 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello knowledgeable people...
Having trawled / searched lots of posts relating to these topics (and still unclear of any answers) I wondered if anyone had good first hand experience of:
(1) Car hire companies that can guarantee winter tyres from Turn airport - I know they'll provide chains but tyres would be preferable! I'd rather not run the risk of driving up to Pila in February on standard tyres (plus I've never had a go with chains)
(2) Reasonably priced transfer options (it's looking like £700 round trip for 4 of us which feels on the steep side!)
Thanks in anticipation - and Happy Easter
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sorry not to be helpful at all but ....
I have had this winter tyre issue at Turin Airport for at least 10 years.
Every year it's a nightmare.
We stay at a friend's place in the valley below Sauze so need to drive up the mountain every day, so winter tyres are massively preferable.
Trying to book winter tyres seems to be virtually impossible..... or certainly difficult without paying a massive premium.
This year we paid extra, but when I researched the tyres we were given, found that they weren't winter tyres at all. We were totally conned. Thankfully they were never put to the test.
I really don't know what the answer is. It's a constant source of stress.
If you, or anyone else, comes up with a solution, I would be very grateful for the info.
I would definitely suggest caution when dealing with the car rental companies at Turin Airport. In my experience, they are a bunch of sharks who hit you with massive extras when you arrive. I have seen multiple people literally in shock. When you get to the desk they know you have virtually no option but to agree to any extra charges.
Whatever you do, I highly recommend that you phone the company at the airport a few days before you go to confirm both tyres and cost.
Also,do not book through an agent, book directly with the rental company. That way you get more reliable information before your trip.
Good luck ..... sorry to be so depressing ....
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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?
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I’ve read on a post somewhere I think that you can get a transfer bus from airport to train station, and from there a train to Aosta which is fairly quick. Then cable car up to Pila (the train station is close to cable car, I’ve just visited Aosta today from Pila).
Maybe someone else who knows a bit more could confirm if this is indeed an option?
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We used Turin Airport countless times for ski holidays in France, going over the Montgenevre pass, a lovely short route, cheap flights, no traffic jams, everything always went to plan. I know you’d rather not, but imho hire the chains. We only had to use them once …. yes a pain in the freezing cold, but far outweighed by the aforementioned.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hired from Alamo at turin airport for the SOPiB this year. No winter tyres, just a set of socks in the boot (which were the wrong size - replaced with the correct ones when I pointed this out). No hassle at all, no hard sell, no extras - overall a very simple, straightforward experience.
Some people on the bash had hired with winter tyres, I don't know who from or how much. When I looked, winter tyres added ~£200 to the price for 8 days.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We had a Jeep Renegrade from Italy-by-car for the SOPiBash and a week after. Came with winters and chains. That said, I didn't specify them as I've given up trying in Italy.
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I'm sensing hit and miss then(!)
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We’ve rented cars at Turin airport probably 15 times in the last five years. Used various providers in-terminal booked via booking sites. Have never checked the tyres tbh but they’ve always come with snow chains in the boot (never had to ask) and have never had to use them despite going at all various times. Even when it’s been snowy the roads seem to be kept well cleared.
Have my own excess insurance so always decline extras at the counter - never had anyone try to hard sell me anything, and never had any of them try to blame me for damage. Maybe we’ve just been extremely lucky, but I think it’s more the case that you only ever hear from the very small minority of people who have a bad experience and want to tell everyone about it. A friendly ‘buon giorno’, and asking them how their day is going probably helps too!
My preferred provider is now Sicily by Car, booked via VIP Cars. They’re one of the few that still let you take the car into France without having to pay a daily supplement.
But taking the train is also a great option!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Snowcabs do transfers from Turin. I just did a quick search based on random dates in feb 25 for 4 people Turin to Pila, A private transfer is £490. That’s £122pp return. You can email them or phone them for shared transfer quotes.
We used them last month from Turin to Serre Chevalier and they were excellent. Our shared transfer was £90 per person
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@schnitzel_skier, don't forget that cash is king in Italy due to the apparent proclivity for tax evasion, so you may get a better deal with a small operator.
We paid 300 EUR for 8 passengers in a minibus from Turin airport to Breuil-Cervinia recently. On the return journey, a car for four passengers was 220 EUR.
The journey to Pila is only 15 km further but I don't know if it includes any extra toll payments.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi all,
Just reviving this tread as booking from Turin for Feb trip, heading to Maurienne...anyone with recommendations for which companies to.use?
Thanks
DF
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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.
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Watching as we're going to be booking a car at Christmas.
