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So many wimps anymore can't even change a wheel/tire on the side of the road. Sad but true. So many young men grow up without a father or any sort of male role-model in the house. We were not born knowing how to fix a flat, somebody (dad) had to teach us. Sorry to get a bit off topic, but, it is what it is.
I see your post as outdated when it comes to today's cars. So here's my post in another thread.
Quote:
You know, life was so much easier when we had bumper jacks. The spare was in the trunk, the jack took a minute to put together, took a few minutes to click it up to the correct height while standing fully erect, took a few minutes to use the star lug wrench to remove the lugs, switch out the tires, spin on the lugs, drop the jack, throw it in the trunk and leave. Now one has to read a manual before attempting to change the tire and while one is reading the manual one has to find where all the parts are to put the jack together, find the lock nut, figure out where the spare is, figure out how to get it out of it's storage location, twist one's body in numerous directions to jack it up which may include crawling under the vehicle to get the spare. Do all the work , take it all apart, put away everything, get yourself together and then drive off. For those of you who say the second part can be done in 15 minutes on the side of the road late at night, I say BS! I'll wait the 30-45 minutes for the tow company to come out, pull out their floor jack, their Pancake Compressor, switch the tires and be done in 10-15 minutes.
So now, if I had no spare, a flat bed (I have 4x4s and AWDs only) would arrive take me and my car to either the nearest station or his, repair the tire, charge me around $12 for the repair and away I'd go.
I learned something new recently. If you have a vehicle without a spare tire, you may not be able to get roadside assistance from anyone other than your manufacturer. It appears that many of the providers of roadside service will come and change a tire only if you have a spare. No spare = they ain't coming.
May be worth checking your policy.
Get a AAA roadside membership! It's typically only $55 annually and comes with many benefits! The one's that come with a typical auto policy are not that great!
Get a AAA roadside membership! It's typically only $55 annually and comes with many benefits! The one's that come with a typical auto policy are not that great!
It's $62 in Alaska. And that gets you 7 miles of towing. Want 100 miles of towing$ $102. Want 200 miles, which would make the most sense in Alaska? $137. I'll pass. I'll pay out of pocket once the five year manufacturer's roadside assistance plan expires.
I would not want my wife to have to change her own tire in the dark of night or during a storm, regardless of having a spare or not.
"May be old but I'm not stupid"
It's $62 in Alaska. And that gets you 7 miles of towing. Want 100 miles of towing$ $102. Want 200 miles, which would make the most sense in Alaska? $137. I'll pass. I'll pay out of pocket once the five year manufacturer's roadside assistance plan expires.
OP lives in Texas not Alaska, so I think it might be worth it there. Not to mention it pays for itself as you can get discounts at numerous places. Restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, etc.
I think the issue is that there's levels of roadside assistance. There's some out there that will change your tire, bring you a gallon of gas, give you a jump.. but do not include towing.. So, if you have one of those and no spare tire.. Yeah.. Nothing they can do.
The number of times that I've had to help someone change a tire.. Normally it's little old ladies who I wouldn't expect to be trying to change their own.. But about 3 years ago I was coming out of a restaurant and someone was in the parking lot with a flat.. Guy was about 25 years old.. had no CLUE what to do.. He was in a truck and couldn't figure out how to assemble the lug wrench to lower the spare tire... or, rather.. More accurately.. Didn't even KNOW he was supposed to do that. He was looking under the truck trying to find a release latch to let down the tire.
The number of times that I've had to help someone change a tire.. Normally it's little old ladies who I wouldn't expect to be trying to change their own.. But about 3 years ago I was coming out of a restaurant and someone was in the parking lot with a flat.. Guy was about 25 years old.. had no CLUE what to do.. He was in a truck and couldn't figure out how to assemble the lug wrench to lower the spare tire... or, rather.. More accurately.. Didn't even KNOW he was supposed to do that. He was looking under the truck trying to find a release latch to let down the tire.
Shortly after I divorced a few years ago my ex called me needing help with a flat on her van. So I grabbed my floor jack and headed out to see what the issue was. Got the van jacked up and started cranking down the spare and she told me the spare wouldn't drop. I gave her my "whatever" look and went about my business and, sure enough, the spare didn't drop. So she goes on with "See, I told you so. Charles (the new boyfriend) tried to get it down the other day when I had a flat but we had to just take the flat tire in and get it fixed" blah, blah, blah. So I again gave her my "whatever" look, stuck the jack handle up above the spare, and pried against the bumper. Rim drops with no more effort than that.
Turns out the spare had never been off and there was a piece of light-gauge wire holding it in place, probably something installed at the factory for shipping that was supposed to have been taken off on delivery to the dealership that sold it but was missed. So I got the tire changed and sent her on her way, making sure to point out that anyone should have been able to figure out what the problem was if he really cared to.
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