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lavransson t1_j5675pn wrote

Just want to say, one of the scariest moments in my life was driving down the Bolton access road on an icy day in the dark with my minivan that had regular tires on it. I was probably taking it 5 mph at points, and I'm sure the line of Vermonters behind me were cursing this Flatlander. This is the windy road that leads from the main road up to the Bolton ski resort. This was when I was living in Virginia (ironically) and visiting my relatives in Vermont and took a day to go snowboarding at Bolton.

Now that I live in Vermont, like many others I have two sets of tires, one for the several months of summer and one for the half-year long winters. The winter tires also have studs. And I have an AWD vehicle now.

So, I would encourage you to get studded snow tires. Think of it as an insurance policy. It will cost you $500 but that's cheaper than your insurance deductible. And good luck getting your car repaired in Vermont. You know the old joke about being able to pick 2 things out of "good, cheap and fast"? If you want auto body work in Vermont in winter, you'll can probably get "good" but don't expect cheap or fast.

BTW, I suspect your Matrix is front-wheel drive, not rear wheel drive, but I could be wrong.

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reinhart_menken OP t1_j56k3io wrote

You're right, I've been corrected by a couple people it's front wheel drive. I didn't need to know either way down here, but in harsher conditions I do. It's my girlfriend's car. I have a motorcycle (but I drive regularly, just don't need a second car since I already have transport).

Ha funny you were also living here. I moved from NYC (where we mostly don't drive) to down here for a job (ironically paid better than the one I had in NYC, more senior too).

I talked to a friend who used to live there (now she's in parts of Canada in similar weather), and people here have encouraged it as well, so I'll be getting some Nokian snow tires. I just wanted to make sure I really needed it, and the benefit outweigh the cost, which it does. For some reason I had thought each tire would cost me $500. For years I keep hearing people tell me "I just changed tires and it cost me $500!" with no specification if it was per tire or 4 tires. But $500 for a set of 4 tires for much added peace of mind and actual real safety. I can deal with that.

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lavransson t1_j56r4op wrote

Yeah, it sucks to buy tires for one trip, but if you might be able to sell them afterwards perhaps?

Again, I described getting snow tires as insurance against sliding off the road and possibly doing great damage to your vehicle, yourself and possibly others. Just add this in as another cost of your trip.

Hope you have a great trip.

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