darn expensive flat
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Suzanne Boyle wrote: ...since the old ones have been damaged through the various spare removal attempts. Can't those folks be held responsible for damaging your stuff?
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
It wasn't just them though. My dad had a go at removing the wheel as well yesterday. I am, at the advice of my boss, going to be writing a letter to Citroen however. Their mechanic told me today the locking nuts shouldn't be tightened as much as the others but nowhere in the manual (which my father and I refered to when we put on the spare wheel) does it tell you this.
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I got a flat tire on my way home from work on Friday. My first in 5 years of motoring, which meant instead of pulling over and calling the AA I drove along wondering if it was a flat tyre or the exhaust going. Bad mistake...it damaged the tire so I had to get a new one. Cost £60. :doh: As if that wasn't bad enough when they tried to get the spare wheel off the car to put the new tire on they couldn't. Each wheel has a locking nut on it to stop the wheels getting pinched, a special key fits over this nut gripping it allowing it to be taken off. Well, as you may guess, the key wouldn't grip the nut, it kept slipping whenever anyone tried to turn it. Took it to the dealer today who said they are going to have to chisel the nut off and provide me with 2 replacement keys since the old ones have been damaged through the various spare removal attempts. Total cost £160. All in all, I'll need to fork out over £200 to get 1 flat tyre fixed. :(( SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
That's outrageous! Chiselling off the nuts takes two minutes; add a couple of minutes to punch out the old studs and press in new ones... :mad: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me.:mad: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
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I got a flat tire on my way home from work on Friday. My first in 5 years of motoring, which meant instead of pulling over and calling the AA I drove along wondering if it was a flat tyre or the exhaust going. Bad mistake...it damaged the tire so I had to get a new one. Cost £60. :doh: As if that wasn't bad enough when they tried to get the spare wheel off the car to put the new tire on they couldn't. Each wheel has a locking nut on it to stop the wheels getting pinched, a special key fits over this nut gripping it allowing it to be taken off. Well, as you may guess, the key wouldn't grip the nut, it kept slipping whenever anyone tried to turn it. Took it to the dealer today who said they are going to have to chisel the nut off and provide me with 2 replacement keys since the old ones have been damaged through the various spare removal attempts. Total cost £160. All in all, I'll need to fork out over £200 to get 1 flat tyre fixed. :(( SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
You should have pulled over as soon as you realized something is wrong. That's the rule, pull over, examine the damage and then decide if it's safe to go on or wait for the tow truck. Reminds me when we got flat tire, I laugh when I think about it now, but it wasn't quite funny then. Anyway, one morning we are pulling out of garage and something is wrong, there is a chewy sound coming from the rear of the car, I get out, and there it is, flat tire. Apparently last night we went over a two inch nail that got stuck in the tire (who the f would drop a nail on the roadway? bastards, but anyway...), it almost completely sealed the hole so the tire didn't go instanteneously flat, but given enough time eventually it would go flat. We had an old spare so we decided to put it on and drive to the tire shop around 5 miles from us where we bought tires. So we put the spare on, and guess what, no later than 2 minutes as we're cruising at a safe 30mph the spare goes flat too. Doh! The thing must have been at least ten years old, no wonder it went flat too. Now what the hell do we do now? Luckily there was a gas station only two blocks from where our spare went flat so we drive on a flat spare to the gas station, take it off and put it in the trunk, inflate our regular "flat" tire and put it back on. Remember, the nail pretty much sealed the hole, so the tire should stay inflated for some time. And we drive... There is a slow hiss as the air comes out of the tire and a clanking sound as the nail hits the pavement as we drive, but hell, it works... it works! Mwuhahahaha. Once again, luckily the nail did its job and we arrived safely at NTB where they fixed the tire. I was kind of sceptical about patching the tire, but it worked out alright, it held for another year or two, before we got rid of the car.
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It wasn't just them though. My dad had a go at removing the wheel as well yesterday. I am, at the advice of my boss, going to be writing a letter to Citroen however. Their mechanic told me today the locking nuts shouldn't be tightened as much as the others but nowhere in the manual (which my father and I refered to when we put on the spare wheel) does it tell you this.
