 Poster: A snowHead
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We're driving from Lyon to Alps and intend to buy chains if neccessary.
Wheres can they be bought at a reasonable price ?
About how much are they ?
Can we buy a set which will fit on subsequent hire cars (we going to hire a fiesta type of car) ?
Any other recomendations -
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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In the most recent OAMTC test (Austrian AA equivalent)
Best Performance = Pewag Sportmatik (ca 120 Euro)
Best Performance per pound = Pewag Brenta C (ca 70 Euro) or Konig Fly (ca 55 Euro)
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bloxy
bloxy
Guest
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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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Can we buy a set which will fit on subsequent hire cars (we going to hire a fiesta type of car) ?
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there's a range of sizes, they might or might not fit others - the packages give the tyre sizes they'll fit. Generally, if it's just to have in the boot of a hire car in case you hit snow, I'd go for cheap. They can be (though aren't necessarily) more fiddly to fit than the fancier ones and will be flimsier, but that's not likely to bother you. You can get a cheap set under 30 euro in a supermarket (but remember lots of French supermarkets are closed on sundays). But can't you get them with your hire car? If so, that might be the best bet.
Another suggestion - wait till a day or so before hand. If no sign of snow, don't bother. Keep an eye on the weather and buy in resort if there's a likelihood of snow. For an ordinary size car you shouldn't have any problem. They will be a bit more expensive than a supermarket, but then there's a good chance you won't need them, depending on where and when you go.
If you do buy them, practice putting them on in a nice dry place.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Get them with your hire car, they will have them at the rental place. You need chains just in case..it's a mandatory requirement for the majority of resorts in France and the police don't take kindly to people blocking the roads into resort through not having chains.
With regard to not bothering and waiting to see if it snows - bad advice as you cannot read the weather when you are asleep  , plus you will get absolutely shafted if you buy in resort! As has already been mentioned though just get them as an extra with your hire car for a few quid...job done
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they will have them at the rental place
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No, they won't necessarily have them at the rental place. My brother in law could not get chains from Europcar at Geneva (French side). He tried when he booked online, then tried again when he arrived at Geneva, on a Sunday, with no supermarkets open to buy chains. I am not suggesting you look out of the window on the day of departure to see whether it is snowing, but anyone who lacks the wit and initiative to find out, in a ski resort, whether there is a significant risk of snow in the next 24 -48 hours should probably stay at home. You won't get "shafted" in resort either, or if you do, maybe you go to the wrong resort. Our local ski hire shop has a good range of chains at fair prices, which is where my brother in law bought them when it seemed likely that there would be snow last weekend. There are two ski shops, even in a very small village, who sell chains,
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re Geneva - rental from the swiss side come with snow tyres, snow chains and vignette (swiss motorway tax disc) as standard - hire from the french side generally do not. Although the french side rental prices are cheaper, usually ends up being much higher if you need to add any/all of these items.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
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they will have them at the rental place
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No, they won't necessarily have them at the rental place. My brother in law could not get chains from Europcar at Geneva (French side). He tried when he booked online, then tried again when he arrived at Geneva, on a Sunday, with no supermarkets open to buy chains. I am not suggesting you look out of the window on the day of departure to see whether it is snowing, but anyone who lacks the wit and initiative to find out, in a ski resort, whether there is a significant risk of snow in the next 24 -48 hours should probably stay at home. You won't get "shafted" in resort either, or if you do, maybe you go to the wrong resort. Our local ski hire shop has a good range of chains at fair prices, which is where my brother in law bought them when it seemed likely that there would be snow last weekend. There are two ski shops, even in a very small village, who sell chains, |
Excuuuuuuse me! It was not a personal attack but once again the snowheads forum explodes into a ruck!
Pretty simple really, check if the hire company can provide chains when booking maybe?? Funny as it may seem, they are quite used to people wanting cars to drive to the alps in Lyon, no problems last year or any other year that I can recall!
So unless I believe the weather forecasts for the next 24-48 hours then I should stay at home???!!! Maybe I'll consider that next time I am working as a driver for the season in 3V !! 
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Pretty simple really, check if the hire company can provide chains when booking maybe?? Funny as it may seem, they are quite used to people wanting cars to drive to the alps in Lyon, no problems last year or any other year that I can recall!
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It's misleading to tell people they can always get chains with a hired car. Simply not true, and that's why a forum is useful; instead of just relying on our own experiences, of hiring cars or whatever, we can learn from the experiences of others, which are, in my case, that sometimes you simply can NOT get chains, whether booked in advance or on the day, from a major hire company, at Geneva airport. All the sarcasm in the world will not change that fact. Siilarly, people get told that snow tyres and chains come as standard with all cars hired on the Swiss side. Again, not always true.
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So unless I believe the weather forecasts for the next 24-48 hours then I should stay at home???!!!
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no, that wasn't what I said. What I said was that you should be able to find out if there is a likelihood of snow in the next 24 - 48 hours. So you should. And if there is any risk of that, buy chains. 24 hour local forecasts are pretty reliable, in my experience. Also, if you read my post properly, you will see that I advised that getting chains with the hired car is the best bet. So I am not exactly "exploding into a ruck", just correcting your misleading advice and your misreading of mine.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thats lovely but I do think you are slightly over-reacting.....just a teeny weeny bit! Ski-ing is meant to be fun remember?
So do you also disagree with the mandatory/compulsory requirement that you should be carrying chains BEFORE you attempt to enter some French resorts...? Read up on it if you like, I'm sure you will anyway...Kind of blows the whole "Buy the chains in resort" thing away eh?
