Alaska - Renting a car in ANC in Feb

I just got back from a short business trip to ANC, and I rented a car to get around at the suggestion of the people I was visiting. I know it's cold and snowy up there, but I had sort of assumed that in AK in the winter they would at least put SNOW TIRES on the car, maybe even studded snow tires? I got a Nissan Altima w sport/highway tires, and it was fun, but I was thinking maybe I should have signed up for the extra insurance! So not looking for advice, I should have known better I guess. I'm just amazed.......

I just got back from a short business trip to ANC, and I rented a car to get around at the suggestion of the people I was visiting. I know it's cold and snowy up there, but I had sort of assumed that in AK in the winter they would at least put SNOW TIRES on the car, maybe even studded snow tires? I got a Nissan Altima w sport/highway tires, and it was fun, but I was thinking maybe I should have signed up for the extra insurance! So not looking for advice, I should have known better I guess. I'm just amazed.......
Only one rental agency in ANC, Dollar/Thrifty, offers studded tires on some vehicles, and those only first-come, first-serve and for an upgrade charge.

IME, the stock (usually all-weather) tires on new vehicles get around just fine (though if you got an Altima with sport tires, I'd be a little less happy, too!). In fact, the first two winters I had my current car, I didn't even bother getting studded tires. The only place studded tires helps is in starting from a dead stop at a stop light where cars have been idling at the light and melting/refreezing the ice and snow. It doesn't really noticeably affect general handling or stopping distance (maybe a tad).

If studded tires are not an option next time you rent, I'd take an upgrade to an SUV. The four-wheel-drive gives much better traction and handling, and the stock all-season tires on those kinds of vehicles perform VERY well on the streets of Anchorage. I'd much rather be driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee with stock tires than my car with studded tires!

As for why rental agencies don't stud all their cars: at $100-120 per tire, four tires per car, and several hundred cars, that could represent a cost of over $150,000 to a typica agency, and that's in months when most agencies up here are really operating in the red due to low demand, depressed prices, and low fleet utilization (for some agencies, the cost to stud all their vehicles would exceed their monthly revenue!). They're already renting the cars out below cost (at-cost would be about $30/day at 80% utilization [not including staffing/facility/etc.], and most here are operating in the winter closer to $15 or $20 at 50-60% utilization), so adding extra expense with virtually no additional return is not something they're really enthused about doing. ;)

I'm actually unaware of any city where all rental vehicles are regularly studded at no additional charge to the customer.

I just got back from a short business trip to ANC, and I rented a car to get around at the suggestion of the people I was visiting. I know it's cold and snowy up there, but I had sort of assumed that in AK in the winter they would at least put SNOW TIRES on the car, maybe even studded snow tires? I got a Nissan Altima w sport/highway tires, and it was fun, but I was thinking maybe I should have signed up for the extra insurance! So not looking for advice, I should have known better I guess. I'm just amazed.......

Who did you rent from? I always rent from Hertz and Avis in AK (or anywhere else for that matter). They typically have the best vehicles for handling winter. Unless the roads are really nasty, it's not too bad if you are experienced in winter driving, and Alaska typically does a good job of plowing and sanding the roads in and around the cities.

Although I will disagree with jackal on the stopping distance of studded vs. all season tires; having studded tires that can buckle down when you need them to can make all the difference in the world. I wouldn't trade my Nokian's for hardly anything.

I rented from Budget, will try Hertz or Avis next time. I agree, the roads weren't that bad, but driving in rush hour surrounded by SUVs and 4WD trucks, while trying to stay reasonably in my lane, and accelerate when the lights turned, just made me pay attention! The best was getting stuck in the rutted ice in a gas station, and almost taking out a pump or two trying to rock myself free :D

I rented from Budget, will try Hertz or Avis next time. I agree, the roads weren't that bad, but driving in rush hour surrounded by SUVs and 4WD trucks, while trying to stay reasonably in my lane, and accelerate when the lights turned, just made me pay attention! The best was getting stuck in the rutted ice in a gas station, and almost taking out a pump or two trying to rock myself free :D

Welcome to the one-of-a-kind experience of Anchorage commuting. Where ditch diving is considered an art, lane markers are more like generalized guidelines, and a red light means go faster. :rolleyes:

As my dad once said, "Anchorage people drive like ........."

I rented from Budget, will try Hertz or Avis next time.

Why not Dollar/Thrifty with a studded vehicle?

Welcome to the one-of-a-kind experience of Anchorage commuting. Where ditch diving is considered an art, lane markers are more like generalized guidelines, and a red light means go faster. :rolleyes:

As my dad once said, "Anchorage people drive like ........."

I'd modify that to where recovering from ditch diving is considered an art, lane markers are invisible, and a yellow light means go faster (and a red light means "Oh, ****!").

[Growing up here, I thought it was standard practice to have a two-second delay after one light turns red and the crossing direction's turns green. It wasn't until I was old enough to drive myself in California that I noticed the change there from one direction's red to the other's green was instantaneous. Combined with the lengthy yellow lights here, there's about six seconds of warning of the coming of cross-traffic. That's plenty of time to speed up and get through the intersection! ;)]

Actually, the only thing that drives me nuts about Anchorage drivers is driving slow in the left lane (or going 10mph under the limit on a two-lane road with no passing). Other than that, they frustrate me MUCH less than drivers in most other parts of the country.

Why not Dollar/Thrifty with a studded vehicle?


Ah hell, next time I'll just take a taxi!

I'd modify that to where recovering from ditch diving is considered an art, lane markers are invisible, and a yellow light means go faster (and a red light means "Oh, ****!").

[Growing up here, I thought it was standard practice to have a two-second delay after one light turns red and the crossing direction's turns green. It wasn't until I was old enough to drive myself in California that I noticed the change there from one direction's red to the other's green was instantaneous. Combined with the lengthy yellow lights here, there's about six seconds of warning of the coming of cross-traffic. That's plenty of time to speed up and get through the intersection! ;)]


Until it was finally repaved this year, I've been in third world countries with better roads than Minnesota Drive going south from downtown. You could almost say the same thing about the Glenn between downtown and Eagle River. The stunning combination of studded tires and poor construction quality!

I think the traffic light delay is very smart due to the number of people here that either slide through when it's icy, or who just don't give a **** about the safety of others and run it anyway.