A mistake that I see 99% of car owners make is allowing lug nuts to be tightened with an air (impact) wrench. I learned my first year in auto mechanics school that they should only be tightened by using a torque wrench. I busted a 4-way lug wrench once trying to get a stubborn lug nut off. The store that put it on replaced my wrench when they realized the mistake.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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That's outrageous! Chiselling off the nuts takes two minutes; add a couple of minutes to punch out the old studs and press in new ones... :mad: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me.:mad: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
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It's a '98 GMC Sonoma. Yeah, it's time for a change, but new cars and trucks cost more than my house, and used ones are generally totally worn out by a few years in this climate. "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
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That's outrageous! Chiselling off the nuts takes two minutes; add a couple of minutes to punch out the old studs and press in new ones... :mad: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me.:mad: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
Roger Wright wrote: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: Gigolo? Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So i had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash 24/04/2004
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It's a '98 GMC Sonoma. Yeah, it's time for a change, but new cars and trucks cost more than my house, and used ones are generally totally worn out by a few years in this climate. "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
Only 7 years old and it already requires so many repairs? Although 7-9 years is when you have to replace timing belt and perform general engine maitenance if you want your car running smoothly for another 5-7 years. Any chance of getting a 2-3 year old truck, prefferably something more reliable than american made? Shouldn't be too expensive unless you go for the full-sized trucks and shouldn't require matenance for at least another 5 years.
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You should have pulled over as soon as you realized something is wrong. That's the rule, pull over, examine the damage and then decide if it's safe to go on or wait for the tow truck. Reminds me when we got flat tire, I laugh when I think about it now, but it wasn't quite funny then. Anyway, one morning we are pulling out of garage and something is wrong, there is a chewy sound coming from the rear of the car, I get out, and there it is, flat tire. Apparently last night we went over a two inch nail that got stuck in the tire (who the f would drop a nail on the roadway? bastards, but anyway...), it almost completely sealed the hole so the tire didn't go instanteneously flat, but given enough time eventually it would go flat. We had an old spare so we decided to put it on and drive to the tire shop around 5 miles from us where we bought tires. So we put the spare on, and guess what, no later than 2 minutes as we're cruising at a safe 30mph the spare goes flat too. Doh! The thing must have been at least ten years old, no wonder it went flat too. Now what the hell do we do now? Luckily there was a gas station only two blocks from where our spare went flat so we drive on a flat spare to the gas station, take it off and put it in the trunk, inflate our regular "flat" tire and put it back on. Remember, the nail pretty much sealed the hole, so the tire should stay inflated for some time. And we drive... There is a slow hiss as the air comes out of the tire and a clanking sound as the nail hits the pavement as we drive, but hell, it works... it works! Mwuhahahaha. Once again, luckily the nail did its job and we arrived safely at NTB where they fixed the tire. I was kind of sceptical about patching the tire, but it worked out alright, it held for another year or two, before we got rid of the car.
Here in England, cars over 3 years old have to undergo a roadworthiness test, and one of the things they check is the condition of the spare tyre. Don't you have something like that where you are?
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Only 7 years old and it already requires so many repairs? Although 7-9 years is when you have to replace timing belt and perform general engine maitenance if you want your car running smoothly for another 5-7 years. Any chance of getting a 2-3 year old truck, prefferably something more reliable than american made? Shouldn't be too expensive unless you go for the full-sized trucks and shouldn't require matenance for at least another 5 years.
JazzJackRabbit wrote: Any chance of getting a 2-3 year old truck, prefferably something more reliable than american made? Assuming we are talking about full-size, the only other option I know of is the Toyota Tundra which was introduced in 2000. However, I would not expect it's A/C system to fare any better in Arizona's heat.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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I got a flat tire on my way home from work on Friday. My first in 5 years of motoring, which meant instead of pulling over and calling the AA I drove along wondering if it was a flat tyre or the exhaust going. Bad mistake...it damaged the tire so I had to get a new one. Cost £60. :doh: As if that wasn't bad enough when they tried to get the spare wheel off the car to put the new tire on they couldn't. Each wheel has a locking nut on it to stop the wheels getting pinched, a special key fits over this nut gripping it allowing it to be taken off. Well, as you may guess, the key wouldn't grip the nut, it kept slipping whenever anyone tried to turn it. Took it to the dealer today who said they are going to have to chisel the nut off and provide me with 2 replacement keys since the old ones have been damaged through the various spare removal attempts. Total cost £160. All in all, I'll need to fork out over £200 to get 1 flat tyre fixed. :(( SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
I take it 'darn' was the word you used ? :rolleyes: The tigress is here :-D
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Here in England, cars over 3 years old have to undergo a roadworthiness test, and one of the things they check is the condition of the spare tyre. Don't you have something like that where you are?
Graham Bradshaw wrote: Don't you have something like that where you are? We used to. Up until 2001, all vehicles had to undergo a $5 inspection, or you could not renew the vehicle's insurance when it came due. You could get the inspection done most any place, some more thorough than others. I only went to the good places and they checked everything. All bulbs had to work, tire tread depth must have been within tolerance, horn honked, no cracks in windshield, etc. Then the state's legislative scraped the program saying it did little to ensure public safety. I liked it as it was useful in identifying motor vehicle defects, such as bald tires and knots, leaky mufflers, malfunctioning brake lights and broken tail lights. Now even the crappiest vehicles can drive on the streets, no matter what's wrong with them. Safety first!
