Quote:
Originally Posted by jrc1122
OP> I'm not going to preach tires to you (see below if you care to). I am just glad you are okay.
To all the summer tire = summer only crowd.
Hypothetical question time: If a dealer sells you a Camaro w/ Summer only tires on the car, and they sold it to you in a season other than summer (spring, fall, or WINTER), then wouldn't the dealership be liable, They shouldn't sell you (supposedly) illegal tires for your car.
How are you to know that OEM tires are "illegal" to drive on except June 21-Sep 22nd (Summer Solstice dates for 2009/2010) especially if they not only allowed you to test drive the car in this "unsafe" condition before or after that time frame, but also allowed you to drive off the lot with those tires.
I realize that ignorance of the law isn't a defense. but When a reputable company (especially one with as many governmental ties as GM currently has) sells you a product that is being mass produced, you are well within your rights to expect they aren't providing you with an illegal operating vehicle.
They actually go through certain procedures to ensure you are legal before you test drive or drive off the lot, Proof of DL and Insurance is required. For legality issues..
So if OEM Summer weight tires are "illegal" during non summer days...then I contend that GM would be required by law to not allow you to drive off the lot with illegal equipment.
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It's a stretch to blame the dealership at this point in time. Then an all-weather tire would be mandatory from the factory as well since they deliver the car to the dealers... Unfortunately once you sign the papers and drive the car away, it is between your insurance companies agreement with you (policy) and if a defect is found to be the cause of the accident. Summer tires in winter causing accident is not a defect. There are plenty of camaro5 members on here who warned others about this issue long ago and who also created threads mentioning which tires they bought and where especially for winter. Some users got rid of (sold) the Pirelli's the moment they drove off the lot or before. The OP blames himself in this as he should, and he has to be glad that he's alive and well. Black ice is dangerous, even with snow tires on the car when driving the actual speed limit. In this case the OP says the speed limit was 50 and he was going 50 while under snowy conditions which was a huge mistake. Even with snow tires it is not recommended to drive at full speed during slippery/snowy weather. Now lets pray that your insurance company overlooks the fact summer tires were the cause of the accident so they cover replacing your vehicle. At this point, it doesn't look good in your favor as they have a reason to deny your claim. Unless the tree has a no fault insurance
. Don't worry though, you'll get over the shock in no time and you would have learned a lesson from this. At the very least, you and no other human was hurt or killed. This would be more tragic had you hit a bus-stop full of kids (which has happened before). This is God giving you a second chance here. GOd bless and good luck.