Indeed, and I also find odjectionable the extortionate prices many car manufacturers are charging to have a space-saver fitted (£400 in case of Mazda). Personally (given the high price of cars these days), it should be a much more reasonable priced option or maybe (for safety/personal security reasons [no-one should be left at the side of the road at night/in dodgy areas, especially the more vulnerable members of society]) a standard-fit item still. As many have said (including HJ himself), the gunk doesn't work - it doesn't even on bicycle tyres (as I found out), which are essentially junk and a waste of time/money to repair (presumably even worse for garages/fitters on cars to do).

If, as I would presume, cars that have the option of a space-saver to be fitted and do still stay in the same CO2 group as before and probably makes less than 0.5mpg (probably even less) difference in fuel efficiency, then what's the point? There's weight saving and there's being obsessed about it - manufacturers should concentrate on making their cars practial, as I'm sure they'd sell better if they were.

Edited by Bianconeri on 30/12/2015 at 14:05

After just 6 weeks of driving a new car without a spare wheel (and after over 50 years of driving with one), an unrepairable puncture meant having to be rescued and 'trailored' home. What should have been 15 minutes inconvenience changing a wheel (even with a space saver), became over 2 hours being rescued, followed by 2 days not being able to use the car whilst waiting for a mobile fitter to get the correct tyre.

I hate to think what would have happened if I'd been on the way to the airport, say. At least when I bought the car, I negotiated a spare to be included, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for it.

The main thing I'm wondering is whether some (possibly stupid) car manufacturers insist on having the 'option' of having a space saver or full size spare as a factory-only build one, i.e. if not, the car can never have one fitted once it leave the factory.

If so, that would be to many people a non-negotiable item when it comes to buying the car second-hand (it would for me) and could reduce the value of those car by way more than the cost of fitting them (probably why some charge so much now - so much for customer care).

I personally would want a car (I've never checked this on mine, which has a space-saver spare) which has at least a space-saver spare, but preferably a full-size one, as I would presume a full size one (e.g. the failed tyre/wheel combo) would not fit in the space for the space-saver (otherwise why use it - the weight saving over using a full-size spare would be minimal at best).

SWMBO has a s/h Corsa D. Dinky little thing, came with original tyres, low mileage and a compressor injected poo pot of goo rather than the bare minimum of a space saver. Not happy I was.

So, onto fleabay to an online breakers, sourced out a replacement alloy wheel for £40 which came within a few days, then off to the nearest tyre shop for a basic rubber. All I had to thankfully do to the car was take out the foam insert under the boot floor and stick the wheel into the void.

Any new cars we have in future, it's no to the poo pot, I want a real wheel in my boot.

and these days a high-viz vest to wear whilst changing the tyre ...

It must be that 0.2mpg extra that's achieved without the spare/with the tube of gunk that the manufacturers will make all the difference it making one's mind up whether to buy a car or not (as I presume they don't scrape by that near to the mark on CO2 figures for the VED groups so they can't use spare wheels/tyres [full size or space-savers]).

I know I'll be asking for when I'm looking to buy a new car, and it ain't 'where can I store my tube of gunk'. I wonder if all those people happily buying pre-reg/nearly new/1yo cars (i.e. not new to order) will remember to ask whether the car they're buying has a spare (of any sort)/can (and the cost) of having one fitted after manufacture. Otherwise if not, its the tube and a peed off look when the inevitable flat occurs.

A side effect of no spare wheel and the pot of goo is the sale of dodgy looking tyre repair kits. These allow you to plug a tyre from the outside and reinflate it. As the British Standard for tyre repairs requires the tyre to be removed from the rim and inspected prior to a proper patch/plug repair, the fact that some people are running around on tyres with cheap far eastern rubber plugs glued in them is worrying. These things may hold air for a while, but who knows what tyre damage they are covering up.