Was I stupid to not buy snow tires?

I was so happy to finally get money for new tires. I had them put on...that eve there was a snow storm. I am a cautious driver but unbelievably, I went off the road from a tad of snow which made the surface slippery. I wasn't going fast and I was going uphill. I could not believe it! I took the "good" advice from the salesman to buy all season tires because it's late Feb. My car is a Mercedes Benz and with that rear wheel drive, well forget it! Terrible performance. It's terrible in the snow even with good tires! I wonder if snow tires are a must for this car. I am so upset with myself for getting the wrong tires. I damaged the front bumper as the car collided with a guard rail. Bummer huh? Do you think snow tires would really have made a difference? I am a middle aged person and not at all reckless.
Additional Details
It's old 1998. I am broke! Not rich!!

Rapid Fire

Simple fact of the matter is that all-season tires are not. In my area we call them 3 season tires. Mine are up in the rafters of the garage and I have 4 dedicated snow tires mounted on my car. Best damned investment that I made in the car this year. Personally I would be just as happy if the manifacturers sold cars with performance grade tires instead of all season tires.

You weren't stupid - just ill advised.

Christopher H

Rear wheel drive cars are incredibly touchy in the snow. The reduced weight on the drive tires causes them to loose traction very quickly, especially in conditions where extra accelerator pedal pressure is needed such as going uphill.

I am a big advocate of snow tires. I have driven vehicles with and without them and without a doubt snow tires make a difference. On the other hand there are no conditions where you absolutely need snow tires. Driving slower and more cautiously on all seasons will often work just as well. It cannot be conclusively determined if snow tires would have saved you. The fact is that regardless of whether you drove slowly or not you probably could have gone slower and been just fine.

If you managed to slide off the road and hit a guard rail and damage your front bumper then you were travelling at a decent speed. I have to call this one driver error. The snow tires could have helped, but driving slower could have helped too.

rocifi

all-season tires are so stupid. just buy snow tires,put em on when it's winter, take em off when it's not. it cost more but it's not worth your life being cheap.

Fred C

Sorry, but it takes more than a little snow or slush to send a rear wheel drive car off the road if the tires are, indeed all-season. It takes ice, or a miscalculation in driving. Most of the cars I have owned or had regular use of in my 43 years of driving have been rear drive, and I have been living in Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg, all winter cities. One of my cars was a Mercedes, a 1963 model. I have been driving with all-season tires as long as they have been available.

Take a good look at those tires to see if there is an M&S mark on it. If not marked that way, they put summer tires on, which definitely would cause you to slide off the road at the first snowflake.

Larry E

If you are experienced at driving in the snow you should get along fine with all season tires. That's all I run and have never had a problem.

Vipassana

Yep, sad to say, but snow tires would have made a world of difference.

All season, does not include "bad season". They won't do well in really icy conditions, a lot of water, etc. They just improve traction. They don't provide flawless traction.

The Yeti

Mercedes Benz?

no sympathy from this bunch. I'd hock a loogie on it if I had a chance.

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