Originally Posted by 4r3s

Going to have to disagree with this one.

winter tire setup costs about $1500 we'll say (mine cost about $900) and say the tires will last three seasons and will cost $700 to replace

a beater car will cost you about the same we will say $1500
then add maintenance and insurance lets say $600 for a year (which is probably pretty low in reality).

3 years: winter tire = $1500
beater = $1500 + ($600 * 3 seasons) =$2600

6 years: winter tire = $1500 + $700 = $2200
beater = $1500 + ($600 * 6 seasons) = $5100

9 years: winter tire = $2900
beater = $1500 + ($600 * 9 seasons) = $6900

and so on. Obviously the numbers are rough estimates but it atleast gets the point across. Buying winter tires will be cheaper than buying a beater. The one thing the beater will do for you though is give you peace of mind that you don't have to drive your nice car in the crappy weather and risk it getting damaged. So if that peace of mind offsets the price difference for you then that would be the way to go.