Car = spare wheel or boot space

I’m looking at midsize estates, e.g. Focus, Seat Leon / Golf estate.

The VAG ones sacrifice the space saver wheel to get more boot space and rely on a tyre repair kit and compressor. Otherwise I think the boot space is the same as the Ford.

Has anyone had any experience of using the tyre repair kits? I’ve only used the spare a handful of times – on a couple of occassions I probably could have kept going on top-ups of airs, however the last blow-out on a rock wouldn’t have been fixed with a repair kit.

Anyone regretted not having a spare tyre?

I must have driven at least half a million miles in my life, and I have never changed a tyre or fixed a puncture at the side of the road.

None of the cars I have owned for the past 5 years have had a spare tyre either.

Done 50,000 miles in my SMax without a spare. Only had one puncture which was repairable so I limped to Kwik Fit and got it plugged. If I have a proper blow out then I’ll call the RAC.

Initially I was concerned with the lack of a spare, but so far it hasn’t been an issue.

I had a puncture that the tyre jizz wouldn’t fix a few weeks ago. Also an SMax. I had to get the breakdown people out to take me to Kwikfit! Right pain in the arse it was.

The previous time I had a puncture, about 3 years ago, I just changed the wheel and carried on my journey.

I keep thinking of getting a spare and keeping it in the garage, only useful if local but better than nothing.

My Ibiza actually has a space for a spare, but no spare. I should really get one for that.

My (late 15 / early 16) Golf estate has a spare wheel, and there’s room for it even if you have the boot floor on the lower setting for more space.

Only had one puncture in recent memory (in last car), hit a particularly bad/sharp pothole and it tore a hole in the sidewall big enough to not bother with the repair kit. Going way, way back the one before that I did have a spare wheel but the bolts had been done up so tight I couldn’t budge them with the wheelbrace in the car so I had to call the RAC anyway.

The last puncture I had was when I didn’t realise the van didn’t come with the tool to get the spare down (my fault) was in the middle of the vfestival start trying to get past the junction, took 2hrs for the RAC to get there and sort me out.

Pays your money takes your choice – that was in about 500,000 miles of driving

Changing a wheel is a bit like reversing; if you can’t do it you shouldn’t really be driving.

It’s not like a spare takes up that much space.

I love changing a car wheel, it’s an oddly satisfying task.

Whenever I see a grown man have an AA/RAC man do this task for them, I look upon them with scorn.

I must have driven at least half a million miles in my life, and I have never changed a tyre or fixed a puncture at the side of the road.

I’ve probably done similar mileage including motorbikes and I’ve done several, including one at the side of the M3 after an 80mph blowout in the fast lane (work van) and a bit of steel rebar through the back tyre on Teesport industrial estate (own car) that foam and a compressor wouldn’t have been any use at all for. For both of those, without a spare you’re utterly buggered.
I’ve had a broken spoke go through the rear tube at 40-50mph on a DT125 (that was scary) too, but I was AAd home that time.
I carry plugs and CO2 on long motorbike trips but I wouldn’t buy a car without a spare.

bodgy – Member 
It’s not like a spare takes up that much space.

Except it does. Quite a lot. Unless your car is the typical Chelsea Tractor for taking kids to school, though even then you’d need the space for all the crap you have to take with them.

Boot well in my Civic is either spare or storage space. Way more useful as storage compared to the 1 in a million chance I get a puncture so bad it needs a wheel change. Never had to change a wheel, though I could. Only ever had the odd slow puncture.

Depends on the condition of the roads in your area and the size of tyres that come on the car.

40 profile tyres combined with most of my driving being on what passes for a roads around here mean I’d rather not be without a spare. I think I’ve had 2 flats in as many years so whilst not a frequent occurrence I’d rather be able to get home 15 mins later rather than a few hrs.

I wouldn’t be without a spare.
I do have to drive a lot in remote areas with no phone signal, and have had a couple of blowouts over the years leaving big gashes in tyre- so need to be self sufficient.

Except it does. Quite a lot.

No it doesn’t, don’t talk daft. We’ve even got decent amounts of underfloor storage as well as a spare wheel on our Mazda 6.
Maybe in a small supermini, yes, but the OP wants a Focus sized estate. He won’t even know it’s there. (We had a Focus estate so this I know for sure!)

My 1990 Fiat Panda had a full size spare on top of the engine! 🙂

For both of those, without a spare you’re utterly buggered.

In those 2 situations rac/aa to the tyre shop would ha e got you going just fine. It’s just about how you see the risk/reward.

