Some new cars have no spare wheel

[oldcardriver]

Some new cars have no spare wheel, in the past I have had a blow-out on a motorway (3 mm tread minimum), so I wondered if anyone has used a mobile tyre repair company on a motorway and what were the costs involved? I googled and the only company that I found was:-

http://www.tyresonthedrive.com

Although I am not sure if they will come out on a motorway.

kwik-fit have mobile vans, but they appear to be directed at fitting tyres at you home.

 

[Dave54]

What about the recovery services?

 

[oldcardriver]

What about the recovery services?

They are unlikely to be able supply a new tyre, and won't be able to remove and fit a tyre anyway.

Although I suppose they could transport you to a tyre fitter during 9-5. If it happened out of 9-5 they would have to take you to your home or destination and then get a mobile fitter out later!

 

[Dave54]

It's been some years ago, but a friend of mine had both front tyres blow out after hitting debris on the M5 in the dark. RAC / AA came out, took the two wheels away and got tyres fitted. More detail than that I don't know. I'll have a guess that was after 6 pm on a Friday as he used to travel up from the West Country to the Midlands after work on Friday. Probably well after 6 pm by the time they got to him etc.
As you say, whatever the case they'd get you where you were going somehow I reckon.

 

[HERTS P&D]

I read somewhere that the AA won't cover you unless you have a spare wheel. Not sure if this has changed since cars coming with no spare wheel.

Andy

 

[Dave54]

Don't see how they can "make" you carry a spare if the car doesn't have one.
I've got mixed feelings about the lack of a spare with modern motors TBH. Spare wheels take up room, add weight and so on. Could half the people who drive change a wheel these days?
OTOH Rare though they seem to be these days, if you do get a puncture that's bigger than a nail hole, you are stuck.

 

[Burnerman]

If ever there was a retrograde step then I think this is it......all you get is a tube of sealant and an electric compressor.
Fine if you have a slow puncture, you'll probably get home - but if the tyre has a gash it's game over.
If you have a space saver tyre but can't change it, the AA man can......otherwise he has to either go and get you a new tyre or tow you in. Either way, you're day is over!
John

 

[JohnD]

the can of sealant is a bit of a last resort - once used, you won't be able to have the tyre repaired, even if the original damage was small. If your car has expensive tyres, this is a bit depressing.

I have a space-saver which I don't like, but the full size wheel is so huge it won't fit in the well (and I can hardly lift it). I keep a full-size spare at home that I can use if I need to wait for a repair.

 

[oldcardriver]

I keep a full-size spare at home that I can use if I need to wait for a repair.

That is what I was thinking of doing, especially as many cars have aluminium wheels which could be damaged if there is serious damage to the tyre.

 

[oldcardriver]

I googled "car puncture repair kit" and found these:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/GadgetpoolUK-Motorcycle-Tubeless-Puncture-Repair/dp/B007EKQMLU

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TYRE-PUNC...OTORBIKE-CAR-VAN-ATV-QUAD-TRIKE-/221557423744

I used this type of repair kit many years ago, but I thought that they were made illegal ages ago, but I suppose that they would be worth the risk as a get you home or to a tyre dealer at say 50 mph.

However, could a tyre dealer then repair the plugged tyre satisfactorily?

 

[Dave54]

40 + years ago, I worked in a motor accessory place. A Saturday job. We had Dunlop tyre plugging kits in a round tin, with red and black writing (IIRC) We stopped selling them sometime around 1971, because, I was told at the time, they "were no longer legal"
Whether they are legal for a temporary repair or not, I don't know, but I also thought I remembered it being said that using them reduced the chance of a proper repair being made.
One problem I can see straight away, is it's a job to get at the tread on most modern cars in the first place. So would you want to pull the wheel off on that cold sleety night when the puncture is bound to happen, and fridge about with some bits of rubber strip and a glorified darning needle? If you're going somewhere, the gloop in a can is so quick and easy!

 

[Avocet]

They're still used to this day. You can only plug a hole in the tyre if it's in the main tread area though - there's a specified distance from the sidewall that it has to be. I also saw an article about the RAC developing a "universal" space-saver which would fit on multiple car types.

 

[SandyLyon]

A real backward step as far as I am concerned, yes I'm sure the reasoning behind it is weight and nothing to do with cost.
I was out with a friend who had just taken delivery of a new car several weeks before, we were traveling on the M6 when his front near side tyre blew while doing about 70 mph in the middle lane. By the time we managed to pull over onto the hard shoulder the tyre was shredded.
The can of sealant was pretty useless, no spare, completely in the hands of the recovery services, not only that but plans for the next day were scuppered as we had to wait why a tyre was sourced and fitted.
With a spare we would have been on our way in 30 mins and the only disruption the following day would have been to drop the damaged tyre off at the local depot.

Shortly after this my daughter purchased a sports car, it was the top of the range model with the larger alloys, all the other cars in the range came with a spare wheel except this one, it had the same well in the boot for a spare wheel but instead had a foam insert with a puncture repair kit.
First thing I did was to buy a Jack, wheel brace and a steel wheel and tyre that gave the same circumference as the original, removed the foam insert and put the wheel and bits in.
Off memory it cost me about £150, it was money well spent and paid for itself more than once.

But I come from the generation that "had" to do all their own maintenance and repairs and a had "Belt and Braces" approach, I'm sure a lot of drivers now wouldn't know what to do with a spare wheel if they had one.

 

[JBR]

Changing a wheel isn't exactly rocket science.
When we get our next car I shall make sure it's one that comes with a proper spare wheel.
I wonder whether that could be a bargaining point when buying a new (or nearly new) car.

 

[Avocet]

A real backward step as far as I am concerned, yes I'm sure the reasoning behind it is weight and nothing to do with cost.
I was out with a friend who had just taken delivery of a new car several weeks before, we were traveling on the M6 when his front near side tyre blew while doing about 70 mph in the middle lane. By the time we managed to pull over onto the hard shoulder the tyre was shredded.
The can of sealant was pretty useless, no spare, completely in the hands of the recovery services, not only that but plans for the next day were scuppered as we had to wait why a tyre was sourced and fitted.
With a spare we would have been on our way in 30 mins and the only disruption the following day would have been to drop the damaged tyre off at the local depot.

Shortly after this my daughter purchased a sports car, it was the top of the range model with the larger alloys, all the other cars in the range came with a spare wheel except this one, it had the same well in the boot for a spare wheel but instead had a foam insert with a puncture repair kit.
First thing I did was to buy a Jack, wheel brace and a steel wheel and tyre that gave the same circumference as the original, removed the foam insert and put the wheel and bits in.
Off memory it cost me about £150, it was money well spent and paid for itself more than once.

But I come from the generation that "had" to do all their own maintenance and repairs and a had "Belt and Braces" approach, I'm sure a lot of drivers now wouldn't know what to do with a spare wheel if they had one.

Not just weight. Lots of 7 seat MPVs have no spare. It's hard to see where you could put one, in fact.