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Rental Cars Venice - Winter Tyres

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
OK, I'm used to flying into Munich, Salzburg or Innsbruck where winter tyres are standard. Next trip I'm flying into Venice (for Dolomites) and it looks like nobody offers winter tyres. Anyone had any success? Computer says "no" at Hertz, Sixt directly and nothing via brokers like Holiday Autos.

Thanks bigly in advance.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I think you need to read the Hertz site a little more closely
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@under a new name, indeed. They are saying they equip with snow chains but I don't fancy chaining up in the freezing dark when winter tyres would be better.

Quote:
To comply with the regulations, in the locations subject to this requirement, vehicles are equipped with snow chains - the price is included in the rental charges under the item “Winterisation Fee”.
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@Pruman the give-aways in question are the cars with "winter tyres" in their description...
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@under a new name, we're probably approaching it from a different angle, I'm putting in exact dates mid December and none are coming back with winter tyres. Think I'll go on their live chat but thanks for the assistance.
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@Pruman, See the list at the bottom of this webpage which shows which of their cars in Italy come with winter tyres included in the rental price.


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Tue 8-11-16 10:53; edited 1 time in total
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Pruman, I put in 13-16 January - but you do have to hit the "see all" link at the bottom of the list.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Ok, wonderful, thanks both.
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Be very careful regarding the fuel you get in the car if it's a diesel. It's almost certainly not going to have winter fuel and a few years back our's froze and couldn't be thawed. We were very lucky we wanted to have a day trip elsewhere two days before our return otherwise we'd never have noticed until the morning of our departure. Took a lot of sorting out and the end result was the car had to be towed back to airport and we had to get a taxi which we had to then claim back off the hire company.

You can get additives and we tried that in an attempt to remedy the situation but it didn't work (even next day). Probably because the it wasn't circulating properly in the tank / fuel system I guess. I've been told that it's best to add the additive on a less than full tank too which is difficult as it's going to be full when you pick it up
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@Pruman, I booked last Jan in Bergamo with Sixt a specially designated and marketed winter tyre option. Upon my arrival the lady at the counted is trying to give me "for free" chains and a bigger car. She was simply stating that despite I booked a specific option with winter tyres (after having phoned them several times in advance to confirm that a car with winter tyres would be available) there was no car available with winter tyres.... After 15 min of shouting and her getting on a phone, all of the sudden she retrieves keys from a drawer to a car with winter tyres .... so in the end it was available. when I got to the parking lot I saw that at least two other cars had winter tyres on, but according to the counter lady winter tyres were not available ....

worst experience with car rentals always in Italy - both in summer and winter, so be carefull and insistent if need be.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
dsoutar +1 (a couple of litres of petrol also does the trick).

@mooney058, friends last winter had a lot of shouting to do at Malpensa even to get chains...
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Venice airport AVIS usually has a few 4x4 if you insist, otherwise its just chains.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
You have to put the additive in before it freezes, not after, too late then.......
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
It's law in venetio to provide winter tyres and chains with hire cars. They will try. and charge you for them though until you point out its a legal requirement.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@cameronphillips2000, winter tyres (and) chains or one or t'other?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Can someone clarify for me, please
Is there a legal requirement in Lombardy (Bergamo Airport) to provide winter tyres and chains with hire cars. And are they chargeable
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@dublin2, http://www.poliziadistato.it/
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Quote:

It's law in venetio to provide winter tyres

Is it really? I have driven several times down through the MB or Fréjus Tunnels and there are very clear signs all over the motorways in the north daying that winter tyres OR chains are compulsory on the motorway in winter. So in Turin etc you might not be able to get winter tyres even if you've booked them, as@mooney058 recounts.
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AN UPDATE - returned from Dolomites. Car rental was Hertz to/from Venice Marco Polo. Well I thought I'd done it all right - booked with Hertz, selected car with winter tyres but, guess what, go on guess, have a guess, see if you can guess, please give a guess a go, they switched car to one with summer tyres and chucked in some chains. I won't bore you with the full discussion at the desk but they were adamant that no cars were available with winter tyres and that chucking in some chains met with the legislation. I wasn't too fazed because I knew there was no snow on the roads and that none was forecast, plus I was in a hurry so I just hit the road. I will now write to them.