But I guess that does not matter if we all just tell each other that our individual views are misleading - Someone is bound to disagree whatever you say!!
I think it's actually misleading to try to create a state of panic over the fact that you "may" have a problem getting chains.. thats down to you when you are making your booking - simple as I stated in my last post! Not worth crying over really..
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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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What goes post, post...woooof!
A snowheads thread with a good dose of petrol added...
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| dublin1 wrote: |
We're driving from Lyon to Alps and intend to buy chains if neccessary.
Wheres can they be bought at a reasonable price ?
About how much are they ?
Can we buy a set which will fit on subsequent hire cars (we going to hire a fiesta type of car) ?
Any other recomendations -
Thanks |
I can't answer the question of where to buy or the cost. But they really don't cost that much. Not compare to your skiing holiday anyway.
On the other hand, chains are sized to fit the right size tires. So buying in advance only works if you're driving your own car or knows exactly the model of car you're getting. The same "type" of cars can come in different tire sizes. If there're type of chains that covers a range of tire sizes, I don't know of them and am willing to be educated.
So, that pretty much left you with:
Option 1: Get them with the car from the place you get the car. As it appears, you ought to call ahead to make sure they have chains. If they do, all is well. That's the best solution.
Option 2: Play the weather lottery. That's not as risky as it sounds. If there's no forecast of snow at all for the next 2 days, you simply forget about the chain. There's also the very likely chance of you being maroomed in the resort if it starts snowing while you're there. But you can most likely buy your chain there. I just can't imagine not being able to find chains for common cars in a snow area. For something that doesn't cost a lot, "getting shafted" isn't very likely.
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You know it makes sense.
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abc,
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If there're type of chains that covers a range of tire sizes, I don't know of them and am willing to be educated.
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All of them do, in my experience.
My current set (RUD-Compact) have 17 different tyre sizes listed, ranging from 185-205 in width and 13" to 16" in wheel size (why are tyre sizes always a mixture of imperial and metric measurements in one tyre  ).
Most ranges have 4-8 different sizes for "normal" cars (they will have separate ranges for 4x4s), which cover all the main tyre sizes between them.
But tyre sizes within one hire car "group" can vary by a lot more than one model of chain allows, so you are correct to say it is not a good idea to buy in advance for a hire car.
His best bet, if it looks like they will be needed, and they aren't available with the car, would be to call in one of the large supremarkets before he leaves Lyons. They will certainly stock them, as cheaply as they can be obtained, and probably in an appropriate size.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You're hiring a car from Lyon - good luck, it took us 3 hours from leaving the plane to getting our hire car! Lyon is the worst organised airport I've ever seen. You'll need to get into 2 lifts, walk across the airport and get onto a bus to the car hire place, with all your luggage...
We booked with Europcar and pre-paid for snow chains and a roof rack. Despite this they'd run out of both and were we just lucky that the roads were not snowy...
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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dublin1 - you haven't mentioned which resort you are driving to? As some people have already mentioned some access roads to French resorts have a compulsory snow chain requirement. On a recent trip to Val Thorens all cars were checked by the police and only cars with chains or winter tyres were let up to the resort.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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dublin1, Any large french supermarket near the mountains - much cheaper than anywhere else. 
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As some people have already mentioned some access roads to French resorts have a compulsory snow chain requirement.
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As far as I am aware the signs indicating that snowchains are compulsory, common on roads throughout the mountains, apply when the roads are snowy. Not when they're not. If I am wrong, I'd be grateful for chapter and verse. Now clearly it makes sense to be prepared, and if its possible to get chains with the car hire, or in a supermarket on the way from the airport, fine. But if not - because the car hire company have run out, and it's Sunday, then you need to come up with another idea....
I shall post on Snowheads, one of these days, a sample of car hire tariff rates from the Geneva International Airport (Swiss side) car hire firms showing the additional cost of the "winter pack". I picked up a handful last time I was there, a couple of weeks ago. If, as some people keep saying, they are invariably "included as standard" why do they publish separate rates? I expect people booking from the UK in winter are given the higher "winter pack" rate whether they ask for it or not, but it did seem from the leaflets I picked up that there are two rates available to local hirers.
Quite a few Snowheads have reported buying chains in a supermarket and then taking them back, unused and in their original packaging, and got a refund on their way back to the airport. That's a smart way to do it!
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Certainly Avis (geneva swiss side) include winter pack ( snow tyres, chains but ice scraper) as standard in their price, at least during winter. Price may reflect this of course..
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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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Just a quick one to add here, I'm driving down on Good Friday - is that likely to be a problem with French Supermarkets being shut?
Ta
IMT
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Quite a few Snowheads have reported buying chains in a supermarket and then taking them back, unused and in their original packaging, and got a refund on their way back to the airport. That's a smart way to do it!
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Thanks folks for the feedback, We are are prob going to buy a set en route in a supermarket, if we dont use em, will try for a refund or exchange for a few bottles of Vin !
Were heading to Notre Dame...so we dont have a long drive thru the mountains. With the weather being so mild we mighn't need them
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My experience of car hire in Switzerland is that winter tyres and snow chains are included in the standard price. It has also been mentioned on another forum that in Switzerland the insurance company will find fault with a car not equipped with the correct tyres/chains and will not pay out in the event of an accident. This is probably why Swiss hire cars are fiited with winter tyres/chains by default?
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