rupert123 Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 This hoary old chestnut again but I have just had a bit of a shock. The contract on my car is coming to an end this month so have been looking around for a new one. I short listed a total of eight and have now tested them all. Not one of the eight I drove comes with a spare wheel and two do not even offer one in the options list, the other six ranged from £75 to £150 for a space saver. In most if you went for the spare it took up a good bit of boot space. All the dealers came out with pretty much the same thing, who the hell wants to change a wheel when you have full breakdown for 24/7 which includes sourcing a new tyre if required. Anyway the next question 'when did you last have a puncture'.. I have to admit I cannot remember, now for all those who are about to tell me they had two at the same time on a back road at 2 am do not bother. I am aware it can happen and would indeed rather have a spare but the dealers do have a point. Now we all know the real reason is to save money but what the hell I refuse to worry about it and refuse to pay for a spare, it is bad enough having to pay to have the car painted although I did manage to get metallic paint in the deal but all reluctant to throw a spare in. So I reckon all those who say they would not buy a vehicle without a spare are going to have a very limited choice indeed, mind you half the forum always said the would never buy a Fiat X250 , look where that went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Maybe look at it another way.. If a spare or space saver was automatically included BUT they offered you a discount if you chose not to have one , which would you do?..... However slim the chance may be, IF you ever had the misfortune to find yourself sat on the side of the road (possibly on route to an important engagement?) waiting for the roadside assistance/recovery truck .I bet that 75-150 quid would then seem like peanuts... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 rupert123 - 2016-06-07 3:28 PM All the dealers came out with pretty much the same thing, who the hell wants to change a wheel when you have full breakdown for 24/7 which includes sourcing a new tyre if required. Anyway the next question 'when did you last have a puncture'....................... But then, the last people I would take advice from are car salesmen. Maybe they get commission for selling a car without a spare ?? I would never buy a car, or a van, without a spare wheel - For the same reasons that I don't travel abroad without health insurance. Mind you, I am a pessimist by nature. ( Last puncture I had in my car was last year - fairly new car, only about 5000 miles on the tyre and it was not repairable.) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 In the last 9 years I've had 5 punctures, only one in last 3 years. When your used to it takes maybe 10 or 15mins to change a wheel, say 20mins absolute max. So with that last puncture I came out to car in morning and within 20mins was on my way to work, the next day on my way past garage dropped off wheel to get puncture repaired and picked it up on way back home, my experience of calling out breakdown services during rush hour would indicate that it would take best part of an hour to get out to me, then tyre would need to be taken to town for repair and returned to be fitted at least an hour, so probably at best 2 hours whilst I have customers wondering where I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 rupert123 - 2016-06-07 3:28 PM Anyway the next question 'when did you last have a puncture'.. the forum always said the Quite often would be my answer, my daughter brought a new car a few years ago had a big bolt through the shoulder of the tyre within 24 hours non repairable, good job dad persuaded her to have the full size spare option. Even saved her some money, the option was £40 a new tyre was £95, fitted the spare and brought a budget tyre to replace the spare. Current Motorhome I changed the tyres for higher load index all season tyres got a puncture in one in the first 50 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 I to would rather have a spare but none of these cars were capable of taking a full size spare anyway, just a space saver. The thing I object to is having to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 lennyhb - 2016-06-08 10:49 AM rupert123 - 2016-06-07 3:28 PM Anyway the next question 'when did you last have a puncture'.. the forum always said the Quite often would be my answer, my daughter brought a new car a few years ago had a big bolt through the shoulder of the tyre within 24 hours non repairable, good job dad persuaded her to have the full size spare option. Even saved her some money, the option was £40 a new tyre was £95, fitted the spare and brought a budget tyre to replace the spare. Current Motorhome I changed the tyres for higher load index all season tyres got a puncture in one in the first 50 miles. Blimey Lennie you must be the worlds unluckiest motorist, you should watch were you are going. :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 A puncture in the UK with or without a spare wheel and with or without a rescue service to call upon is one thing, but a puncture abroad in a 3.5 tonne van is quite another and if carrying a spare wheel in a van makes the whole episode, if it happens, less fraught it is surely worth the cost to buy a used wheel from a breaker - or even just a tyre if payload is an issue - as long as you can store it securely. I always carry a 12 volt tyre inflator - we used to call it a pump - because you can very often, but not always of course, get away with just bunging some air in to get you home or somewhere you can sort it out thus avoiding all the messy bits when it's least convenient. Like so many things these are personal choices which we make based on our own experiences and beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 rupert123 - 2016-06-07 3:28 PM This hoary old chestnut again but I have just had a bit of a shock. The contract on my car is coming to an end this month so have been looking around for a new one. I short listed a total of eight and have now tested them all. Not one of the eight I drove comes with a spare wheel and two do not even offer one in the options list, the other six ranged from £75 to £150 for a space saver. In most if you went for the spare it took up a good bit of boot space. All the dealers came out with pretty much the same thing, who the hell wants to change a wheel when you have full breakdown for 24/7 which includes sourcing a new tyre if required. Anyway the next question 'when did you last have a puncture'.. I have to admit I cannot remember, now for all those who are about to tell me they had two at the same time on a back road at 2 am do not bother. I am aware it can happen and would indeed rather have a spare but the dealers do have a point. Now we all know the real reason is to save money but what the hell I refuse to worry about it and refuse to pay for a spare, it is bad enough having to pay to have the car painted although I did manage to get metallic paint in the deal but all reluctant to throw a spare in. So I reckon all those who say they would not buy a vehicle without a spare are going to have a very limited choice indeed, mind yo u half the forum always said the would never buy a Fiat X250 , look where that went. My answer to that question was "I'm not bothered about when I last had a puncture it's when I next get one that matters to me". That shut him up. For the record my present car a Honda CRV has a spare as standard as did my last one a Toyota Avensis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 It's not just about saving money, these spare wheels and tyres are heavy and with such a strong emphasis on emissions, every Kg saved matters. In the case of a motorhome; my advice is to carry a spare tyre if you have the room to do so. Wheels rarely get damaged but finding a match for your punctured tyre can be difficult even during daylight hours in the UK. Years ago i was studying the options list for Iveco trucks. I noticed a option "Delete spare wheel....-£150" I selected that option immediately because i knew the chassis never came with spare wheels anyway! The money i saved paid for front fog lamps and nice headrests for the cab. Result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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