[cfos]

I use my car as a daily driver and have a set of "winter" tires and wheels that I just change off.

Having said that, you have to figure out what you would be comfortable with. Some people don't like to drive their car in rain, snow etc., others aren't so picky. Personally, I view it as a car -- not an investment. Salt, tiny rocks, whatever are going to mark up your car -- you will eventually get a scratch in the paint and a chip (or three) in your windshield. This can all happen on a summer drive under perfect conditions. This past winter (Utah), I had maybe 2-3 days when I didn't drive the car (either took the wife's or carpool'd with her). Of course, her car (Mini) didn't do THAT much better in the snow, but sometimes there really isn't anything you can do when you get a lot of snow. It doesn't help that people that have 4-wheel drive think that THAT entitles them to drive 60 mph+ on non-highway roads, but... that is a separate issue. If you go the "beater" route: one thing you should ask is how safe and reliable will the cheap "beater" be? You probably may need to spend a fair amount. So it goes.