Does AutoAid help if no spare tyre?

rufford155

Does anyone have experience of AutoAid helping with repairing a tyre if there is no spare?
I am 80 years old and could not cope with these new-fangled puncture repair kits.
And I am worried about having no spare wheel (although I could not change it anyway).
I read everything about AutoAid on their website but the info about repair kits was very vague.
So I sent an enquiry by email but their reply just referred me back to the FAQ's.
That wasn't very helpful so didn't inspire confidence.

Tiexen

I don’t have a spare tyre in my car, can AutoAid Breakdown still cover me?

---

Although our membership states you are required to have a legal spare tyre, we are aware that some cars do not have this and have a tyre inflation kit instead. In this instance, AutoAid Breakdown will recover your car to the nearest tyre centre for you to get a replacement.

Nasqueron

rufford155 said:

Does anyone have experience of AutoAid helping with repairing a tyre if there is no spare?
I am 80 years old and could not cope with these new-fangled puncture repair kits.
And I am worried about having no spare wheel (although I could not change it anyway).
I read everything about AutoAid on their website but the info about repair kits was very vague.
So I sent an enquiry by email but their reply just referred me back to the FAQ's.
That wasn't very helpful so didn't inspire confidence.

If you can inflate a tyre using a pump, you can use a tyre kit, it's literally 1 extra fitting to put on - gunk bottle connector goes into the tyre valve, pump connector goes into the gunk connector, then plug into cigarette lighter and turn on.

It's not a miracle fix of course particularly for big problems and you still need to go to a tyre fitter immediately but even space saver tyres are speed and distance restricted and only intended to get you to the tyre fitter.

subjecttocontract

You can buy a spare wheel, jack & wheelbrace for any car if you want to.

Herzlos

The exclusion is generally about you not having a spare when you should do. If your car doesn't have a spare, they'll recover you to somewhere that can fit a new tyre.

Mildly_Miffed

subjecttocontract said:

You can buy a spare wheel, jack & wheelbrace for any car if you want to.

There may well be nowhere for it to fit in the boot on many cars, even a spacesaver (which still leaves you the problem of where to put the flat).

One root cause of the problem is simply styling - wheels and tyres have got bigger and bigger, due to market demands; while space in boot floors has got smaller and smaller, not least due to the amount of emissions kit and electronics packaged, especially on hybrids and BEVs.

rufford155

Many thanks to you all for responding.
Of course, spare wheel and kit is pretty expensive !
Not providing them is just a way to keep the car price down - a modern trend with all sorts of goods.
Soon they'll be selling new houses without any internal doors ! (Maybe they already do?)
Disappointing that AutoAid don't fix it at the roadside when they would fit a spare.
I suspect they don't have confidence in the puncture kits, so are worried about comebacks.
No surprise there really.
So I'll be looking at RAC and AA despite higher subs.

Tiexen

rufford155 said:

Many thanks to you all for responding.
Of course, spare wheel and kit is pretty expensive !
Not providing them is just a way to keep the car price down - a modern trend with all sorts of goods.
Soon they'll be selling new houses without any internal doors ! (Maybe they already do?)
Disappointing that AutoAid don't fix it at the roadside when they would fit a spare.
I suspect they don't have confidence in the puncture kits, so are worried about comebacks.
No surprise there really.
So I'll be looking at RAC and AA despite higher subs.

AA wont "fix" your tyre at the roadside they fit a "universal" spare and follow you to the nearest tyre centre, so no different from AutoAid taking the car to a tyre centre

andy1886

why look elsewhere ? As has been stated they will tow you to a tyre place , happened to me , when speaking to the phone operator just say where you want taking  to and they will tow you there , although if you have any bargaining power when buying new one is a different matter , when it happened to me the driver even rang ahead to make sure the place had my size in stock

Car_54

rufford155 said:

Many thanks to you all for responding.
Of course, spare wheel and kit is pretty expensive !
Not providing them is just a way to keep the car price down - a modern trend with all sorts of goods.
Soon they'll be selling new houses without any internal doors ! (Maybe they already do?)
Disappointing that AutoAid don't fix it at the roadside when they would fit a spare.
I suspect they don't have confidence in the puncture kits, so are worried about comebacks.
No surprise there really.
So I'll be looking at RAC and AA despite higher subs.

IIRC the AA and RAC stopped doing puncture repairs at the roadside about 40 years ago, to comply with a new British Standard.