Why are winter tyres not available on hire cars?

As a resident of Switzerland, it would never occur to me to run my car on summer tyres after 1 November. We visited the UK over Christmas and New Year ordered a hire car from the airport. I requested winter tyres but was refused on the grounds that they are not obligatory. This seems to be a very careless attitude on the part of rental companies and indicates a disregard for the safety of both car and customer.

Asked on 26 January 2013 by RW, Appenzell, Switzerland

Answered by Honest John

Depends on the weather conditions. I fit cold weather tyres to my own car, but last winter they were totally superfluous and again over Christmas 2012. They were never, ever needed. For that reason, though BMW fitted its press fleet with cold weather tyres last winter, it has not done so this winter. If rental companies fitted winter tyres in the UK they would have to increase rental tariffs significantly. I agree, customers should be offered the option of paying extra to have them.

Tags: hire cars winter tyres driving in snow

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