Holden schmucks...no spare wheel.

[HSVREDSLED]

When I took delivery of my VE SSV Wagon I was amazed to see there was no spare wheel. When I asked the dealer, they said, "Oh spare wheels a soooo old school. Your car is fitted with a compressor and goo to seal and leak to get you to a repairer."

Ok...off I went. knowing the inevitable would happen....and it did.

Mind you, the only tyre failures I have had have been catastrophic not minor. Sidewall explosion, splits etc. So today I had yet another sidewall failure caused by a dodgy plastic speedhump thing which had a bolt exposed. No amount of goo was going to repair this split. By sheer chance, I was within limping distance of a tyre repairer. Half and hour earlier, I was 50Kms out of Newcastle with no help in sight. Moral of the story. Tomorrow I will be buying some sort of spare tyre and jettison this piece of shit compressor and goo repair. It may work for fancy euro cars who are within 5 kms of a repairer, but we live in Australia FFS.

End rant.

[Micks]

Do what we all do Sled just buy a spacesaver or equivalent!

[HSVREDSLED]

Yep...I was just dumb to think the goo stuff might work..

[Smitty]

.. ever since Holden went the Euro route
(thats what I was told by the selling dealer on my 2nd VE SSv)
I have been ordering a PROPER spare wheel .. although I did get tripped
up on the Tourer (as I reported here)

and twice it has got me out of the poo.... once running over what i thought was a piece
of plastic which actually was a 8" construction screw which tore up the tyre and put a hole
in the rim and the 2nd time running over a pot hole at 100kmh at night ( I never saw it)
which broke the alloy wheel .. instant tyre deflation which then tore itself to pieces

Even if you never ever ever consider leaving the 'burbs in your car, I will always have a REAL
spare wheel in my car ... coz there is not a tyre place on every corner.

I also ensure that ALL of our company cars have a real spare wheel ( I have stock of BMW
and AUDI wheels and tyres in the warehouse coz they actually have no room)

oh .. and by the way i have a SSV spare wheel with a 70% RE50A for sale if anyone wants one
(sorry I am in Melbourne though)

[redvxr8clubby]

I don't like not having a spare myself, but I can understand the logic of not carrying a spare. I had a VE SV6 for 3.5 years - no flat tyres, I also have a little Fiesta 3 years old now - no flat tyre so far. So why carry a spare that you don't use year after year. Adds cost to the car, adds weight that will have a (slight) effect on fuel consumption. Also some people can't change them anyway. On the other hand if you get a flat that the Goo can't fix, or you need to travel more Kms than recommended on the goo then you will be glad if you have a spare. For me I want a spare even if I don't use it for years.

[Xjas]

First thing I did when I got my VE was ditch the space saver and get a full size spare, whats the point of all that space below the boot floor if there's nothing in it?

[Maccas]

My SSV-Redline wagon came with a full size spare and to my suprise was the same as the ones on the car, although this could be because of the brembo brakes, and this has saved me twice now! Although my missus barina only comes with the goop and compressor, but lucky we got a good deal when we bought the car that gets 12 years road side assit, so have told her to just call me or if shes driving the highway or somewhere call the RACV.

Cheers

Maccas

[jaykay]

I also ensure that ALL of our company cars have a real spare wheel ( I have stock of BMW
and AUDI wheels and tyres in the warehouse coz they actually have no room)

I don't have a spare in my BMW and there is no room for one even if I bought one unless I sat it in the boot. I just hope the run flats do their job if ever required to...

[Smitty]

I don't have a spare in my BMW and there is no room for one even if I bought one unless I sat it in the boot. I just hope the run flats do their job if ever required to...

so said our Director of Operations a few months ago when he wheeled his M3 in.. with a hole in the sidewall and a chuck of alloy
missing from the rear LH rim. It sorta did run flat.. took him a while to get to work at 20kmh

A quick swap (I had stock) and he was on the road again .. and he was happy to authorise the invoice for a newie
even if it was over 3 large

[Jag530G]

When I was on the Isle of Skye in Scotland last June with a rented Hyundai i800 (8 passenger version of the iLoad), the sidewall shredded. Found the van didn't even have a can of goo and since no suitable tyre was available on Skye until well after we were due to leave, the van, me, family and luggage where put on a tow tray truck and driven to Aberdeen (the other side of Scotland) 200kms or so away, to swap vans as that was the nearest Hertz office, and likely source of a spare tyre.

We didn't lose too much of our holiday as we were going that way on that day anyway, but I would have liked to have stopped to have a look for Nessie since the route from Skye to Aberdeen goes along the northern side of Loch Ness.

The replacement people mover, a Ford C-Max had a can of goo, I checked. A lesson learned for the future. Make sure there is at least a can of goo, although a space saver is better.

Cheers, Matthew

[Woodchukka]

Goo goes in tyres before they go flat not after. Only time I had a flat on the road by the time I pulled up is a safe spot the tyre was rooted. Goo would have been useless.

[Micks]

Either GM or the Stealership should give each & every "New" car buyer the option at the point of sale.

[mac06]

Holden now supply the full size alloy spare as standard on all Sedans and Wagons except the Evoke and LPG Wagon (cost option with alloy spare or inflatable spare on LPG Wagon). Utes get as standard a space saver steel spare except for the Redline which is goo and compressor kit only and base Ute which is optional steel spare. No full size alloy available on Utes, even as an option.