. After enjoying a really relaxing 2 week break we set off for home, got onto the French Motorway system, set the cruise control to 85mph and headed back to the Tunnel. We arrived back late at night and as I pulled into our lane I noticed a loud swishing noise from the front o/side of the car. The next morning I had a good look around the car but could not find any problems so we took the car back to our local tyre fitter for an inspection. He removed the wheel, took the tyre off and gasped in Horror! although the tyre had maintained its pressure the interior of the tyre had become completely detached from the outer and had split for its entire circumference!

In a very subjued tone he told us that we were very lucky not to have had a very serious accident and that it was only down to strength of the tyre walls and the Run Flat construction that had kept the damaged tyres on the rim.

• What / Which company would you call independent? I am based in West Yorkshire, and the only stores and garages that I can think off are probably not independent. The companies that come to mind are Gordon Tyres, or HIQ.
  
• Does anyone know of independent tyre companies names in my region?
  
• Is it worth buying tyres online and have them fitted, by a subcontractor working in association with the online company.
  
• Thank you for the tip regarding the RAC, I shall watch out for this nearer the time to the three year’s warrantee (or the mileage restriction, if this is still the case with new Skoda vehicles).
  
• Also the information regarding the tunnel puncture was interesting, and it possible that this would not be limited to that particular tunnel, but to all tunnels.
  
• I have heard that those who buy new VW vehicles, can optionally get an additional cover that covers them for the eventuality of a puncture, so that if this happens the additional cover will allow them to have their tyres replaced free of charge, in the UK, and abroad as well. The only limitation is that one can only have two punctures for annum, yet the cover is valid for three years or for the duration of the VW vehicle’s warranty. Does anyone know of such scheme, and whether it is possible to obtain such insurance with a new Skoda as well?
  
• Also, as a final set of questions, is it true that tyres get “damaged†if not used for a period of time, and this is why it is said that the spare wheel must be used, or it will “age badlyâ€, does the material get brittle if not used? Does that mean it is a bad idea to purchase tyres in advance and store them in a basement until needed? If it is true that tyres should not be stored unused for long period of times, and if so how do tyre selling company store theirs if they are not sold for quite a while?
  

• What / Which company would you call independent? I am based in West Yorkshire, and the only stores and garages that I can think off are probably not independent. The companies that come to mind are Gordon Tyres, or HIQ.
  To me an independent is someone who is not one of the big groups, ATS< Kwikfart, HiQ, etc. Obviously I don't know your area, but typically around here they are called something like Newtown Tyres. Look in Yellow Pages for the small one line entries.
  
• Does anyone know of independent tyre companies names in my region?
  See above.
  
• Is it worth buying tyres online and have them fitted, by a subcontractor working in association with the online company.
  I look at Black Circles web site for prices, and if you put in your postcode they will tell you who their local fitters are, often small indies. It is from their price I start my haggling.
  
• Thank you for the tip regarding the RAC, I shall watch out for this nearer the time to the three year’s warrantee (or the mileage restriction, if this is still the case with new Skoda vehicles).
  Something I shall be checking as well!
  
• Also the information regarding the tunnel puncture was interesting, and it possible that this would not be limited to that particular tunnel, but to all tunnels.
  I suspect that it is just the Mersey Tunnels as they are a unique organisation in the UK.
  
• I have heard that those who buy new VW vehicles, can optionally get an additional cover that covers them for the eventuality of a puncture, so that if this happens the additional cover will allow them to have their tyres replaced free of charge, in the UK, and abroad as well. The only limitation is that one can only have two punctures for annum, yet the cover is valid for three years or for the duration of the VW vehicle’s warranty. Does anyone know of such scheme, and whether it is possible to obtain such insurance with a new Skoda as well?
  Not heard of it, but I do know there was an insurance scheme offered by one of the tyre companies once that ended with a lot of problems.
  
• Also, as a final set of questions, is it true that tyres get “damaged†if not used for a period of time, and this is why it is said that the spare wheel must be used, or it will “age badlyâ€, does the material get brittle if not used? Does that mean it is a bad idea to purchase tyres in advance and store them in a basement until needed? If it is true that tyres should not be stored unused for long period of times, and if so how do tyre selling company store theirs if they are not sold for quite a while?
  Yes, tyres have a "life" normally reckoned to be 5 years, and exacerbated by temperature variation and exposure to UV light. Most tyre dealers shouldn't have this problem as they should have good stock control, even the little places. Certainly my local man only keeps a small number of common sizes in stock, but can get anything else in 24 hours, or even sooner sometimes.
  

Thank you very much for all the answers here.

I believe that I have now enough information to get going.

I shall now try to find independent tyre specialists in my region and follow the advice of those who have contributed.