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@Dublinfella, @Owlette, Aside from all the winter tyre / chain stuff the cross border charge is definitely worth checking, then checking again, then rechecking as @davehas, says the charges vary enormously from one firm to another. If you are booking with a consolidator or whatever they are called like holiday autos, then I found that even cars from the same final company had different charges in their T&C's. I seem to remember the range was 5€ to 30€. I did not find a zero one.
To be fair, it seemed to me that the final company that supplied the car got less than £100 for the 5 days hire (albeit in the summer time). In my case I searched through Travel Supermarket, booked with VIP cars and the car, as well as minibus to collect me from airport, was supplied by Felirent. Doesn't leave a lot of encouragement for faffing about with winter tyres I guess, when the car will come from the manufacturer / lease company with standard summers.
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You know it makes sense.
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Has anyone booked with Booking and just been able to rock up and collect the car with no additional faff or surprise charges? I'm looking at it, and they want to block out €900 on a credit card, which is fine, but I don't want any other costly shocks.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Actually. A small amount of poking around online doesn't paint Booking in a good light.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@schnitzel_skier, sauze taxi were very good value and very reliable when I have used them (twice since 2022) for a private transfer.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I’m watching this thread with interest. I’m also flying into Turin in December for a weekend skiing and will hire a car as there is only two of us. I’d I normally get a transfer when there is more people to share the cost. I’d love to get a higher car with winter tires but it seems to be impossible. I have memories of trying to drive down the mountain from Cervinia about 15 years ago what about 4 foot of fresh snow on the ground! Mind you, I’d imagine that’s wishful thinking considering the past few winters.
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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?
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Whatever you do, don't go with Autovia. I had a terrible experience with them at Turin airport. Had to queue for nearly two hours to get the car. It had no screen wash in, just water and the snow chains (to be fair, they were included) were cable tied together which is obviously not hugely helpful.
We also got given a Jeep Renegade as the car which is almost certainly the worst thing ever ever driven.
I'd spend the little bit extra and go with another company.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| davehas wrote: |
We’ve rented cars at Turin airport probably 15 times in the last five years. Used various providers in-terminal booked via booking sites. Have never checked the tyres tbh but they’ve always come with snow chains in the boot (never had to ask) and have never had to use them despite going at all various times. Even when it’s been snowy the roads seem to be kept well cleared.
Have my own excess insurance so always decline extras at the counter - never had anyone try to hard sell me anything, and never had any of them try to blame me for damage. Maybe we’ve just been extremely lucky, but I think it’s more the case that you only ever hear from the very small minority of people who have a bad experience and want to tell everyone about it. A friendly ‘buon giorno’, and asking them how their day is going probably helps too!
My preferred provider is now Sicily by Car, booked via VIP Cars. They’re one of the few that still let you take the car into France without having to pay a daily supplement.
But taking the train is also a great option!! |
Just looking at VIP Cars. Looks good with great reviews. I can't find any explicit info on how much they'll want to block out on my credit card, though. Just said between 500 and 1000 euros. I like to have all costs nailed down so that no-one can take advantage.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My understanding is that most of them just have your card details - how much they can take might be dictated by your credit limit! After all, if you total their car it could cost a lot more than 1000 euros.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Owlette,
I think the exact amount will depend on which car you chose and so who is the final company you get it from. ie in @davehas, case he booked via VIP and the car came from Sicily Cars, I booked via VIP and mine came from Felirent. If I remember you can call those details up when you pick an individual car in the listings.
@Origen, They do actually put a hold on the amount as I understand not just hold your details ie if you had 5000 free on your card before they put the hold you will have only 4000 until you give them the car back, or shortly afterwards.
You are right though, 1000 is not going to pay to replace the car but they will probably have their own insurance, as a business, for that and then if it became difficult to extract enough from you by billing then some european debt collecting firm would take it on and pursue you for the debt and the fee etc.....
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Most places want to block out a specific amount.
Just looked and I can book a rental car via Uber. They state in the Ts and Cs that a refundable deposit of €490 will be blocked out on my credit card.
As I say, I like to have all costs nailed on to prevent the opportunity to be ripped off.
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I suppose it fixes a ceiling to how much you can be ripped off. But if they come up with a whole lot of fictitious damage, it still a rip off.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It's our biggest concern. I have spent literally hours researching car hire and every time I search for a company, it comes up with a 1 star rating on TrustPilot. Though, I am trying to remind myself that most companies have a 1 star rating on there as it is predominantly used by people to complain. BA and Qatar Airways have a 1.3 rating, which is the same as Ryanair! I know who I'd rather fly with.
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FAQ