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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Suzanne Boyle wrote: ...since the old ones have been damaged through the various spare removal attempts. Can't those folks be held responsible for damaging your stuff?
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
DavidCrow wrote: Can't those folks be held responsible for damaging your stuff? That is always subjective to the people/companies involved and the situation. I had a single flat from road construction, me and about four dozen other people (including a state police officer), most with double flats (including the state police officer). A single flat you have a spare, a double flat means tow. They were staking up people and tow trucks so fast it was unbelievable. I would have had to stand around in 90+f heat to wait my turn with the dozens of others who also needed to report, meanwhile I am missing work at probably twice or three times the cost of the tires. I decided to give my spot to others with a bit more to loose than me. I changed my tire with more than a few cuss words and went on my way. I was lucky anyhow, but often the system is designed to drop you out of the bottom. As it was the state couldn't afford everyone's tires anyhow, so even those who got paid got paid too little to reimburse the cost of the tires, or got ruled out of reimbursement because their tires were too old, or too new or too expensive of brands... _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Here in England, cars over 3 years old have to undergo a roadworthiness test, and one of the things they check is the condition of the spare tyre. Don't you have something like that where you are?
I think it varies from state to state here in the US. Here in IL we don't have a "roadworthiness" test. The only thing we have to do is emission test every year or two to make sure the exhaust system is properly functioning and emission levels stay within prescribed limits. Otherwise you cannot drive your car. In any case, I think many of the vehicles in the US (correct me if I'm wrong) now come without a spare tire so even if we did have a maitenance test it would have been useless in my situation.
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JazzJackRabbit wrote: Any chance of getting a 2-3 year old truck, prefferably something more reliable than american made? Assuming we are talking about full-size, the only other option I know of is the Toyota Tundra which was introduced in 2000. However, I would not expect it's A/C system to fare any better in Arizona's heat.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
Well, Roger has sonoma which is a mid sized pickup, I would even say berderlining with compact, so I would assume Roger will look for something of the same size (if he actually will). As for airconditioning reliability, any airconditioning system must be replaced sooner or later, but personally, I would still buy japanese made. American cars simply start falling apart after 10 years.
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I think it varies from state to state here in the US. Here in IL we don't have a "roadworthiness" test. The only thing we have to do is emission test every year or two to make sure the exhaust system is properly functioning and emission levels stay within prescribed limits. Otherwise you cannot drive your car. In any case, I think many of the vehicles in the US (correct me if I'm wrong) now come without a spare tire so even if we did have a maitenance test it would have been useless in my situation.
JazzJackRabbit wrote: ...many of the vehicles in the US (correct me if I'm wrong) now come without a spare tire... I've never heard of a new vehicle not having a spare tire.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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That's outrageous! Chiselling off the nuts takes two minutes; add a couple of minutes to punch out the old studs and press in new ones... :mad: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me.:mad: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
Roger Wright wrote: A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Wimp!
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JazzJackRabbit wrote: ...many of the vehicles in the US (correct me if I'm wrong) now come without a spare tire... I've never heard of a new vehicle not having a spare tire.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
Most manufacturers have replaced the traditional spare with an undersized 'temporary' tire that is just enough to let you limp crookedly into the nearest repair shop. All in the interest of 'fuel economy' by saving a few pounds of dead weight....:mad: Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power Eric Hoffer The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not. Eric Hoffer
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Most manufacturers have replaced the traditional spare with an undersized 'temporary' tire that is just enough to let you limp crookedly into the nearest repair shop. All in the interest of 'fuel economy' by saving a few pounds of dead weight....:mad: Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power Eric Hoffer The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not. Eric Hoffer
I'm full aware of the "donut" tires as they have been in use for decades. A spare tire is a spare tire regardless of size. I was interested in Jack's comment about no spare tire.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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That's outrageous! Chiselling off the nuts takes two minutes; add a couple of minutes to punch out the old studs and press in new ones... :mad: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me.:mad: I'm looking for a great paying job that I can do from home.:sigh: "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
Roger Wright wrote: I'm getting heartily tired of vehicles. Last month my fuel pump died - $800. A week later the air conditioning went out - $1200. Two days after that a rock hit the windshield - $200. Last night the truck stopped running a couple of miles from home, and I still don't know what that's going to cost me. Let me guess....you own a GM? The genius of the true fool is that he can mess up a foolproof plan.
As punishment for my contempt for authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.
