Spare Wheel or Puncture Repair Outfit?

[john.wigley]

Recent discussion concerning wheels in another thread made me think.

My present V70 and both of our Saabs are equipped with spare wheels of the 'spacesaver' variety; our previous cars having spares that matched the wheels fitted on the car.

Some friends who run a '13 Ford Fiesta have only a repair kit to fall back on in the event of a puncture. Twice recently they have been temporarily stranded when a tyre sustained damage beyond the scope of the kit provided to repair. On each occasion they had little alternative but to call on the AA. The responding patrols took them to a local tyre shop in order to buy a new tyre, returned to their car and refitted their wheel to allow them to continue their journey. Presumably if the wheel had also been damaged they would have needed to buy a new one of those as well!

Even today, when out cycling I routinely carry a puncture repair outfit and am happy to assist anyone who may not have one. If touring, one may even have carried a spare inner-tube or two. For the same reason, those on 'sprints' always had a spare 'tub' strapped behind their saddles.

But in a car?! Surely a serviceable spare wheel is a basic component in any tool-kit? A spare was offered at one time as extra equipment on Reliant three-wheelers, as without one they could meet the weight criteria for a lower taxation class. Are modern cars supplied without one in order to save weight and / cost? Either way, it seems a retrograde step to me!

So, spare wheel or puncture repair kit - what do you have and does it bother you?

Regards, John.

[Whippy]

Spare, these repair kits are rubbish. Cost cutting nonsense.

[green van man]

Spare was part of the buying negotiations. Tin of gunk no good to me at 2am on a wet and windy motorway.

Paul.

[T5R92011]

Tyre Weld etc is only good if you have a slow puncture and you use the can on your driveway etc.

If your tyre shreds on the motorway, you're stuffed.

If your car doesn't come with a spare wheel, then you really should buy one, even a space saver.

[S60D5-185]

When I bought my XC90 in February it only had the can of goop and a compressor.

One of the first things that I bought was a used space saver and a winch to hold it in place.

Even a space saver can be a pain.

3 years ago we were in our S60 on a Saturday night heading for the South of France.
We picked a puncture up but obviously all tyre shops were closed for the weekend.

Travelling the remaining 180 miles on a French Autoroute at 50 mph was nothing short of dangerous.

[Harvey1512]

Tin of gunk for me and quite happy with it. Never changed a wheel in my 30 years of driving and have no intention of ever doing one. I want all the boot space I can get.