Snow tires ever on Rental Cars?
Dec 4, 2006, 9:48 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: 44*38.670N 63*37.548W
Programs: several
Posts: 1,870
Snow tires ever on Rental Cars?
I should know this, but do the major rental companies ever put snow tires on their cars in Cdn winter cities? I have a 1-week rental w/ National in YOW next week, and plenty of driving to do...tons. My concern is some big December squall, and National giving me a rear-wheel drive Chrysler 300, which rather sux in ANY snow.
Dec 5, 2006, 3:05 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: fwp blood diamond, dykwia uranium
Posts: 7,252
snow tires make a difference, but not that big of a difference. if you feel concerned about the type of tire you have while on top of 1 inch of snow, maybe you should stick with a cab, or a chopper.
Dec 5, 2006, 6:04 am
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC Elite, SPG Platinum
Posts: 472
Dec 5, 2006, 6:27 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC*SE 2MM
Posts: 16,655
My Front Wheel Drive car came with summer tires. I have gotten it stuck in 1" of snow more than once (and I've been driving in winter for 25 years). With winter tires it is a completely different machine.
Dec 5, 2006, 7:20 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: YQB
Programs: AC*SE/2.1MM, Flying Blue Explorer, BA Executive Club Blue, AAdvantage Basic, ANA MC
Posts: 2,550
You can get snow tires on cars rented from most of the majors in the YQB area during the winter season.
However, they basically threaten you with death if you even ask about the possibility of dropping the car off at YUL or some other point outside the region.
I think they're concerned the car will never come back and they'll lose the tires; I'm told that the snow tires are actually paid for by the local agencies, not the franchisor.
However, they basically threaten you with death if you even ask about the possibility of dropping the car off at YUL or some other point outside the region.
I think they're concerned the car will never come back and they'll lose the tires; I'm told that the snow tires are actually paid for by the local agencies, not the franchisor.
Dec 5, 2006, 7:32 am
#7
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: AC*SE MM, Bonvoy LTT, Centurion, HH Diamond
Posts: 50
After getting stuck in 1" of snow in Montreal in a Lincoln Continental rental (I wouldnt even think of trying to push a boat like this out of snow!), I enquired at Avis about the winter tire issue.
Their answer: You have to ask for it at time of reservation. They have very few cars with them because it's not economically viable.
To which my reply was "So your business model revolves around staying cheap on winter tire and rely on the renter's insurance policies to fix your cars when they crash them in the winter time?"
In any case, I've rarely had a rental with winter tires. Though, I must say that recently in DEN, I had a National rental Ford Expedition AWD with winter treads. I felt pretty secure by that notion.
N
Their answer: You have to ask for it at time of reservation. They have very few cars with them because it's not economically viable.
To which my reply was "So your business model revolves around staying cheap on winter tire and rely on the renter's insurance policies to fix your cars when they crash them in the winter time?"
In any case, I've rarely had a rental with winter tires. Though, I must say that recently in DEN, I had a National rental Ford Expedition AWD with winter treads. I felt pretty secure by that notion.
N
Dec 5, 2006, 7:49 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: YUL
Programs: AC-E50K, IHG-P, Bonvoy-G
Posts: 1,268
We have a corporate account with National in Pointe Claire (West Island of Montreal) and can get cars with winter tires on a per-request basis. The request must be made at least a few days ahead of time so they have time to locate a vehicle. I’m not sure about the airport location though but I could inquire if anybody is interested for the YUL region.
I’ve been renting vehicles at various locations in Eastern Canada for several years now and very very rarely get winter tires. We’ve been complaining about this issue for several years now for our corporate account in Montreal and they finally agreed (about 2 years ago) to equip a few vehicles with winter tires.
I’ve been renting vehicles at various locations in Eastern Canada for several years now and very very rarely get winter tires. We’ve been complaining about this issue for several years now for our corporate account in Montreal and they finally agreed (about 2 years ago) to equip a few vehicles with winter tires.
Dec 5, 2006, 8:08 am
#9
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: YYZ
Programs: ACMM SE100K; Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum Elite
Posts: 957
I can see that no one here has rented a car in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina etc. Not only do these cars come equipped with snows, but if you don't plug in your block heater at night, expect a pancake flat battery in the morning!
Dec 5, 2006, 12:17 pm
#11
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 8,564
The guys on some car sites (analogous to FT) have a saying: "in snow, the worst winter tires are better than the best all-season tires".
Of course they're not recommending the worst tires anyway. And they're not snow tires, they're winter tires. Among other things the rubber compound is different and stays more supple and stickier in cold weather, improving braking and traction even on bare pavement.
It should be the law that rental companies and fleet owners put winter tires on their vehicles, in some regions if not everywhere. Listening to CFRB's traffic report last night at about 9pm (while driving through Hawkesbury!) I'd think it would be good in Toronto. I'd actually support a law that _all_ vehicles must have winter tires (I don't want someone else banging into me!) but those regularly driven by not-the-owner would be a start.
=aw
Of course they're not recommending the worst tires anyway. And they're not snow tires, they're winter tires. Among other things the rubber compound is different and stays more supple and stickier in cold weather, improving braking and traction even on bare pavement.
It should be the law that rental companies and fleet owners put winter tires on their vehicles, in some regions if not everywhere. Listening to CFRB's traffic report last night at about 9pm (while driving through Hawkesbury!) I'd think it would be good in Toronto. I'd actually support a law that _all_ vehicles must have winter tires (I don't want someone else banging into me!) but those regularly driven by not-the-owner would be a start.
=aw
Last edited by ALW; Dec 5, 2006 at 12:19 pm Reason: Added rant about mandating winter tires
Dec 5, 2006, 12:23 pm
#12
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Programs: SPG - Platinum, Hertz - 5 Star
Posts: 2,387
DF
Dec 5, 2006, 2:25 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
If you look at the most recent Consumer Reports tests on all-season and winter tires, you will notice that some of the all-season tires are excellent in snow and some are not. While all winter tires are fine in snow, they are not so fine on dry or wet pavement without snow, making noise and not handling well on curves or braking. The CR article shows one major brand all season as being excellent on snow traction and seven very good, one excellent on ice-braking and two very good (they were also very good on snow traction). Some of the ones that were fine in snow traction were also good on wet and dry as well. The caution that is stated is "all-season tires aren’t the best in the wake of a severe winter storm, especially if you must be on road before the highway crews" while winter tires probably do not grip as well on cleared roads and must be removed in the summer.