What a rip off!

[SnakeEyeSS]

Too "privileged" to even learn how to change a tire

Proof that Lazy people create jobs.

[Chris]

Oh thats my cousin. He blew the motor in his 300m. He wont learn to fix it. He doesnt know how to change his oil or battery. Im not even sure he knows how to jump a car.

[truckofwinandawesome]

Cars and trucks always came with full size spare tires. Then, in mid 1980's some automotive bean counter had a revelation in his dream that it would be a lot cheaper to put in a smaller temporary spare tire in cars. Almost all car manufacturers jumped on that immediately. To justify this action, they rationalized that a light temporary spare is easier to handle, takes up less room in the trunk. I even saw a claim that it improves the fuel economy due to its lighter weight.

Some manufacturers offered a full size spare factory option for an extra cost, but at least it was reasonable. For example, you could get a full size spare wheel&tire in Mercury Marquis and Crown Victoria for about $ 150 extra.

 

Now we have entered a whole new era of unfettered greed. Now we hear from everybody that we no longer need spare tires on vehicles because now we have tire pressure monitoring systems standard, mandated by our watchful government, and everybody, I mean everybody will immediately stop the car and investigate the cause if a warning message appears. And tires never ever blow out, they never get punctured through the sidewall, and they never come apart. So now to even get a crappy donut spare, you need to fork over extra $ 300 to $ 450? And since most if not all of these temporary spares and cheap jack/lug wrench tools are now made in China, the markup on these must be astronomical!!!!!!!!

 

Just for comparison, when I bought my 2006 Silverado Z71, the 17" aluminum wheels were a $200 upgrade over standard steel wheels! Yes, $ 200! How does this compare to a $ 450 surcharge for a cheap temporary spare which should be standard equipment?

 

 

What's next, $ 100 extra for the owner's manual? I can see that coming as well.

 

on some cars you DON'T get a Paper Owner's Manual; instead, you get either a DVD or a Flash Drive with a .PDF Owner's Manual on it. although that is NOTHING compared to what you get if you DO get a Paper Manual; sometimes the manual is thrown into a cheap looking Plastic Ziploc Bag (like my Aveo's Owner's Manual), even though you Paid A LOT of money for the car or Truck you just bought; although the manual for our Suzuki was put into a rather nice looking vinyl case.

[pm26]

 

on some cars you DON'T get a Paper Owner's Manual; instead, you get either a DVD or a Flash Drive with a .PDF Owner's Manual on it. although that is NOTHING compared to what you get if you DO get a Paper Manual; sometimes the manual is thrown into a cheap looking Plastic Ziploc Bag (like my Aveo's Owner's Manual), even though you Paid A LOT of money for the car or Truck you just bought; although the manual for our Suzuki was put into a rather nice looking vinyl case.

Now that you mentioned it, both my Silverado and Impala manuals came in canvas pouches, but the one for the cheaper Sonic was in fact in a plastic bag. Oh well, at least they gave me a donut spare at no extra charge, and a full size one on Silverado.

[pm26]

That doesn't always work. Ask Ford only manufacturer I have ever heard that lost 700 pounds on a model to get MPG similar to the old model.

 

Autoblog mentioned on a podcast that if GM went all aluminum it might not be pretty for Ford as far as fuel economy is concerned, mentioning the joke they had to go all aluminum to achieve the weight of their all steel competition.

if you ever buy an all aluminum body car or truck, be very careful when you close the hood. I have seen several such vehicles with the imprint of fingers indented in the soft aluminum hood.

[truckofwinandawesome]

if you ever buy an all aluminum body car or truck, be very careful when you close the hood. I have seen several such vehicles with the imprint of fingers indented in the soft aluminum hood.

There's a video on YouTube where someone recorded the delivery of their Tesla Model S P85D, and the sales rep actually showed them how to close the "Hood" without damaging it.

 

 

Sent to the Interwebs by an Apple

[Ventilator]

if you ever buy an all aluminum body car or truck, be very careful when you close the hood. I have seen several such vehicles with the imprint of fingers indented in the soft aluminum hood.

The 2014/2015 Silverado/Sierra's both have aluminum hoods. I make a point to bring it down about a foot from closing, then give it a quick push from there. Basically a controlled slam.

[Ianf]

I didn't think that fix a flat or any other brand like slim were good for your TPMS modules. Apparently they will get gummed up and may stop working. I'll pass on ever using that stuff again before being a guinea pig with my sensors.

[SnakeEyeSS]

if you ever buy an all aluminum body car or truck, be very careful when you close the hood. I have seen several such vehicles with the imprint of fingers indented in the soft aluminum hood.

I have driven an aluminum bodied vehicle for work for 10 years, it all depends on the quality and thickness of the aluminum.

 

 

Ford claims "Military spec" aluminum. If that's true, people shouldn't have problems like that.

[doverarjim]

It's funny talking about owners manuals, the one in my plain jane 86 GMC was in a nice feeling leather looking zipper closing book, the one in my $50,000.00 11
GMC is in a cheap not even "storage bag" grade plastic bag.

[06pirate]

Speaking as a former Fiat owner sufferer, the tire is the least of your worries. What you really need is a spare car.

[pm26]

Speaking as a former Fiat owner sufferer, the tire is the least of your worries. What you really need is a spare car.

Are you talking about old Fiats of the 1980's?

[PMattras]

On my 2014 I didn't get anything (canvas pouch) for my manual. I did asked the salesman and he told me they don't give them out any more. I used my old one from my 2008 which was new anyways to put my manual inside it. Usually the manuals don't fit to well in the glove compartment. Can't figure why with all the engineers involved in making these vehicles. Did anyone get a pouch with their new 2014/2015?

[PMattras]

I did not get (not available) a spare with my 2006 Mazda Miata. They don't sell one as an option. The new Chevy Camaro spare tire is an option. If you don't get the spare they only give your a can of flat fixer. The spare tires are disappearing. The tires now a days are also made better than years ago. Just make sure you belong to an auto club, have a fully charged cell phone and a cell tower available to make the emergency call for help.

[RyanbabZ71]

No spare on my camaro. Kinda hard to have just one as the stock set is staggered

 

 

Ryan