Not sure how that would have played out if it had been more wintery though, especially going over Campolongo!!

You have been warned and in future I'll use Innsbruck.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I have never ever had a car properly equipped from Venice or Treviso. As far as I am aware, they are only required by law to provide chains or snowtyres. And they will supply the crappiest chains they can - sometimes they don't even fit so check and double check, or as you say pay 3 times the amount and fly to Innsbruck... Sad
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@Casa Alfredino, its not too bad to Innsbruck. BA now fly there from Gatwick and Heathrow and I'm looking at prices for March that are just fine.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Yeah - to be honest if you are going to Corvara it makes more sense. To our place it's an hour+ closer from Venice and the flights are often ridicoulous - we had flights for £45 each at the end of Jan! The only way I've found you can get winter tyres is renting a 4x4 panda...
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

especially going over Campolongo!!

you'd have been fine with chains...
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@pam w, probably. But who wants to chain up in the freezing dark when winter tyres probably take care of matters. Also I once had rental chains where one of the cheap crappy chains snapped. It was interesting.
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Our experience with hire cars in general is that you get whatever is available at the time, which isn't neccessarily what you ordered. Often this is an upgrade since they can't give you a lesser car and if they don't have the type you ordered they have to upgrade.

Italian airports are generally offering vehicles which are not going to the alps, so if they don't have anything winterised currently in the parking lot you'll just get one with summers and chains. ie. They aren't going to hold a specific car for you in the lot for several days until you arrive...
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Reminds me, i must buy a suitable gift for mr. Luca at the marco polo avis desk.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Quote:

But who wants to chain up in the freezing dark when winter tyres probably take care of matters

Well, nobody - but I've done it more than once, and on top of winter tyres. But I do agree that crappy cheap chains can be a menace. And you can't take, for example, snow socks with you because you never know what tyre size you'll have.

Swings and roundabouts. There are good things about flying to Italian airports. And bad ones.....
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Pruman wrote:
AN UPDATE - returned from Dolomites. Car rental was Hertz to/from Venice Marco Polo. Well I thought I'd done it all right - booked with Hertz, selected car with winter tyres but, guess what, go on guess, have a guess, see if you can guess, please give a guess a go, they switched car to one with summer tyres and chucked in some chains. I won't bore you with the full discussion at the desk but they were adamant that no cars were available with winter tyres and that chucking in some chains met with the legislation. I wasn't too fazed because I knew there was no snow on the roads and that none was forecast, plus I was in a hurry so I just hit the road. I will now write to them.

Not sure how that would have played out if it had been more wintery though, especially going over Campolongo!!

You have been warned and in future I'll use Innsbruck.


I used Hertz at Marco Polo last Feb. Once the desk clerk realised we were headed to the mountains, she offered an Audi A6 Estate with snow tyres, but the extra fee was almost double what I had pre-paid for the rental, so I opted to stick with what I booked, a Focus SW with chains. Didn't need them even though there was snow on the ground passing through Belluno at 350m, it snowed in Alleghe at 1050m and I drove up to Arabba at 1600m, the roads were all ploughed, gritted and clear.

The A27 motorway north of Venice had signs saying winter equipment obligatory between certain dates, winter tyres OR chains. Rental vehicles in the Veneto must be supplied with EITHER of these, so most companies just supply a set of chains to satisfy this.

She did helpfully remind us to top up the tank with Winter Diesel once we got into the mountains to help prevent overnight freezing. I topped up a couple of times with Winter Diesel as we had to return it full anyway. wink

Contrast with the belt & braces situation N of the Alps, I rented from Munich Airport in early August and was given a Ford S-Max with Mud+Snow tyres with a snowflake symbol, it had covered around 5000km, so it looked like it had been supplied from new with them at the start of the Summer! Laughing
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
There are many hire companies offering snow tyres and/or chains in Italy. A good idea is also a 4x4.
e.g. Avis do a 4x4 Kuga with snow tyres, we rented four of these last winter.

