J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by 4x4

bandit wrote:Last time I rented a car at Reus in Oct 08, I did notice that the rental company wanted extra money to take the car into Andorra, and it was a daily charge. The rental co. was one of the large Spanish ones, Sol-Mar IIRC.

Last time I was in Andorra I never even considered that it would be an issue, so never read the small print :shock:

I just copied this from Pepecar's site:

'The client and/or named drivers will not undertake any journeys with the vehicle that would require its transportation by any other means of transport, such as ferries or trains. The client and/or named drivers undertake not to leave the national territory of Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar with the vehicle. It is further understood that cars hired in the Iberian peninsula may not be taken out of the peninsula. They may not be taken to the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, or Melilla, or out of the country. Likewise, cars hired on the islands may not be taken off the island on which they were hired.'

So it looks as if you are OK with them, at least for the planned trip to Andorra. :)

Tony_H wrote:Make sure you get one with one of those little bull stickers on the back.

Only if you are feeling horny. :mrgreen: The real Catalans will have donkey sticker on the back of their coche. :shock:

Hi There!

I see a lot of skiers in these cars . I didn't need to use them but they do seem a good price. Hope you won't mind the stickers on the sides! :-) Whenever I did rent a car in Spain, the green card insurance provided covers all Europe, I am almost sure you will not need to pay more, but check at the rental desk if the information is not specific when booking. The drive is easy (follow the C16 and then the signs for Andorra) but you will face a steep toll at the Tunel del Cadi, it's now 11 EUR each way, and there is another 3+ EUR toll on the C16 too. Snow chains are not compulsory, but the rental company will be able to supply them on request. If you do not have chains fitted and the roads are covered in snow, then you will be turned round and this can spoil the trip. Unless you have another day like last weeks snowfall (see my post Andorra is Closed!) you will not need them. I didn't use mine yet and I go most other weekend. Andorra is tax free so don't fill up with fuel until you are there or just before you leave. Get some drinks in from a supermarket once in Andorra while on the way, smokes too if you use them! 20 EUR buys a carton of 200 big brand name and 5 EUR a good bottle of scotch, for example :wink: . So, have a great time there! :D :D

I tried advertising locally too, and like most folks in the UK, the Spaniards will generally only look at the whole year and make buying descisions on that & price, not the safety aspects, it seems. :(

Ebay is actually not that popular in Spain, I've been told by my colleagues.

My thinking was like this: winter tyres + skiers = sale :) :)

Unless he's cheating, and got a 1200cc HarleyD 8) motor installed in his bike!

I'm not an expert, just someone who has tried to find out a bit about the small patches of rubber that are in contact with the road (we hope). From what I have read and experienced, winter tyres have special addatives which makes them far more 'grippy' in low temperatures, that is, below 7 degrees C. They work better in the wet and have special small 'sipes' or cuts in the individual tyre blocks to allow them to flex open and grip surfaces like snow, ice and slush far more efficiently than summer tyres, and give better braking performance in typical winter conditions. The downside is that above this temperature, they tend to wear down more quickly than summer tyres and may feel a bit 'vague' when cornering at high speed. All season tyres, then, are a compromise. They offer better wet and snow performance than regular summer tyres, and will not wear so quickly in the summer months. These tyres I am trying to sell are in the 'All Season' category, but have a stronger winter performance than a lot of others in this class (look for the mountain & snowflake logo on the sidewall). For the UK, I think that these tyres are the most sensible type to use, unless, like a lot of continental drivers, you have a set of full winter tyres in the garage to swap out the summer tyres during the winter season.

Strongly agree, and having had the worst (best?) snow and continued low temperatures in the UK for many years, maybe they will become more common?

I'm gonna hijack now tyres still up for grabs )

Just an update, the TV news tonight is that the ski areas in Andorra and the Pyrenees are on avalanche alert for the weekend..
:-o