Spare tyre and spare wheel.

I drive a car (Toyota) that has a spare wheel and a tyre on it that is fully interchangeable with any of the four road wheels. My spare is a perfect analogue and is not one of those 80 k.p.h. speed limited "get you home" articles.

I may be in the market for a new car this year. I have done some preliminary surveys of what is available. I am utterly amazed that many of the reputable makes have either a "get you home" spare wheel/tyre or no spare wheel/tyre just a can of gunge. The cans of gunge are probably useless if you get certain types of flat e.g. side wall damage.

Does anyone know what makes and models still have a conventional spare wheel and tyre ? Is there any board or thread that would give you a list of which makes have proper spares ? They will be charging us extra for steering wheels next ! Unbelievable.............

Omitting the spare will marginally improve performance in the emissions tests, but also saves the manufacturers huge money. They'll only reverse this trend if enough pressure is exerted on them from consumers.

I don't think you'll find a published list of models that come complete with a spare, some may even vary depending on spec level chosen. So you'll need to check out the specs of models you're interested in, or better still, ask the dealers and let them know you're only interested in cars that come with a full spare.

I hate the 80km spare wheel, only had to use it once and never again. I changed my car last year and said to the garage (Toyota) if they wanted to deal with me, they had to throw in a proper spare wheel for nothing. They did. I think VW use the gunge, I know a family member walked away for a deal for a new VW when they wouldn't supply a wheel

thedaddyman said:

I hate the 80km spare wheel, only had to use it once and never again. I changed my car last year and said to the garage (Toyota) if they wanted to deal with me, they had to throw in a proper spare wheel for nothing. They did. I think VW use the gunge, I know a family member walked away for a deal for a new VW when they wouldn't supply a wheel

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Very interesting indeed. Demanding a proper spare is the way to go. In relation to the gunk I was indeed thinking of VW. In relation to VW I wonder if the dealer's problem was that the design of the car meant that there was actually no void or well for any spare wheel at all ?

There's an arrogance with suppliers, I can see these cars being a problem to sell in the second hand market

thedaddyman said:

I think VW use the gunge, I know a family member walked away for a deal for a new VW when they wouldn't supply a wheel

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Well they call a saloon Golf by a different name and charge a much higher price so if they can get away with that then not supplying a spare wheel is no big deal. Let's face it; they need all the help they can get on emissions levels as well.

DirectDevil said:

Very interesting indeed. Demanding a proper spare is the way to go. In relation to the gunk I was indeed thinking of VW. In relation to VW I wonder if the dealer's problem was that the design of the car meant that there was actually no void or well for any spare wheel at all ?

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I'd no real issue with the larger spare wheel but the jack and other things wouldn't fit in the well so they now sit in a bag in the boot. The gunk might work for a nail in a tyre but I ripped a 2 inch hole in tyre last year on a rural road and there was no gunk that would fix that.

I heard on the radio during the week though that VW and it's other companies (Audi. Skoda etc) was the most popular brand in the world now.

thedaddyman said:

The gunk might work for a nail in a tyre but I ripped a 2 inch hole in tyre last year on a rural road and there was no gunk that would fix that.

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Another point to note is that the sealant is only a temporary measure until you get the puncture repaired properly. Fixing it properly will require cleaning of the residual sealant and will likely cost more.

Most tyre dealer will not clean the gunk out and write off the tyre

It is the biggest money making racket around at the moment. The sealant also has an expiry date so requires regular replacement I read somewhere a while back that you can pay approx. £500 to have the boot adjusted to accept a wheel and then also buy a wheel.

These lists might give you some advice on suppliers who do have full spare wheel: https://www.google.ie/?gws_rd=ssl#q=makes+of+cars+with+full+spare+wheel

These previous threads also mention this problem https://www.google.ie/?gws_rd=ssl#q=askaboutmoney+cars+without+spare+wheel

Got an Insignia (2nd hand) with the can of gunge (and an beaujoulais ice lolly). Eventually tracked down a full spare on Done deal (having tried a few wreckers yards). Stuck it under the boot carpet - where I think there was a well to take the toy wheel. So basically you have a lumpy boot but some prospect of getting home! I'm in the sticks so help not necessary on hand and/or far away.

Like some posters mentioned, when I get a flat there's probably a 50/50 chance I've made mush of the tyre. It can be a complicated business, there's a site that gives you alternative models for the same bolt pattern (but you'd still need to check the brake caliper fits - so you're probably looking at the same make and model. On a similar note, I've always avoided low profile tyres - I've heard of loads of people cracking alloy wheels because the tyre is so narrow - not made for heaving in and out of potholes and other bumps.