The main problem with chains is that most of the time the roads are "sort of" clear so chain are not really much use but there may be a little snow or ice, this is when you really do need snow tyres. But don't forget snow tyres are no use in deep snow, so always carry a set of chains as well, just in case.

You can google search on this phrase "noleggio auto con pneumatici da neve" (follow by the name of the airport you want to hire from)

Hope this hejps
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Lisa_BrentaSki, I can't remember the last time I actually got the car I thought I'd hired. I hired a Jeep with winter tyres. I got a jelly mould people carrier with summer tyres and, apparently, that was an upgrade. It had a thing that went "bing" though. Anyway my whinging letter aimed at getting something for nothing is on its way to them.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I’ve always wanted a car that goes “bing”. Toofy Grin

My main problem last year with the Ford Kuga is that the car’s computer decides when to engage four wheel drive. Sometimes the road conditions mean that you would prefer having all the wheels engaged but in the Kuga you can’t do that. Or maybe you can, but I Goggled it and could find the way to do it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

but I Goggled it

That's the idea, give it a good whack with your Oakleys
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Quote:

There are many hire companies offering snow tyres and/or chains in Italy. A good idea is also a 4x4.


Perhaps you could guide us to where they are? We've never managed to find a hire car in Venice with snow tyres. Last year in Turin we had booked a Jeep Cherokee (thinking this must be OK rolling eyes ) and were given a Volvo XC60 with summer tyres. Despite being called an XC this is a FWD vehicle. On complaining that it was not equivalent to a Cherokee we were informed that the Cherokee was 2 wheel drive as well - lots of Victor Meldrew moments later a quick Google confirmed that indeed, the base model Cherokee is 2 wheel drive Shocked

We drove out of the Hertz garage in Turin into a snowstorm...

Beware Toofy Grin
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I have just noticed. If you search on the English language versions of the websites the cars with snow tyres are not shown, but they are on the Italian versions.
See here
https://www.maggiore.it/accessori/GTR.html
http://www.rent.it/news/119-noleggiate_la_vostra_auto_con_i_pneumatici_da_neve

Do a Google search and you'll find loads.

We rent up to 10 car at a time during the winter and they "all" have winter tyres.

Here's a tip if you're Italian is not up to scratch.
Go the official Venice Airport website and get the numbers of the hire companies (they all speak English),
http://www.veniceairport.it/trasporti/autonoleggio.html
call them and tell them what you want. If they can't do snow tyres, call another company.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Does anyone have experience of renting from Firefly out of Milan Linate this year (2017) ?

I seem to remember that last year they just gave me summer tyres with chains automatically. I did not pre-book winter tyres/chains.

I have just booked up a car with firefly and they have an option of +£50 for chains. I might just chance it, turn up and moan that it is the law that they have to have winter tyres or chains fitted.

Alternatively I could buy some of those orange 'cable ties' grips that act like snow chains. Any thoughts ? Perhaps there is a DIY car shop in Milan that will sell them ?
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I pretty sure car hire from region of Lombardy must include chains, at a small cost approx 10-15 euro. With a company like Firefly , this will be difficult to explain/argue
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

Firefly

THE WORST car rental company on Earth. Period. They buy used cars off the other rental companies and don't maintain them. I had a major spat with them the other summer - car had bald front tyres and more dings than Merry Christmas. It had no oil. Their staff are demoralised and couldn't give a monkeys. All I can say is that you need to check it over very carefully. And they are off airport which never helps. And I don't believe they should be charging you for something that is a legal requirement - at least it is at Venice. Hope that helps!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Just returned from our first (definitely not last) Dolomites trip. Hired a perfectly good Tiguan with winter tyres from Green Motion, which seems to be a hire company based out of a VW dealership just outside Marco Polo. 150 euros for the week. Lots of snow on the way up to Arabba - very glad I had 'em.
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