A Hanover mail-order tyre desk with a Swiss checkout, not a walk-in garage
reifendirekt.ch is the Swiss-language shop of Delticom AG, a German online tyre retailer that has run country sites since the turn of the millennium. The page you use is a cgi catalogue: search by size, brand, season, then ship into Switzerland. It is not a corner garage with a waiting room in your village. After import, the shop’s own delivery copy has described typical windows of about four to six working days for tyres, longer for rims and complete wheels. Those are commercial estimates, not a legal delivery date, and they stretch when winter demand spikes. You can send the parcel home or, more usefully, to a Montagepartner workshop that will mount and balance. More than 2,700 partner workshops are advertised on the network pages. The partner is a local business with its own diary, not a Delticom employee.
The catalogue covers summer, winter, and all-season car tyres, plus SUV, van, motorcycle, motorhome, complete wheels, snow chains, and even odds such as motor oil. Brand names on the homepage include the usual European and Asian factories: Continental, Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop, Yokohama, Hankook, and many cheaper labels. A low price on an unknown tyre can still be the wrong tyre if the load index is too low. Delticom’s Swiss site is a price and logistics machine. It will not inspect your suspension, store your summers unless a partner offers storage, or argue with your insurer after an accident. That split of duties is the whole product. If you want one invoice from the dealer who already services the car, stay with that dealer. If you want to pick a factory and a size yourself, this shop is built for that homework.
Size, load index, and speed rating: order from the papers, not from a photo
A tyre size such as 205/55 R16 91V is not decoration. 205 is section width in millimetres, 55 is sidewall aspect ratio, R16 is the rim diameter in inches, 91 is the load index, and V is the speed symbol. The legally relevant combination for your car is on the COC papers, the tyre placard in the door, and the current fitted size if a previous garage already changed it legally. Dropping the load index to save money is how you create an overload on the rear axle with four people and luggage. Dropping the speed rating below the car’s approval can be illegal or at least painful in an expert report after a crash. ReifenDirekt’s configurator lets you enter the car or the size. Use both. If they disagree, stop and ask a garage rather than clicking the cheapest search result.
EU tyre labels print fuel, wet grip, and noise classes. They do not print how the tyre behaves on a packed Alpine pass in February. Premium, mid, and budget lines exist inside winter, summer, and all-season categories. A cheap all-season with a weak snow test can be fine for a lowland commuter who rarely sees compacted snow and a mistake for someone who crosses the Brünig in January. Complete winter wheels, tyre plus rim, avoid seasonal remounts if you have storage space. The shop’s complete-wheel pages refer to vehicle key numbers on the registration document when pairing rims. Run-flat, extra-load, and EV-marked tyres are extra filters; an EV-labelled tyre is still the wrong size if the index is wrong. Do not mix sizes or constructions across an axle. Do not buy one tyre “to try.”
- Swiss shop operated by Delticom AG; tyres typically imported then delivered in a stated working-day window
- Optional ship-to-Montagepartner so the garage, not your hallway, receives the set
- Match width, aspect, rim, load index, and speed rating to the vehicle documents
- Summer, winter, all-season, van, motorcycle, and complete wheels sit in the same catalogue
- Free shipping promotions have applied to two or more car tyres; single tyres can carry a surcharge — check checkout
- Partner mounting prices display in the shop but the workshop still owns the appointment diary
Montagepartner: the garage is the product you cannot click past
Mounting a tyre onto a rim is a machine job: breaking the bead, lubricating, seating, inflating, and balancing. A wheel change, swapping complete wheels you already own, is a different, simpler task. ReifenDirekt’s Montagepartner pages exist because most households should not attempt the first job on a driveway. In checkout you can mark delivery to a partner, choose a workshop by postcode, and see a displayed mounting price. The shop says it informs the partner and sends the goods there. You still need an appointment. If the parcel arrives on a Thursday and the garage is fully booked until Tuesday, the tyres wait. Storage of the off-season set is a partner extra, not a Delticom warehouse locker in every town. Ask whether the quoted mount includes balancing, valves, and disposal of the old tyres.
Home delivery makes sense when you already have a trusted garage that will accept your own tyres, or when you store complete wheels and only need a jack-and-swap. It makes less sense if you live in a fourth-floor walk-up. Motorcycle tyres and complete wheels have their own longer delivery notes on the shop’s shipping page. Payment and VAT are shown in Swiss francs including tax on the pages we read, with a small shipping fee described for a single car tyre. Promotions change. Read the basket. Keep the order confirmation; a size dispute is won with paperwork. If a partner refuses a tyre because of transport damage, photograph the parcel before you leave the counter. Use the shop’s official contact path, not a random marketplace seller.
Enter the size from the door placard, then pick a Montagepartner postcode and compare the displayed mounting price with your usual garage.
Search ReifenDirekt.ch by tyre size →Winter versus all-season in Switzerland: practice, not a fake statute
Switzerland does not impose a nationwide calendar duty to fit winter tyres the way some neighbouring countries describe their rules. Official and club guidance still says the driver must keep the vehicle in a safe, controllable condition. Summer tyres on snow or ice are a practical and insurance problem if they contribute to a crash or a blockage. The familiar “O to O” habit, October to Easter, is a rule of thumb, not a statute you should cite in court from this article. Minimum legal tread is commonly stated at 1.6 millimetres for tyres in general, while road-safety advice often recommends about 4 millimetres for winter use. Confirm current federal and cantonal wording yourself. Mountain roads can add chain obligations when the blue chain sign is posted, even if the tyres are decent.
