darn expensive flat
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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. -
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
Many of the cars with "run flat tires" save space by not including a spare. I think the PT Cruiser was one of the first with that "feature"
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
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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
You should show your post to Tomaž, he's convinced anything American American car and road safety standards are the best in the world. http://www.codeproject.com/script/comments/forums.asp?msg=1146096&forumid=2605#xx1146096xx[^]
Ðavid Wulff Audioscrobbler :: flickr Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen (QT)
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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.
JazzJackRabbit wrote: American cars simply start falling apart after 10 years. Why in hell, unless one were broke , would one keep a car more than 5-6 years unless it was a classic vehicle that was restored. I mean that if you depend on your vehicle for work etc.. it would behoove you to keep a fairly new vehicle. I also don't really believe that the Asian vehicles are any better that the US vehiles. At one time this was true but not lately - hell most of them are made in the USA. If he needs a truck get a F150 with the extended warranty and he's set for the next 5-6 years. Peace of mind is a valuable asset to have. Richard In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown
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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.
I like the Japanese cars too but you pay for pleasure of not having to deal with breakdowns. I just past the 100,000 mile mark on my '99 Toyota Tacoma pickup. All it's cost me so far is one new set of tires at 60,000, one new battery last year, and the routine timing belt change which I did at at 95,000. I also did have water-pump replaced free under warantee duringthe 75,000 service. None of these "failures" left me standing by the roadside. Of course the price of all Roger's repairs is probably just a small fraction of the difference in origianl purchase price of the Tacoma and the Sonoma. Steve T
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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
lol I said I might be wrong and I very well might be. I know the newer vehicles like 05 Honda Odyssey don't have spare tires because they are equipped with special tires that run "flat" for 125 miles before finally giving up. However I was under the impression that newer vehicles did not have spares because it was not practically viable to put a spare in if on average you get a flat once every 5-10 years.
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JazzJackRabbit wrote: American cars simply start falling apart after 10 years. Why in hell, unless one were broke , would one keep a car more than 5-6 years unless it was a classic vehicle that was restored. I mean that if you depend on your vehicle for work etc.. it would behoove you to keep a fairly new vehicle. I also don't really believe that the Asian vehicles are any better that the US vehiles. At one time this was true but not lately - hell most of them are made in the USA. If he needs a truck get a F150 with the extended warranty and he's set for the next 5-6 years. Peace of mind is a valuable asset to have. Richard In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown
I don't see a reason to change a car if the old one is still running just fine. Not to mention the fact that the new car will not necessarily will be more reliable than the old one so in some sense it's better not to change. Maybe it all comes down to how much money you make. Changing cars every 5-6 years is too expensive for me (assuming if the new one costs 20K that comes out to 4K a year if it doesn't break or is fully covered under warranty). If I had buttloads of money it's possible I was changing M5's every year...
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lol I said I might be wrong and I very well might be. I know the newer vehicles like 05 Honda Odyssey don't have spare tires because they are equipped with special tires that run "flat" for 125 miles before finally giving up. However I was under the impression that newer vehicles did not have spares because it was not practically viable to put a spare in if on average you get a flat once every 5-10 years.
My 2005 Sienna does not have the run-flat spare (thank goodness) but has a "donut" spare instead. The other four tires are warranted for 100,000 miles. JazzJackRabbit wrote: However I was under the impression that newer vehicles did not have spares because it was not practically viable to put a spare in if on average you get a flat once every 5-10 years. There is no way to record MTBF for tires that fail for other-than-normal reasons. You get a flat when you get a flat. It cannot be predicted.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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My 2005 Sienna does not have the run-flat spare (thank goodness) but has a "donut" spare instead. The other four tires are warranted for 100,000 miles. JazzJackRabbit wrote: However I was under the impression that newer vehicles did not have spares because it was not practically viable to put a spare in if on average you get a flat once every 5-10 years. There is no way to record MTBF for tires that fail for other-than-normal reasons. You get a flat when you get a flat. It cannot be predicted.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
For those of us not familiar with the term, what is a "donut" tyre?
Ðavid Wulff Audioscrobbler :: flickr Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen (QT)
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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
The last couple of places to put tires on my car both used impact wrenches but they set the max. torque lower than the specs say and then finish tightening them by hand using a torque wrench. That seems reasonable to me. I did have one place use just an impact wrench a few years ago. When I mentioned that I wanted them torqued properly they loosened the nuts and torqued them by hand with a torque wrench - that's when I realized not all shops do it properly. Cheers, Drew.
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I don't see a reason to change a car if the old one is still running just fine. Not to mention the fact that the new car will not necessarily will be more reliable than the old one so in some sense it's better not to change. Maybe it all comes down to how much money you make. Changing cars every 5-6 years is too expensive for me (assuming if the new one costs 20K that comes out to 4K a year if it doesn't break or is fully covered under warranty). If I had buttloads of money it's possible I was changing M5's every year...
Anything mechanical wears out. If a vehicle costs 25000.00 new and you keep it for 5 years in good condition you can get about ( depending on the vehicle ) 10000.00 (on the low side) on trade in so the actual cost for 5 years of ownership is 3000.00 per year for a new vehicle. Your only expence , other than consumables such as gas and oil , would be those mechanical subsystems that are subject to wear and tear and not covered by warranty such as brake pads ( disks ) and tires. At some point , usually pretty close to 6 years or 60-70000 miles ) , the average maintaince costs of an older vehicle will be approaching this amount and the older vehicle WILL NOT be as reliable as a newer vehicle. It will not be as safe to drive either. And each year it will be worth less and less. I like older cars. I have a Thunderbird Super Coupe that I have restored to factory specs that is fun to drive and worth quite a bit more than I paid for it even considereing the cost of restoration. But I would never be without a fairly new vehicle because i depend on my car a lot. I often drive ( well not that often ) 400-500 miles a day and have been known to drive from Dallas to Houston for a lunch before. I have to know that the vehicle can do what i need without worring about it breaking down or something in the boonies. Its like an insurance policy - 4 years or 50000 miles and somebody else can drive it because I'm gonna rtade that sucker. No matter how good a car its been I know its getting old ( like me ). Richard In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown
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For those of us not familiar with the term, what is a "donut" tyre?
Ðavid Wulff Audioscrobbler :: flickr Die Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen (QT)
It's simply a temporary spare. They are usually smaller in diameter and width and have a "T" instead of an "R".
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
