|
|
Post by littlemama on Sept 11, 2023 23:52:46 GMT
If Im not mistaken, AAA will take ot to your house and then come back in the morning to tow to the shop. Im not saying I wouldnt prefer to have a spare, but it just isnt as common any more. My 2019 Subaru does not have a spare. I cant change that, so if something happens, I'll figure it out then. 🤷🏼♀️ Curious on what model of Subaru you have that doesn’t have a spare? Everything I have read says that Subaru still has a spare. Your post freaked me out so much that I just had to go out and check to make sure mine really did…and luckily it does! It is a 2021 Forester. Dear God, maybe I do have one. 😂😂 Mine is a 2019 Forester Sport. Im gonna have to look. |
|
snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,323 
Location: Colorado
|
Post by snyder on Sept 11, 2023 23:54:50 GMT
This statement is so weird to me. If I’m on a road trip, what do I do? How do I get from the middle of nowhere to a hotel? I am frequently in places (like national parks) where I don’t have cell service and couldn’t call AAA and even if I could the closest tire shop would be hundreds of miles away. I’ve never had a car that didn’t have a spare. I hardly think there is a place in this country that is "hundreds of miles away" from a tire shop. In any event- would I prefer to have a spare? Of course. Is a spare common any more? Nope. Oh goodness, you must not road trip often and have a limited knowlege of the geography of the USA.
|
|
|
|
Post by compeateropeator on Sept 11, 2023 23:55:56 GMT
Curious on what model of Subaru you have that doesn’t have a spare? Everything I have read says that Subaru still has a spare. Your post freaked me out so much that I just had to go out and check to make sure mine really did…and luckily it does! It is a 2021 Forester. Dear God, maybe I do have one. 😂😂 Mine is a 2019 Forester Sport. Im gonna have to look. You have to lift up the back cargo floor and then pick up that foam insert and it should be there. 😆👍🤞 |
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Sept 11, 2023 23:56:17 GMT
If Im not mistaken, AAA will take ot to your house and then come back in the morning to tow to the shop. Im not saying I wouldnt prefer to have a spare, but it just isnt as common any more. My 2019 Subaru does not have a spare. I cant change that, so if something happens, I'll figure it out then. 🤷🏼♀️ California AAA will only tow a car once per incident. So they would tow to your house for free, but charge you to tow from there to a shop. I know when my ds had an issue with a tire, AAA sent a tow driver out who couldnt get the tire off and refused to tow it that day. We called AAA again the next day and they considered that the same incident. And then, when Walmart also couldnt deal with the problem, they filled it with air and sent us off to a tire place 3 miles away. 2 miles down the road, the tire blew and we had to get a third tow- all the same incident. Now, I dont know if a tire shop being closed would qualify as the same incident, but I do know that the definition of an incident can be somewhat broad |
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Sept 11, 2023 23:57:18 GMT
I’m really surprised at how many people have had to change tires, let alone repeatedly. In the 30 years that I’ve been driving, I’ve never had a flat tire. I didn’t think very many new cars even come with spare tires anymore. I honestly don’t know if my Explorer has one, but I know the Corvette I used to drive didn’t. Same. I've had one flat in over 35 years of driving- i ran over a nail. |
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Sept 12, 2023 0:01:58 GMT
I hardly think there is a place in this country that is "hundreds of miles away" from a tire shop. In any event- would I prefer to have a spare? Of course. Is a spare common any more? Nope. Oh goodness, you must not road trip often and have a limited knowlege of the geography of the USA.
No need to be insulting. I imagine I have the same general knowledge of the geography of places I dont go as anyone else does. 🙄 Where I live and where I visit, "hundreds of miles" without a place to have a tire repaired is unheard of. |
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 12, 2023 0:25:14 GMT
Spare tires arent that common any more. My 2012 car didnt have one and neither does my 2019. To me, there is no difference between AAA coming out and changing the tire and AAA coming and towing the car to the tire shop. I’m sure there’s a difference in cost between just having to replace the tire with the spare vs. towing the whole car somewhere. We don’t have AAA but our insurance does include emergency service. I think the limit is a hundred miles for towing. I’m pretty sure DH wouldn’t want to own any car without a spare. My 2017 Escape has one. I don’t think we’ve ever owned a car without at least a donut. I’ve had a tire go flat a few times in my life, but I’ve always been able to pump it up enough to get home. |
|
|
|
Post by myshelly on Sept 12, 2023 0:39:06 GMT
Oh goodness, you must not road trip often and have a limited knowlege of the geography of the USA.