M+S marking is a manufacturer statement. The alpine 3PMSF snowflake is the test-based winter symbol many buyers now treat as the serious filter. All-season tyres with 3PMSF are widely sold for lowland drivers who want one set. They remain a compromise on ice and in deep snow compared with a dedicated winter tyre, and they can wear faster in a hot summer than a summer compound. This article will not invent a cantonal fine table. If you drive a pre-Alpine commute, ask your garage and your insurer what they actually want to see on the car in January. If you barely leave a mild city, all-season may be the honest choice. Either way, buy the load index first, the snow symbol second, and the brand story last.
ReifenDirekt.ch is a Swiss checkout on a German mail-order backbone. It saves money only if the size is right and a real garage has a slot; it does not rewrite Swiss winter practice for you.
— Alex Rivera
Who should skip this shop, and the local alternatives
Skip reifendirekt.ch if you do not keep a car in Switzerland. Skip it if your dealer already includes winter complete wheels, storage, and a booked swap in a service package you are happy with; unpicking that bundle to save on a mid-range tyre can cost more in diary friction than you gain. Skip it if you need same-day mounting after a puncture on a Sunday, or if you will not check load index. Local independent garages still win when you want one person to look at the car, the tyres, and the alignment in the same hour. Pneuhage and similar specialist chains are the walk-in tyre-shop alternative in some regions. Mobile fitting exists for drivers who cannot leave the car; it costs more and still needs the correct tyre in the van. Price the mount, the storage, and disposal, not only the four black circles.
- Copy size, load index, and speed rating from the vehicle documents before you search
- Prefer 3PMSF when you actually drive on snow; do not treat M+S as a snow test certificate
- Book the Montagepartner before peak October demand, or accept that tyres may wait in a storeroom
- Ask whether valves, balancing, and disposal are in the displayed mounting price
- Confirm winter practice with your canton and insurer; this page is not legal advice
- If a dealer package already stores and swaps your wheels, price the hassle of leaving it
FAQ: delivery, mounting, winter, and sizes
How long do tyres take to arrive in Switzerland?
The shop’s shipping copy has described about four to six working days for tyres after import, longer for rims, motorcycle tyres, and complete wheels. Winter queues and customs can add time. A Montagepartner delivery still needs a mounting appointment on the other end. If you need tyres for a Monday Alpine departure, do not order on Friday night and assume a weekend miracle. Track the parcel and call the garage when tracking shows arrival. Estimates change; read the live checkout text for your basket.
Can I have the tyres fitted at any garage?
You can ship home and take the set to any workshop willing to mount customer-supplied tyres. Some dealers refuse third-party tyres or charge more. The Montagepartner option is the path the shop prices in the basket. Choose a partner close enough that you can collect the car the same day. Confirm they will store the old set if you lack a cellar. The network size is an advertisement; the relevant number is whether one competent workshop near you has a hoist free next week.
Are winter tyres required by Swiss law from a fixed date?
There is no single nationwide calendar mandate of the German type. Drivers still must keep the vehicle controllable, and summer tyres on snow are a well-known insurance and liability risk if they contribute to an accident. Cantons, alpine roads, and chain signs add local practice. Treat “October to Easter” as folklore that many drivers follow, then confirm what your insurer and canton expect. This guide is not legal advice and will not invent a fine. If in doubt, fit tested winter or 3PMSF all-season tyres before the first packed snow on your commute.
What if the load index on a cheap tyre is lower than my papers?
Do not buy it. Load index is a safety and approval issue, not a comfort preference. A bargain that under-indexes the rear axle is a false saving. Speed symbols work the same way. If the configurator shows a tempting tyre with a weaker index, filter it out. Ask a garage if you have modified the car, added a heavy battery, or tow. Complete wheels must still respect the tyre side of the approval, not only the pretty rim. Keep a photo of the door placard in your phone for the next order.
When should I stay with my dealer, Pneuhage, or a mobile fitter?
Stay with the dealer if storage, seasonal swap, and warranty conversation already sit in one file and you value that more than a mail-order saving. Use a local specialist such as Pneuhage when you want to stand in a tyre shop and point at a sidewall. Use mobile fitting when the car cannot leave a workplace and you accept a higher service price. Use ReifenDirekt when you know the exact size, you can wait for import, and a Montagepartner or your own garage will mount. Re-price all four paths every autumn; rubber and labour move.
If the size on your papers is clear and a nearby partner has a slot, use the Swiss shop to price a labelled set rather than guessing from last year’s invoice.
Compare ReifenDirekt.ch mounting partners →Verdict for Swiss drivers who will read the sidewall
reifendirekt.ch is Delticom’s Swiss catalogue: imported tyres, a partner-garage network, and a price that is only useful if the load index matches the car. It suits drivers who will copy the door placard, book a hoist, and accept a few days of logistics. It is the wrong tool for people without a Swiss car, for anyone already locked into a dealer winter package they like, or for a Sunday puncture. Confirm winter practice locally rather than quoting this article to a police officer. Price Pneuhage, your usual garage, and a mobile fitter on the same size. Then buy four identical tyres, not a story about a website.