Had 3 flats with no spare requiring the RAC to rescue the car (SMAX with relatively low profile tyres). I do live in the sticks though, where dodging a surprise tractor can often end up off the road edge and there are mahoosive pot holes that can kill a tyre in a moment of bad luck.

I wouldn’t be without a spare now – re: the VAG comment, my Passat has a spare, 2012 Bluemotion and I was surprised but pleased to find it.

Unsurprisingly the time we did need the spare, was when we were away in the lakes, when we would need all the space in the boot (and thus not a spare wheel).

What we need is probably a Mondeo, but reluctant to get something that big for day to day driving so the Focus seems the best compromise.

I think that doing away with space savers releases about 100 litres of boot space.

I’d be going with a [spacesaver] spare every time.

If you clip a kerb then no amount of goo is going to fix your tyre.
You’re then left with waiting an hour for the breakdown person who will look at the tyre and say they can’t fix it and will then start phoning around to see if they can get a replacement tyre.
If they do find one they will remove the wheel, take it to have the new tyre fitted and then bring the wheel back and fit it for you.

This is assuming you have breakdown cover (that you have to pay for) and that you’re happy to pay whatever [probably] inflated price that the tyre shop decides to charge once they find out it’s the AA/RAC/Green Flag calling.

Basically it depends how much time you have. With a spare you can be up and running again in 15 minutes. With tyre repair you have to fanny around and are then paranoid whether it worked or not. If it doesn’t work then it’s RAC/AA to a tyre place.

Again in an S-Max I had to use the can of sealant which got me home but then spent the next morning getting a replacement tyre as I didn’t trust it on a 200 mile journey I was due to do. So I’d go for a spare personally.

I’ve had a few punctures

I had one in my 5 series, it had run flats and no spare. I was about 200 miles away from home with a fully loaded car and a massive roofbox full of kit. RAC came out to replace the tyre, but it was a wait of a good few hours. Was too far to drive home with it. It was at night too, really messed up the trip home. I used to keep all sorts of kit in the spare wheel well though, it was very handy

Current (big) estate has a big boot with 2 spare seats and a spare tyre under the floor. Quite pleased with that, even though I hope to never need it. You don’t know it’s there. There’s a loss of storage though, but the boot is so big I leave the useful bits in a bag of stuff in the main boot

Current car is 4 years old, the spare tyre was a £50 option I took. Have had to use it 4 times so well worth having one for me!

Whenever I see a grown man have an AA/RAC man do this task for them, I look upon them with scorn.

Not quite scorn but I do have a giggle 🙂

PeterPoddy – Member 
No it doesn’t, don’t talk daft

A space saver takes less space, but still valuable space, and they’re potentially unsafe. I’d only run a full size if I wanted a spare, and it’s way too big.

as per brassneck above, I was pleased to find a full size (as fart as I can tell) spare in the boot of my 2010 Octavia, when got it s/h from dealer.

Previous – 900S – also had a spare – space saver – which I had to use when hit a pothole at side of single track road trying to dodge oncoming traffic.

and they’re potentially unsafe

😯
Go on…. why?

my yeti had no spare, wasn’t an issue in 74k. Neither 500 has had a spare either & no issue in over 80k. Our new kodiaq has a proper space saver that would look skinny on a 2cv. I’d be annoyed with it taking up space in the boot except skoda have cunningly hidden a sub in its well. I suppose it provides a modicum of help, but the limitations around its use (80kph max, 40km range, what the hell do you then do with a full sized, potentially deadly 19″ wheel with a full boot?) mean that I’d probably rather get towed to a garage & get a replacement fitted.

If you don’t have a spare you must be going to really boring places on your car trips so you can rely on the nice man saving you. Happy motoring princesses.

I love changing a car wheel, it’s an oddly satisfying task.

Whenever I see a grown man have an AA/RAC man do this task for them, I look upon them with scorn.

I used to do this. I think the RAC man who came to me once also did. On that occasion, the extra extra long bar he carried was needed. That was after scornfully taking my own wheel brace out of my hand and failing both with his hands, and after jumping up and down on it.

Oh, and fwiw, I usually carry two full sized spares when I’m going somewhere interesting. But I do live in oz, and interesting places frequently have no roads…

sharkbait – Member 

and they’re potentially unsafe

Go on…. why?

The car is typically unbalanced with one due to size and traction differences, and they are limited to < 50mph (if not by rating, by law) and only good for a short trip to the garage. Speed limit makes it dangerous to use on a motorway as you’re going too slow unless you push the max speed of the tyre, and they can be really unsafe at speed.

