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Comments
I know what you mean and if she became violent I would have probably done that too but I think I would have started with my old 35 inch Louisville Slugger.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
I believe in that too but since I was a Boy Scout for a couple years I’ve learned to be prepared. So much so I have 2 tire inflators in each car. Although they’re small and take up almost no space, one had some weight to it. I know I’m probably losing some MPG doing that but I’ve learned to live with poor MPGs since I have a Genny with a V8 and a Subie with a 6 cylinder.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Yes, they will tow you to a tire shop, just like any other breakdown. Fun story, when my best friend had her Gen2 Prius, it didn’t have a spare. She got a flat, and I drove my Prius over to let her borrow my spare. The darn wheel had corroded itself to the hub, and not even putting the weight of the car on it would break it loose. I called AAA and they towed it to Goodyear.
I know on a lot of the older trucks in salt country those systems are all corroded so badly they will never work, assuming the tire bracket has not already rotted off so there is no spare left.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Photo dump:










As an aside, the headphones I had spoke about earlier arrived in the mail from the place who wanted all my financial and ID info. Thought they were gone for sure.
Can't imagine anyone giving this resell place their Last 4 SS digits, address, routing number, account number to sell them some electronics. Going to keep an eye on them to see how long they actually stay in business.
But, looks like it's off the eBay, as much as I hate doing that. But, FaceBook marketplace has become even flakier recently. So......
Lots of cool stuff. The Harlequin Polo was neat. The tan Rabbit with patina had been VR6 swapped, and there was also a Harlequin Golf with a VR6 swap.
My friends own a performance shop outside of Indianapolis, and brought a customer car down for display at their booth. I neglected to get a photo, but I believe it was an E63 AMG which they had done a Stage II tune on.
The red BMW wagon looks neat.
GG, that’s why at this point I just keep everything Too much hassle to get rid of it!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Benjamin and corvette are real people? All this time I assumed you were all bots and I was talking to myself.
Maybe my brain was worse than I was told…..
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
I can see where they order the tire on Monday, and you sleep in a sleazy motel for 4 nights, waiting for the tires to arrive and be put on...and pay full price for the new tires (you probably need 2 if it they are Run Flats).
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Whatever caused the problem was unusual, it’s so long ago now I don’t even remember. No amount of pre-worrying and planning would have changed anything. Things happen. You deal.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Don’t tell us those 2 heads are youze guys. If so we would have preferred another car pic.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Good snappy dialogue, good plot(involves extortion, kidnapping, and murder), good characters.
Although about 15 years old, I think it would make a good movie.
Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd from Moonlighting would be a great fit.
Not sure which current actors could play the parts.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2025 Forester Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
Reminds me of my breakdown in 1996 at the entrance of Boya Lake on the cassiar highway. Break down was at about 10am. I walked in to the park rangers office a couple kilometers away. She called via VHS radio into Watson Lake, about 65 miles away. Tow truck incoming! Two more such walks and attempts, and the truck really was incoming. Truck shows up at 11pm…
By about 3 am we are back at the shop on Watson Lake. Stayed the night in the van, then found out another three days. Found our seedy motel, had a great time. Fixed the can a few days later and finished the drive to Alaska.
Here is the same stop today. Literally today.
Maybe rare in your area but it’s all over the place down here in the lower 48.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
My time is too valuable to me to waste it driving back and forth.......and the cost of a spare tire is probably less than the cost of the rental car....and the gas wasted going back and forth.
Fortunately your problem happened when the garage was open, what would you have done if it was 10 p.m. on Sunday evening? Oh yeh, it is more fun trying to figure out what to do instead of being prepared. They make spare tires for a reason.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
@driver100
I can tell you this .. If my wife was 200 miles away and had a flat here is how the conversation goes:
“Hey … the car is on the side of the road there is something wrong with a tire. It at XX spot. I am in Uber on the way home”
Or V2 if she was already staying at a hotel:
“Hey I just Ubered back to my hotel … there is something wrong with the car, can you come up and take care of it”
Lastly - V3
This would never happen because my wife doesn’t like driving the 12 minutes to the nail salon!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
if the car dies, I am getting the first call and an earful. A tire, that we would replace. A mechanical breakdown, I would get instructions that it was time for her to get a new car.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
RE: AAA. Just so you know;
If your vehicle has no usable spare, a AAA technician will tow your car to a pre-determined destination, such as a tire shop, a dealership, or your home.
One Friday night we went out for dinner, when we came out at 7 p.m. the front driver side run flat was flat. I tried a gas station air pump, and the tire wouldn't hold air.
Monday was a major holiday, on Saturday I called my MB dealer and about a dozen tire dealers....they didn't want to look at a flat on a holiday weekend, they were busy selling more expensive stuff.
My MB dealer said they could patch the tire on Thursday.....what do I do, rent a car for 4 days to put on a $100 patch (that's what it cost at Mercedes).
