Help please - car sold to me without spare wheel/ tyre

code-a-holic

Bought a car a few weks ago from a dealer with 3 months waranty. Had a flat on wed's - was very close to a tyre garage so drove it ther while it was going down. BUT - no spare under the car!! Had never thought to look myself - i assumed there would be a spare - well you do, dont you?
So pumped up tyre came home, and rung dealer. They said they would arange a whel for me and complementary free tyre. Well - shouldnt it have ben sold complete with spare, trying to fob me off like they are doing me a favour! I am pretty sure it is illegal to sell a car without a spare - am, i right? and the car passed a MOT the day before i picked it up - can a car get through a MOT without a spare?
Answers would be greatfully recieved!

oH - AND THE SPARE WHEEL STILL HAS NOT COME IN TO THE GARAGE!! Im so mad, got a new tyre on the bust one in the local garage the next morning - they ordered that in. So why cant the dealers garage order in just as quickly. In the mean time i do over 60 miles a day on narrow country lanes covered in hedge cuttings(damn council hedge cutters) and i can feel a puncture coming along just when im out of signal, with 3 kids, and no spare!

hjb123

I thought a spare tyre was a necessity but according to the AA website:

Spare tyres
There is no legal obligation to carry a spare tyre and it does not have to comply with the legal requirements while it is stowed away. However, when fitted to the vehicle (for example, following a puncture) it must then comply with the law. A spare tyre is not a testable item in the MOT test, though the examiner may draw your attention to an unserviceable item as a matter of courtesy.

I would make sure you get a spare tyre from the dealer though - its not a thing that you expect to have to check when you buy a car!

rrockettman

I have known people not to carry a spare, usually because they have an LPG donut tank. They have their tyres treated with that run flat goo that seals them before losing pressure. It wouldn't help if you kerbed or split the tyre though.
It is usually very easy to pick up a new spare from a breakers yard for just a few pounds.
Still very naughty of the dealer not to check, or tell you in the first place.

nej

Some new cars don't even come with a spare wheel. I've been looking recently at MPV's and was amazed to discover the Chrysler Voyager apparantly doesn't have a spare wheel, just a can of that useless foam stuff.

Ok, if you get a small puncture in town during the day near a garage then it's fine. If you get a shredded tyre on a a country lane at 11:30pm on a Saturday, you are, frankly, screwed.

bunking_off

Code-a-holic : Don't suppose your new car's a Zafira is it? They're well known for having the spares nicked. If it is, buy a lock or you won't have your new spare for long...

penrhyn

The BMW Mini only comes with an electric pump and a can of foam.
When I changed my car recently , the new one came with a get you home spare for no good reason as there was plenty of space, fortunately spotted it before the deal was done and got it changed.
BTW bunking off is right its easy to nick spare wheels from under some cars, are you sure this didn't happen to you.
The thing to learn from this is once they have your money a lot of garages loose all interest in your problems.

code-a-holic

Thanks for the replies.
My wheel has arrived in the garage and we are pciking up it in the morning.

Its a VW sharan, almost bought a zafira but too small!!!

The dealer hadnt noticed, or looked for a spare wheel. When i paid £8,500 i expect 5 wheels! lol.
Funny thing is - when i told them about the mising whel they tried to nick one of a galaxy they had on the forcourt for me. But they couldnt get it out of the brace, so gave up. What do they expect a mum with a car full of kids to do when she gets a flat on the way to school!! I'd be very annoyed that there was a spare but the brace wont un-do! (I dont believe in ringing someone to come and change my wheel - i hate being seen as incapable because im female! Girl power!)

Very surprised to hear there is no laws about carrying a spare - you have to be able to locate a jack in a driving test and i had to confirm i knew how to change a wheel! ( Dad is a mechanic so was helping change wheels at a early age!)

bordercars

when a car goes for an MOT if the spares is there it is tested and can fail, if there is no spare it cannot be tested so there is no legal requirement,
if the garage is giving you one well done but you cannot complain on the grounds of just passed MOT.

northern_munky

bordercars wrote:

when a car goes for an MOT if the spares is there it is tested and can fail, if there is no spare it cannot be tested so there is no legal requirement,
if the garage is giving you one well done but you cannot complain on the grounds of just passed MOT.

Spare wheels and tyres are NOT tested in the MOT test and CANNOT fail, the tester should tell the owner if the tyre is illegal though, if it's fitted under the car in a cage then it must be secure and can fail if it isn't.

Jazzycat

spares are also a problem on the Citreon Picasso.

The spare is fitted under the rear of the car and are apparently very easy to nick. You do need to check every now and agin to make sure they are still there. Supermarket car parks are the most common place for these to go missing.

I have a Picasso and had my local garage fit an extra bolt and nut - it means that it can still be nicked but not very quickly!

Wig

Sounds like you got your answer.

No it's not a legal requirement, no there would be nothing you could do if the garage had decided to stick to their guns and ignore you.

Your garage was probably telling the truth that they did not notice, and they have acted with goldstar customer service as soon as they have found out you had no spare, sounds like a good garage/dealer to me. Your anger is therefore not required.