Has anyone got any experience of which chains to buy? I'm probably going to be driving down to the alps in march and will need some snow chains. Are the cheap chains ok to buy or will they cause a problem? Maybe someone has some used ones they wnat to sell?

Get a tyre sock (IIRC) instead - works almost as well and is esy to fit do a search it was mentioned on here about 2 months ago

Found the link: http://www.autosock.co.uk/

They are not legal in the Alps where snow chains ae required.

We bought a set of cheapies from Halfords for the Octy at new year, about £50 from memory. Had to use them to get out of the Hotel car park & they were perfectly adequate, if you only need them for one or 2 trips they will be fine, they also come with a few spare links in case anything breaks.

You can only use them on packed snow or ice, not on tarmac or normal frozen roads, its common sense as they will quickly break

BIG BIT OF ADVICE Whatever you get practice fitting them, its a tadge awkward & if you are stuck in a blizzard the first time you fit them I think it would be interesting !!

Other bit of advice, have a higly concentrated or even neat screen wash, the biggest problem we had going down was frozen washers.

If you havent been before they are excelent at clearing the roads so generaly only minor roads or as we found hotel car parks will ever be a problem

Thanks, I've driven before with my dad (years ago) and spent plenty of time in ski resorts. In truth, I'd be very shocked if I had to use snow chains in March anyway. I just don't want to get stopped by the snow chain police and have to buy some off them for a small fortune!

Looks Like I'll just buy some cheapies then, found some for £35 delivered. As you say the roads should be kept clear so even if I end up using them it will probably only be for half a mile of so.