No need to be insulting. I imagine I have the same general knowledge of the geography of places I dont go as anyone else does. 🙄 Where I live and where I visit, "hundreds of miles" without a place to have a tire repaired is unheard of. She didn’t say anything untrue though…and you did 🤷🏻♀️ |
|
|
|
Post by lucyg on Sept 12, 2023 0:57:57 GMT
Our cars have always had a spare - I don't think we'd buy one without a method of getting the vehicle to safety. lucyg you look lovely in your photo. 😊 Thank you so much. The photo is from January and I’ve lost a bunch of hair since then. I decided I’d rather see lots of hair for now. 😆 |
|
|
|
Post by busy on Sept 12, 2023 1:08:13 GMT
This statement is so weird to me. If I’m on a road trip, what do I do? How do I get from the middle of nowhere to a hotel? I am frequently in places (like national parks) where I don’t have cell service and couldn’t call AAA and even if I could the closest tire shop would be hundreds of miles away. I’ve never had a car that didn’t have a spare. I hardly think there is a place in this country that is "hundreds of miles away" from a tire shop. In any event- would I prefer to have a spare? Of course. Is a spare common any more? Nope. Was in a place that qualified last month while on vacation, and no cell service to boot. A full-size spare is a requirement for us, given the places we travel. If you don’t go in areas with no cell service, don’t drive on unimproved roads, and don’t travel in sparsely populated area with few services for many miles, you’re probably fine relying on roadside assistance and no spare. |
|
|
|
Post by FrozenPea on Sept 12, 2023 1:13:14 GMT
We have a spare and actually used it 2 weeks ago. We got a flat in Kamloops,BC and no one had a tire the size we needed. Dh was able to fix the flat after a bit with a kit.
Dh says keep a can of fix-a-flat & a package of tire plugs if you don't have a spare. That's what he used to fix our tire.
|
|
|
|
Post by busy on Sept 12, 2023 1:13:40 GMT
I’m really surprised at how many people have had to change tires, let alone repeatedly. In the 30 years that I’ve been driving, I’ve never had a flat tire. I didn’t think very many new cars even come with spare tires anymore. I honestly don’t know if my Explorer has one, but I know the Corvette I used to drive didn’t. Wow, I don’t know how that’s even possible! We need to have a tire patched or replaced at least once a year due to some stupid nail or screw or something similar lodging itself in the tire. Thank god for Les Schwab’s warranty. Thankfully, since TPMS became a thing, we get early warning and can take it it before it’s ever flat but in the old days - definitely plenty of flat tires. |
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Sept 12, 2023 1:19:08 GMT
If Im not mistaken, AAA will take ot to your house and then come back in the morning to tow to the shop. Im not saying I wouldnt prefer to have a spare, but it just isnt as common any more. My 2019 Subaru does not have a spare. I cant change that, so if something happens, I'll figure it out then. 🤷🏼♀️ California AAA will only tow a car once per incident. So they would tow to your house for free, but charge you to tow from there to a shop. And what if your house is 250+ miles away and the closest hotel over an hour? |
|
miascraps
Full Member
Posts: 368
Jun 26, 2014 15:37:58 GMT
|
Post by miascraps on Sept 12, 2023 1:19:51 GMT
I blew out a tire in my first car when I was 17. Never since.
