Euro Road Trip without a spare wheel?

[Bob King]

2 hours ago, Malc1 said:

4 yellow space-savers and it really will be a “ noddy “ car 🥳

Malc 

Bet they would cut through the snow better ..ie smaller footprint 🤔

[Mossypossy]

Turns out not to be a puncture. Rim corrosion allowing air to leak out. All sorted for £30. 

[Malc1]

15 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Turns out not to be a puncture. Rim corrosion allowing air to leak out. All sorted for £30. 

Seems a tad expensive to reseal an ok tyre  …… who did u use ? 

[Mossypossy]

Local garage. They did have to treat it and let it cure overnight before remounting.

[Malc1]

27 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Local garage. They did have to treat it and let it cure overnight before remounting.

‘Aving a larf methinks …… 10 squid tops to refit an existing tyre to an existing wheel where it’s just the old seal leaking thru’ age ……. 

Nevermind, they have a price for Lexus owners and another for mere mortals …….. hope the others are ok 🤔

Take them off your Xmas card list eh 😂

Malc 

[Mossypossy]

I think most garages would tell you to f off if you expected them to do it for a tenner.

[Malc1]

That’s all I paid at one of my local tyre places last year 

Malc 

[GMB]

10 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

That’s all I paid at one of my local tyre places last year 

Malc 

Me too, £10 for a puncture repair and rebalancing. This was in Bury Gtr Mcr. Same repair ( different tyre ) cost me £25 in Chorley last year.

[Mossypossy]

I live in the South though! (Kent doesn't count as it is weird).

[Bob King]

I was looking at a pair of tyres for my car online ,then you choose a local company to  fit the, all quoted £20 plus per tyre. Gone have the day of fitting it for a tenner .

  

[Boomer54]

25 minutes ago, Bob King said:

I was looking at a pair of tyres for my car online ,then you choose a local company to  fit the, all quoted £20 plus per tyre. Gone have the day of fitting it for a tenner .

  

Not about price for me. For example I searched alloygator fitting and got this company local to me. I drove over, took a look and did a ludicrously tight multi point manouver to get the hell out of there. They may ,or may not have been cheap, but so many low end cars crammed together in such a tight space...nope, moving on. The other tyre place by comparison the epitomy of clean, well organised space up to the job.

This is an old habit with me. Years ago , my first test for hiring trades used to be show me your van , now show me the van inside, now show me your tools. Clean and organised is a real indicator of the level of skill and experience you are going to get. I don't want cheap, I want very good.

[eightk]

25 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

This is an old habit with me. Years ago , my first test for hiring trades used to be show me your van , now show me the van inside, now show me your tools. Clean and organised is a real indicator of the level of skill and experience you are going to get. I don't want cheap, I want very good.

That’s a very good way of quality testing. My roofer won’t let his power tools get wet, dusts them off every evening, and sweeps up every single day. Heating engineer has a very tidy van too. Both trustworthy and do a great job.

My garage… utter carnage.

[Mossypossy]

I know them all by name. Use them for bits and pieces. Never ripped me off yet.

[Boomer54]

9 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

I know them all by name. Use them for bits and pieces. Never ripped me off yet.

I was not decrying the value of the familiarity you refer to. Indeed, that is what we are all looking for eventually. However, before you have that you have to have some criteria for deciding who you are going to choose in the first place. My little process above is how I do that and it as worked fine so far. I cannot think of one trade who passed that test who then let me down on the job. Prior to using that system and relying on a price for selection was a lot less successful. Very good trades in my experience have a market rate ,but they are never 'cheap'. Why should they be, if they know theirown value.

[Malc1]

There’s a fair few tyre places near me in my part of Kent ranging from Halfords. Kwik Fit and at least half a dozen true independents …… it’s a competitive marketplace and in a well-shod area of not so common cars too …… oh, and the common stuff too ….. like Bentleys whatever 😂

Malc 

[Boomer54]

24 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

There’s a fair few tyre places near me in my part of Kent ranging from Halfords. Kwik Fit and at least half a dozen true independents …… it’s a competitive marketplace and in a well-shod area of not so common cars too …… oh, and the common stuff too ….. like Bentleys whatever 😂

Malc 

Aye well ain't so easy getting shod up here as it once was.😉

[GMB]

Stephen, you need to feed your horse a bit more, it is looking a bit neglected.

[Boomer54]

27 minutes ago, GMB said:

Stephen, you need to feed your horse a bit more, it is looking a bit neglected.

I' love to ,but he put himself on a Keto diet and look where I am sat ! I mean , am I feeling some sympathy here ,or what?

This is nought to sixty in how many seconds. I don't know ,because we havn't got there yet, but it's only been 9 years so far.

[Glyn Jennings]

16 hours ago, Bob King said:

I was looking at a pair of tyres for my car online ,then you choose a local company to  fit the, all quoted £20 plus per tyre. Gone have the day of fitting it for a tenner .

  

There’s a little independent tyre place near me. Scruffy looking and old boys working there but they are great. Four tyres changed over to different wheels £10 each including balancing. Puncture repairs are £10. When I had my BMW with run flat tyres where the major tyre places refuse to repair them and say you need a new tyre they were happy to plug the tire.

[Alboy]

Don't forget to take a bag large enough to hold the full size wheel. If you do suffer a puncture and your boot and back seat are full of luggage, your wife will be travelling with the dirty road wheel on her lap and she will be grateful for the bag.

[Mossypossy]

Maybe a boot rack as well?

[Alboy]

I think a full size wheel might be too heavy for a boot rack.

[Mossypossy]

Think a full size wheel might be too heavy for the wife's lap.

[Neil E]

I have a full size SC wheel as a spare in the boot of the GS and it is indeed very heavy to lift.

[Malc1]

15 minutes ago, Neil E said:

I have a full size SC wheel as a spare in the boot of the GS and it is indeed very heavy to lift.

Popeye could probably lift two easily …… do you eat spinach 🤫

Malc