Spare wheels

My car has a full size spare and it was one thing that attracted me to it when I last changed cars as my DD's car only had emergency foam which worried me. Having said that the spare has never been needed and I've had the car nearly 8 years! Probably cost me a fortune in extra fuel in that time! Maybe I'll have to get over myself and do without the luxury on my next car. Now I'm retired I drive a lot less anyway, but obviously there are some journeys when a puncture would be much more inconvenient than others. Just have to hope it doesn't happen when it really matters.

Have any of you got nitrogen in your tyres?

My old car had a small get you to the garage tyre, my current car has nothing other than the foam stuff you stick in the tyre. Probably a lot of people don't have a clue how to change a tyre safety now days. I do kt how to do it but to be honest rather call someone out to sort it😂

I bought a spare when I got my car, it’s never been used but gives me peace of mind. I had a spare stolen when I put my Mercedes in for a recall and I could not find a replacement. I sold the car shortly after.

Modern tyres are so heavy that many of us simply wouldn't be able to lift them on or off the lugs. I speak from (bitter) experience. Get breakdown cover.

I have one in my car, I also have to tubes of temporary tyre inflator.

Been the case for many years now. One factor car manufacturers started to apply to help them get vehicles through the emissions test category ie less weight less emissions in petrol/diesel engine vehicles. The squirting foam in the tyre to help with a puncture is useless, ruins the tyre and can only be driven for a very limited amount of miles approx 20, or up to 40 if you are lucky, supposedly to let you get to a safe place for repair.

I am definitely a belt and braces person and have had my own full size spare in every car that did not have its own already. I did 3 days a week hospital car and could not have the hassle of patients being delayed or driving at a dreary 20 mph . I go to a lot of out of the way places and want to be selfsufficient, and beholden to no one. Bit of a pain getting it organised but worth it !!

Back when I did change a tyre if needed, if one was done at the garage / by tyre fitters, I would always ask them to loosen it slightly so it could be udone by hand (well, actually by stomping on the spanner!)
However, that is behind me. I do remember the last time I changed a tyre though. I had been tasked with carrying flowers from a church wedding to the reception venue. They were all loaded in the back of my estate car, and in a remote country lane, I got a sudden puncture. I took off my floaty skirt and my tights, and did the change in my knickers! No-one came by, either to help or get an eyeful!

I think most people would struggle to undo the wheel nuts to even attempt to change a tyre.

Many years ago, I drove quite an exotic car and came out to a flat tyre outside the DDs school. No panic - breakdown cover used.
The mechanic asked about the spare and I showed him where it would be. Well, when he finally got it out, it was a ‘get you home’ job and looked like a frisbee with a fringe! The fringe was in fact, a flat tyre folded up, concertina style like those old rain hats! He’d never seen anything like it and had to take it away to a local garage to inflate it. He was so interested/intrigued that he insisted on following me home - 25 miles down the A1M.

I used to change wheels but no longer!

No room in ours for a spare, it’s a hybrid and there’s a battery where a spare could sit. We’ve one of the foam repair kits to get us moving if necessary, just hope I never have to use it. I learned to drive at 17 , bought an ancient car which my dad made roadworthy and then refused to let me drive it until I demonstrated I could change a wheel. Those were the days😀.

At least 25 years ago, alone and 60 miles from home, I returned to the car to find a very flat tyre. No way could I move the wheel nuts. Out came the breakdown truck, wheel quickly changed, I limped home on the spare, bright yellow, space saver wheel.

When test driving our current car I muttered about the lack of spare wheel. Mr C pointed out as I can’t move the wheel nuts I couldn’t change a wheel now and if I didn’t feel confident with the repair kit would need the breakdown folk either way. There’s logic for you. Irritatingly he was right.

I was delighted to find my car has no spare. I can easily handle the glue and reinflate gizmo but, while I know how to change a wheel, I could never do it.

It horrifies me too! I had a new car last year and paid extra for a spare wheel , I think that’s a con but couldn’t bear not to have one

We have breakdown cover and also a spare. Several garages told us that it is too expensive to clean out the tyre when the 'filler'pump is used and they just replace the tyres and chuck the damaged ones! To avoid this we have just put the spare in as we change the car. Of course it helps that we buy the same car each time

I would never attempt to change a tyre ....so a spare wheel would be of no use for me.....I would call my breakdown cover provider

My fairly comprehensive breakdown cover is only £26 - worth it for the puncture I got in my last car, hitting a pothole. I know how to change the tyre, but with 19inch wheels and low profile tyres, I’ll leave it to the professionals.

When I bought my Honda Jazz 10 years ago, it didn't have a spare, just a puncture repair foam canister. However it did have a spare recess in the boot so my son bought me a proper spare wheel, jack etc from ebay. Peace of mind, especially when we had a blowout on the first day of our driving holiday in the Highlands. My AA cover sent out a breakdown truck from a local garage to get us off the road, and changed the wheel in no time at all.

So it's belt and braces for us, proper spare and breakdown cover as neither of us is able to change a wheel now.

We've breakdown cover. No worries.

I have run flat tyres on my Mini and I don’t like them at all. They make for a hard ride on uneven roads, are expensive to replace and can damage alloy wheels if you hit a pothole. We have sone of the worst roads in the country for potholes. Manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles are doing everything they can to keep weight to a minimum to compensate for the weight of the battery so spare wheels are a no-no.

My last car was 11 years old and didn’t have a spare, it had the pump which I had to use once and worked fine.

btw my spare wheel is a heavy `real` wheel, just not quite the right size. It is robust with a normal tyre and too heavy for me to lift. Perhaps we should have checked that it was the same actual size as the wheels on the car but hindsight is wonderful

I've got a temporary wheel which can be used just until you can get the problem fixed. I had a blow out last year and also have breakdown cover, so the RAC came and fitted this little wheel (they are a bit smaller than the real one) . So it's now in the boot of my car in case something happens again....but I do hope it doesn't!

I've had a couple of 'blowouts' while driving my first and second Minis. I couldn't avoid either pot hole (one just looked like a puddle - it was a wet day).

I carried on driving cautiously on my 'run flat' tyres to a garage on both occasions. But replacing the tyres was very expensive, a track rod was also damaged the first time. DH's car has a small, spare wheel (for emergencies only) but needed to change the wheel at the time by the side of a busy road. Either way, it was expensive, time consuming and brought on rants about the state of our roads. We reported all potholes -nobody cared.