I have a 2024 Subaru and it comes with a spare. Thank goodness. Just in case. You never know.
|
|
Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,203
|
Post by Gennifer on Sept 12, 2023 1:23:05 GMT
From what have read only about 30% of cars don’t have a spare anymore. Maybe that is an old stat, but it seems that the majority still have them. You must have great roads in your area. 😄. Between dirt roads, potholes, debris and such…flats are not totally uncommon in our area. Not frequent but not really uncommon either. Nope, quite the opposite, and maybe that’s why. I live very rurally, like driving on dirt roads daily and I put 40 miles on my car each day just taking my kids to the school bus stop. We can’t take chances with our tires. |
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Sept 12, 2023 1:33:52 GMT
Oh goodness, you must not road trip often and have a limited knowlege of the geography of the USA. No need to be insulting. I imagine I have the same general knowledge of the geography of places I dont go as anyone else does. 🙄 Where I live and where I visit, "hundreds of miles" without a place to have a tire repaired is unheard of. I agree with there being no need to be snarky/insulting about geography part; please consider that you posted “I hardly think” about someone else’s shared personal experience and at least to me that was also snarky. Just because it’s unheard of where you have personally visited doesn’t mean it’s not possible or is even unlikely. |
|
|
|
Post by compeateropeator on Sept 12, 2023 1:37:31 GMT
From what have read only about 30% of cars don’t have a spare anymore. Maybe that is an old stat, but it seems that the majority still have them. You must have great roads in your area. 😄. Between dirt roads, potholes, debris and such…flats are not totally uncommon in our area. Not frequent but not really uncommon either. Nope, quite the opposite, and maybe that’s why. I live very rurally, like driving on dirt roads daily and I put 40 miles on my car each day just taking my kids to the school bus stop. We can’t take chances with our tires. I agree with not taking chances with tires. In my opinion tires and windshield wipers are things I don’t skimp on and replace often and with better than average products…not worth it in my book. But unfortunately crap happens sometimes. 😄 |
|
used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,089
|
Post by used2scrap on Sept 12, 2023 4:33:35 GMT
Every car purchase (5x) ex made the dealership throw in a full mounted replacement spare, not a donut. Made sense at the time, but honestly never used one spare so idk. 😬🤷♀️
|
|
|
|
Post by katlady on Sept 12, 2023 4:51:57 GMT
California AAA will only tow a car once per incident. So they would tow to your house for free, but charge you to tow from there to a shop. And what if your house is 250+ miles away and the closest hotel over an hour? If you have premium membership, they'll tow up to 100 miles for free. You have to pay for the extra 150 miles. Or, if you have a regular membership, they only tow 5 miles for free. So, you need a spare tire!  |
|
snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,323
Location: Colorado
|
Post by snyder on Sept 12, 2023 5:08:54 GMT
No need to be insulting. I imagine I have the same general knowledge of the geography of places I dont go as anyone else does. 🙄 Where I live and where I visit, "hundreds of miles" without a place to have a tire repaired is unheard of. I agree with there being no need to be snarky/insulting about geography part; please consider that you posted “I hardly think” about someone else’s shared personal experience and at least to me that was also snarky. Just because it’s unheard of where you have personally visited doesn’t mean it’s not possible or is even unlikely. I was not being snarky, I was being in disbelief that someone could think that there are tire stores within every 100 miles or less in this vast country of ours. Where I have visited has nothing to do with in. It just so amazed me that anyone with knowlege of the geography of the US, they would not have an understanding that there are miles and mile between populated areas. That is why I said she must have limited knowledge of the geography and I stand by what I posted.
|
|
|
|
Post by hop2 on Sept 12, 2023 10:50:00 GMT
I used to be adamant that I would not buy a car without a full size spare. But society has changed and that is a thing of the past.
My current standard is that I MUST have a spare even if it is a donut spare. I mean if you’re in the middle of nowhere and get a flat you’re going to be there forever if you don’t have a way to move.
|
|
Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,709
|
Post by Dani-Mani on Sept 12, 2023 10:56:38 GMT
Never once had a car with a spare. And it’s never been an issue in 20+ years.
|
|
|
|
Post by aj2hall on Sept 12, 2023 11:04:47 GMT
My 2015 and 2017 Toyota Siennas do not have a spare tire or a place to put them. The car came with run flats but because of the additional expense and increased frequency of replacing them, we replaced them with normal tires. We travel a fair amount and I have never worried about it. One time, I had a flat tire at work. We could have called roadside assistance, but dh just came, picked up the tire, took it to a repair place and brought it back. Not a big deal.
|
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Sept 12, 2023 11:54:26 GMT
I agree with there being no need to be snarky/insulting about geography part; please consider that you posted “I hardly think” about someone else’s shared personal experience and at least to me that was also snarky. Just because it’s unheard of where you have personally visited doesn’t mean it’s not possible or is even unlikely. I was not being snarky, I was being in disbelief that someone could think that there are tire stores within every 100 miles or less in this vast country of ours. Where I have visited has nothing to do with in. It just so amazed me that anyone with knowlege of the geography of the US, they would not have an understanding that there are miles and mile between populated areas. That is why I said she must have limited knowledge of the geography and I stand by what I posted.