Marin – Member 
If you don’t have a spare you must be going to really boring places on your car trips so you can rely on the nice man saving you. Happy motoring princesses.

Drove to Morzine without a spare. Guess it’s a boring place though 🙂 . Actually, I was probably braking the law not having a spare in France. Not sure. Not like the French probably obey such laws anyway.

I don’t rely on a nice man saving me. I rely on modern tyres not being like they used to be decades ago, and rarely puncture. If they do, it’s usually a slow. If it’s a blow out, you’re either going to crash anyway or it’s enough of a mess to need a call out.

Anecdotal but relevant.

I’ve got to give my boss a lift later to pick up his car (a VAG) which he had to abandon last night with a puncture as it doesn’t have a spare.

I had to change the wheel on the works Transit last month on the hard shoulder of the M4.

TBH, given how shitty a job it is on the transit (seriously, why did they have to make a simple job so bloody difficult) I don’t think abandoning it was so bad!

The car is typically unbalanced with one due to size and traction differences, and they are limited to < 50mph (if not by rating, by law) and only good for a short trip to the garage. Speed limit makes it dangerous to use on a motorway as you’re going too slow unless you push the max speed of the tyre, and they can be really unsafe at speed.

I drove back to Reading from Cornwall on one. A lot of HGV’s these days are limited to 50mph to save fuel so it’s really not an issue sitting in the 1st lane with them. I’d rather have a full size, but once in 100,000 miles isn’t bad going, and it did 60mpg (not bad for a big car with a petrol engine) so the fuel saving paid for the puncture repair!

My old Mondeo had space for a full size spare but was supplied with spacesaver & a lump of plastic to fill up the boot well 🙁 only 1 car tyre punctured in 30yrs

I’ve had 7 punctures/blowouts in my 12 years of driving. Non of the cars had run-flat tyres and 3 of my 11 cars have had no spare. Having had experience of using repair kits, I’d say that the kit would’ve been effective in only 50% of the cases. If the puncture happens at speed, and with non-RFTs, I’d say there’s a good chance that the tyre is badly damaged by the time you get it stopped. All of the repair kits I’ve used have put a terrible imbalance into the wheel which necessitates a trip to the tyre shop within 50 miles in the same way a run-flat tyre would.

The only time I’ve wished for a spare whee was when I noticed a small crack in one of the alloys on our only car and I was worrying about what we’d do whilst it was in for repair as I couldn’t just drop the wheel off and portly about with the spare on.

As it was I found a crack in the front wheel too so we’re boned either way.

I’m happy enough changing tyres but I’ve not needed too on the road as yet, plus I’m rocking run flats now so we can just drive to a local fast fit place and let them sort it.

Remember being stopped by a Mazda bongo driver in ardnamurchen where I was also driving my car

And he said. Do either of you have phone signal as he didn’t….

We didn’t .

So he asked for a lift to where there was a signal or a house as he had taken his spare out to make more room.

I’d rather have a spare than not….In fact up until last month I needed 2 spares has I had one 5 bolt and one 6 bolt axle thanks to a previous owner.

Just bonnet mount the spare. Will improve the looks of most modern euroboxes anyway 🙂

I’ve had a blow out without crashing and yeah Morzines pretty boring now you mention it.

Had my own car for 12 years, over 150k miles. Only ever two punctures, but both in the last four months. Would never go anywhere without a spare, like riding a bike with no spare tube but without the option to carry it… Bought a trolley jack for swapping summer/winter tyres around and it’s brilliant

The last time I bought a car I went up a model as the lower model never had a spare. Only used it once last month when I could have got away with blowing it up periodically till i got it fixed. Still wouldn’t be without one, what happens at 4 in the morning when going to the airport for your holiday and you get a puncture.

The rac man comes and scratches his chin as he hasn’t got a spare that fits your car so calls a low loader.

Holiday insurance pays out for you missing your flight I guess.

Exactly TR that’s why I wouldn’t be without one (well I do have onward travel so he would drop me at airport and dump motor back on drive)

you assume he gets there in time to sort your onward travel after deciding the cars a lost cause.

falkirk-mark – Member

The last time I bought a car I went up a model as the lower model never had a spare. Only used it once last month when I could have got away with blowing it up periodically till i got it fixed. Still wouldn’t be without one, what happens at 4 in the morning when going to the airport for your holiday and you get a puncture.

Was that really the reason for spending extra on a higher spec car? You could’ve just bought a space-saver