winter tyres on car hire in grenoble

Try Sixt. They do a Peugeot 308 estate with winter tyres. You can't select any car and request winter tyres though. I recall having a similar problem hiring from the French sector at Geneva airport.

Jimbobilini wrote:Try Sixt. They do a Peugeot 308 estate with winter tyres. You can't select any car and request winter tyres though. I recall having a similar problem hiring from the French sector at Geneva airport.

icant seem to find that car. do you have a link?

Copying the link doesn't seem to work. It is half way down the results when you search. It is in French -
"Peugeot 308 Break avec Pneus Hiver
Estates (CWMW)"

Peugeot.
Indicate left and a window opens.......

Glad you managed to get a hire car sorted Wanderer. It does seem strange that it's only possible to hire cars fitted with winter tyres in France and Italy via the hire companies local websites. I would have thought that most of the demand would be from skiers based in other countries.

In theory a travel agent should be able to book a hire car fitted with winter tyres using one of the computer reservations systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_reservations_system Amadeus is the most popular system, the code for winter tyres is STR (see Equipment Codes) http://helponline.amadeuscwa.com/anglais/documents/Amadeus_Cars.pdf

This might be the link Jimbobilini mentioned http://www.sixt.fr/location-voiture-pneus-hiver/

It has always annoyed me that the car hire companies don't fit winter tires as standard or by request at ski locations. Driving on cold and snowy roads with regular or 'all season' tires is a huge safety issue. Many of the employees of hire companies in ski gateway locations wouldn't dream driving to work without them. The fact that this issue is regularly voiced on forums suggests that there is a demand that isn't being met by the large rental companies. Requesting winter tires is by no means a guarantee of actually getting them with your hire car. It can be an inconvenience for some hire locations to make the exception of fitting the tires so will just offer to upgrade or not charge you, as if there is adequate compensation for the additional risk to you and your passengers that failing to fit them creates.

I have always made a point of complaining when getting a car without proper tires in a location in the midst of winter. In my view it should be standard. I have occasionally received a free tank of gas or other compensation as a result. Again this is no real compensation for the increased risk, but the more people's complaints dent their bottom line, the greater the likelihood that the large car rental companies will offer a real guaranteed choice of having the proper tires for the conditions.

Note that in Switzerland they have to be fitted by law, so if you rent from Geneva airport, choose the rental locations on the Swiss side.

Hired a car from geneva Swiss side for this holiday. Winter tyres and chains come as standard. Book on French side and they are extra. The French car hire location is also a pain to get to

£174 for a week all in. Corsa suitable for 2 people :p