I told him if they wanted to sell me another car one day, they should try to fix it on Monday. He said bring it in Sunday, put the key in the box, and we will try to do it between jobs on Monday...it was done by noon.
Fortunately I didn't need the car to get to tennis or pickleball Monday morning....but a donut and AAA could have saved me a lot of trouble....just saying.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Consumer Reports found that since 2020:
Only 10 percent of cars are equipped with a full-sized spare.
Just under 50 percent come with a space-saver or "donut" tire.
CR automotive technician Michael Crossen says automakers are ditching spare tires to cut production costs and reduce vehicle weight.
Spare tire or not, Consumer Reports advises drivers to be ready for a flat, in case it happens to them.
The article gives an example why it might be good to have a donut tire at least.....along with AAA
https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/beware-many-newer-cars-have-no-spare-tire-not-even-a-donut#:~:text=Only 10 percent of cars,saver or "donut" tire.
AAA has a good efficient jack, and the equipment to put on a donut.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
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They processed the $50 VISA card.
I did sit in a WRX in the showroom. Hmmmmmm.......
I think companies are more careful today to order tires that are "good enough," and meet safety requirements, but at least some are still ordering downgraded versions of tires that are available to consumers at higher prices.
For instance, my wife's 2025 Outback has Yokohama Avid GT tires, which at a tire store cost around $200 per tire. The commercially available versions seem to usually have a UTQG wear rating of 740, which translates to around 65,000 miles. But the tires that came with our Outback only have a rating 400, which is maybe 35,000 miles or so. They still seem like good tires.
Our Outback does come with a temporary spare, but because of the AWD system the temporary is not supposed to be put on the front. So if you get a flat in the front you're supposed to put one of the rear tires on the front first, and then put the temporary on the rear. In any case, you're not supposed to go more than 50 mph for 50 miles on the temporary tire in the Outback—and so no Interstate driving. This is apparently not just because the tire is small, but because driving faster than that or more than that might mess up the awd system? A few models of the Outback have a full-size spare, and so there is room there for one if we wanted to spend the money to get one.
The 12-minute video below shows the process of changing a front flat in for an Outback.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My wife's Corsair has tires the started out with 8mm of tread instead of the ususal 10-12mm's.
Good news is that means they are not wearing out the fast as originally projected.
Not quite sure what size the Acura has (when my neck feels better I will go under and see, and check the pressure while I am there) but I think it is more substantial than a donut. I know the Ford came with a "full size" wheel/tire, though it isn't the same size as what I have on mine (might be the base size, or just a skinnier version). In any case, something you can drive normally on since it will be close to the same diameter.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
All this discussion about tires and spares has made me worry a bit more about this when it comes to my TLX. When I got the car more than seven years ago I was surprised it didn't come with a spare, but I did like the storage area it had instead. I use that storage area for my bike helmet, tire pump for my folding bike (which I keep in the trunk most of the time), a spare jacket, paper towels, and a spray bottle of windex. If weather allows I usually go for a bike ride 2-5 times a week. It's good for physical health and for my mood to go for a scenic drive and bike ride when I can.
We do have AAA. If the fix a flat kit didn't work I'd call them, get a hotel, etc. But yeah, all of that could get inconvenient and expensive.
Iirc the last time I changed a tire was in 1982 on our VW Bus. It was difficult, and I'm not as strong now as I was at 18. Plus the dangers of changing a tire by the side of the road or highway seem significant.
But it sounds like people here are suggesting the spare is not for you to change yourself, but for the AAA person.
In most situations I think I'd want AAA to tow me to the nearest place that could fix the tire or change it. Not sure.
The RDX definitely has a real tire hanging underneath. I just can't remember what size it is without looking at it!
I do have AAA (and for the Ford still, I think their roadside assistance as long as I am under BtoB warranty) and would likely call them just because I am lazy and rapidly falling apart physically apparently. But even though it has been a long, long time since I did one, I am perfectly capable of changing a tire. I just don't want to. I would also expect roadside to put the spare on, not tow me anyplace (and that tow better be a flatbed since no chance I am approving a hook and drag)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The 2014 ATS I had prior to this one had OEM runflats, Michelins I believe. I got a flat with one of those and was able to gingerly drive it to the dealership where they did a repair. The service writer told me they often found runflats that couldn’t be repaired because the stiffness of the sidewall sometimes caused other sections of the sidewall to blow out following hitting a pothole.
Watching the daily L.A. TV news stations LAPD/CHP “pursuit” helicopter videos of rogue drivers in that city (sometimes at 100mph, sometimes at 30mph) it seems tires and even wheels are optional. I know nothing of police procedures, but it seems strange how LAPD will have a caravan of 6 or more cruisers following a miscreant for a very long time and make no effort to cut off or pull over the vehicle in question.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
To my Edmunds friends… we leave for vacation on Friday afternoon. Today is packing day. If you don’t hear from me by dinner time I may either be hospitalized or worse. If you’re religious say your prayers for me. 😩😩
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart