rimmie Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 Hi all, One for the car boffs, I have bought (not picked up yet) a used bmw. The previous owner had all the run flat tyres taken off and replaced with normal tyres. My question is this, a friend said by law the dealership must supply a spare wheel, as the car now doesn't have run flats fitted. Is this right ? The car doesn't have one at the minute, as apparently when you have run flats fitted, you don't need a spare wheel. The previous owner obviously never bothered getting one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 No they don't have to supply one. A lot of new cars don't come with one. You might get a can of tyre sealant though if you're lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 Ask them nicely for the BMW specified run flats? David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambhat Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 According to this: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/legal-advice/tyres.html cars aren't required to have a spare wheel whether they've got run-flats or not, so I'd guess they don't have to supply one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlivet Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 If I remember correctly the law used to be that a spare wheel wasn't required but if you had one the tyre had to be legal. No idea these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONY R Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 If I remember correctly the law used to be that a spare wheel wasn't required but if you had one the tyre had to be legal. No idea these days. This is how i remember it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twistedsanity Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 We were told to remove all the spares from our company cars years back, cheaper to loose hours waiting for the aa to come out than risk an employee getting splattered at the side of the road changing a puncture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimo22 Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Just got a new Ford Fiesta and paid £100 for a spare to be fitted as the standard is a bottle of sealant so no chance with a used car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canis Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Just got a new Ford Fiesta and paid £100 for a spare to be fitted as the standard is a bottle of sealant so no chance with a used car Spare wheels have become optional extra's as a way of shedding weight for the co2 tests used to select road tax class or company car tax etc- if its standard equipment it needs to be on the car for the Co2 test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 The bigger issue will be with insurance, I'm sure if it had run flats as standard then unless you tell the insurance company and tell them otherwise then it's supposed to have them (other advice is available) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masmiffy Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 My daughter got quoted around £300 for a spare wheel for her Corsa as an 'optional extra' what a **** ing joke! Personally I would like a spare in a car if only a 'donut' to get me home if required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot and be safe Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Nip to the local scrap yards and pick up a second hand rim (for your vehicle) with a decent amount of tread on the tyre. As an emergency it will get you to a tyre shop and will probably cost you less than £20. As for the original question, no a spare wheel is not a must have in your vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Shaun has pointed out the most important part of this. If you replace run flat tyres with standard tyres, you are altering the driving characteristics of the vehicle. Your insurance company will not pay out in the event of an accident. Cars fitted with run flats as standard have been tested using run flats by the manufacturer. This affects the suspension geometry setup and can lead to different materials being used for suspension and steering. As soon as you put standard tyres on a vehicle that was designed to run on run flats, the vehicle is deemed to be a risk by the insurance companies because of the potential variation in vehicle handling characteristics. Manufacturers and car dealers in most countries have zero obligation to provide spare wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPARKIE Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Ask them nicely for the BMW specified run flats? David. no don't the reason they take them off is the tyres are too hard and crack the alloy wheels this is a big problem with bmw at the moment and they wont replace the wheels under warranty a mates 5 series has had 2 wheels in the last couple years both cracked £650 each The bigger issue will be with insurance, I'm sure if it had run flats as standard then unless you tell the insurance company and tell them otherwise then it's supposed to have them (other advice is available) I doubt they would be bothered as long as the tyres are e marked and have good tread..... its the same as having budgets or remoulds fitted they are made to do the job required Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowStandards Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Shaun has pointed out the most important part of this. If you replace run flat tyres with standard tyres, you are altering the driving characteristics of the vehicle. Your insurance company will not pay out in the event of an accident. Cars fitted with run flats as standard have been tested using run flats by the manufacturer. This affects the suspension geometry setup and can lead to different materials being used for suspension and steering. As soon as you put standard tyres on a vehicle that was designed to run on run flats, the vehicle is deemed to be a risk by the insurance companies because of the potential variation in vehicle handling characteristics. Manufacturers and car dealers in most countries have zero obligation to provide spare wheels. This is all sorts of wrong Except the last sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Run flat tyres are an optional fitment. A vehicle manufacturer will specify the standard tyre fitment for a particular vehicle, This will likely include several different size options and possibly a run flat option. So long as the tyres fitted are the same as one of these options and thus meet the vehicle manufacturers specified size and speed/load rating, Run flat has no relevance whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 This is all sorts of wrong Except the last sentence It's wrong is it? Ok then, my bad. Though I think you'd have a hard time convincing your insurance company that replacing run flats with standard tyres is a modification that's unlikely to alter the handling of the vehicle from the oem specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPARKIE Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 when a low profile tyres is pumped to 30psi its still 30psi the car aint gonna handle any different on stiffer tyre walls in normal driving conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westward Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 no don't the reason they take them off is the tyres are too hard and crack the alloy wheels this is a big problem with bmw at the moment and they wont replace the wheels under warranty a mates 5 series has had 2 wheels in the last couple years both cracked £650 each Is that why my son's 3 series coupe has the ride quality of a Go Kart and tyres costing £200 plus that last about 5K miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Is that why my son's 3 series coupe has the ride quality of a Go Kart and tyres costing £200 plus that last about 5K miles? Short answer : YES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPARKIE Posted August 13, 2016 Report Share Posted August 13, 2016 probably yes check the alloys for cracks. a bit of info on the problem here........ http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1204678 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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