That may not have been the intent but it came across as such to at least 2 of us, and yours wasn’t the only post I was referencing. Also, I was quoting and responding to littlemama and not referring to your visits/road trips, rather those she mentioned. |
|
Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,827
|
Post by Rhondito on Sept 12, 2023 17:39:37 GMT
Curious on what model of Subaru you have that doesn’t have a spare? Everything I have read says that Subaru still has a spare. Your post freaked me out so much that I just had to go out and check to make sure mine really did…and luckily it does! It is a 2021 Forester. Dear God, maybe I do have one. 😂😂 Mine is a 2019 Forester Sport. Im gonna have to look. Google says it comes with a small spare, but I'm not saying that as 100% fact.
Now I really want to know if you have one!  |
|
tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,382
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
|
Post by tincin on Sept 12, 2023 18:15:08 GMT
I’m really surprised at how many people have had to change tires, let alone repeatedly. In the 30 years that I’ve been driving, I’ve never had a flat tire. I didn’t think very many new cars even come with spare tires anymore. I honestly don’t know if my Explorer has one, but I know the Corvette I used to drive didn’t. I had two in one day. I hit a huge pothole and blew out my regular tire, changed it and finished out my day. Heading to work at 10:30 pm I hit another huge pothole and blew out the spare. Call a tow truck and had it hauled to the dealership. Then again I hit a pothole and destroyed a tire when I had a broken collarbone, had surgery and was wearing a sling. Called my son to come and change the tire. He was with my other son and they’re coming to my rescue from about 30 minutes away. It was dark and I had pulled into a corner grocery store, it’s 12:30 am. I decide to clean out my trunk to help the boys out. Then I decide to get the jack and spare out one handed. lol I decide to set the jack up, loosen the lug nuts, jack it up, and changed the tire. The boys pulled in when I was trying to figure out how to manage putting the flat back into the truck. They were not amused. 🤷🏻♀️. So for me, a spare is needed because the roads in my area stink. |
|
smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,835
Location: Houston, TX
|
Post by smartypants71 on Sept 12, 2023 19:00:02 GMT
I had to Google to see if my new car had a spare (it does).
I am not a fan of road trips, so for me, it would not be a deal breaker.
I did have a car with run flats, and that did not appeal to me at all.
Also, I have never had to put a spare tire on my car in my whole 35 years of driving.
|
|
naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,327
|
Post by naby64 on Sept 12, 2023 19:41:35 GMT
Curious on what model of Subaru you have that doesn’t have a spare? Everything I have read says that Subaru still has a spare. Your post freaked me out so much that I just had to go out and check to make sure mine really did…and luckily it does! It is a 2021 Forester. Dear God, maybe I do have one. 😂😂 Mine is a 2019 Forester Sport. Im gonna have to look. Yes, you should have one. I have a 2019 Sport and have one. Now, it's not full size but not a rinky-dink donut. |
|
naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,327
|
Post by naby64 on Sept 12, 2023 19:42:43 GMT
Dear God, maybe I do have one. 😂😂 Mine is a 2019 Forester Sport. Im gonna have to look. Google says it comes with a small spare, but I'm not saying that as 100% fact.
Now I really want to know if you have one!  She should. Same vehicle as mine and I have a spare. |
|
|
|
Post by birukitty on Sept 12, 2023 21:46:44 GMT
I'd never buy or own a car without a spare tire. My father taught each of his kids (4 of them) how to drive stick shift and how to change the tire on cars when we each got our driver's licenses. This was back in the 1970's/early 1980's. That knowledge has served me well throughout my life.
I've changed the tire myself on cars when I've gotten a flat in the past. Knowledge is power and Be prepared are some of my favorite sayings.
|
|
