Why do car companies insist on giving you a donut instead of a useful spare tire?

Seriously. Lets say I take the 'stang on vacation and decide to go tearassin' up the east coast for two weeks, and I get a nail.

Well, it's donut time. Put the little weak piece of rubber on your car, and hobble along to a shop to have your good tire patched. Which could take an hour, could take up to five.


My vacation time is important! I want to KEEP GOING! Change that thing out, get back on the road, find a shop next to your hotel, and drop the old tire for a patch. Pick it up the next day and get back on the road again.

Why do the brain surgeons at every car company (aside from Jeep, which, as far as I know is the only auto that gives you a decent fifth tire), decide to give you a little gimpy thing that you aren't supposed to go over 40mph with?

I ask this because I just spent $500 on a decent fifth tire and rim. Just in case.

The standard factory donut is now being used as a perch for the chickens.

 

you have chickens?

 

A few.

Plus one great big rooster who wakes me up every morning.

 

It's not that surprising. He's a Republican from Alabama or something.

 

Why should the car company feel obligated to give you a spare tire at all?

 

McDonald's gave me a spare tire.

 

Right, so you're asking why you can't just buy a car that comes with an additional tire instead of a donut.

I can think of two reasons:

size and cost

I've never had a flat tire, so I don't think it happens very often either. Would I want to pay more for a car that comes with a tire that takes up more space or less for a car that comes with a donut (hoping that the likelihood of a flat tire will be low because I'm buying a car with awesome tires and probably won't be driving over nails)?

I do love donuts. Are we talking about the food?

Because I would love every car to come with donuts (old fashioned glazed please).

 

We all know you don't have a "'stang", so rephrase it with Kia, and ask again.

 

I did the same thing, though I used an older tire. Two tires were getting replaced, and I had them take the less-worn of the two and mount it on a rim. I'm not crazy about trusting my life to a donut either.

 

So you keep coming back, have you notice every time you take your car to service a new "problem" arise.

 

My car has a real spare tire. Maybe you should consider getting a proper vehicle instead.

 

Back in the day, a full size spare was the standard.

I recall the wife getting a flat tire and a friend putting the spare "tire" on for her a couple of years ago. What the **** is that?! I asked pointing at the toy-like ring of rubber where the proper spare tire should have been.

You're correct, Aytee. Cars should come with a real spare tire. It saves money and space to have a toy spare, but you can always do something faster, cheaper, and easier if you're willing to do a half-ass job. And that seems to be the attitude in the modern American auto industry.

 

Donuts have been shrinking in size for years. It's a disgrace.

 

A friend of mine encountered this very same problem last month (as we were out on my birthday night), and ended up having to buy a whole new set of tires.

2008-2009 L.A. Lakers: World Champions!

 

Nope. Traded the Kia in.
[image=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/leekenobi/newhotness.jpg]
Got a Mustang.

 

You just need to talk them into giving you a real tire when you buy it. The donuts are cheaper and take up less room. My brother bought an Accord not too long ago and got them to give him a real tire, but it doesn't quite fit right in the trunk. Not a big deal, and its definitely something I'd put up with to have a real spare if I had one of those kinds of automobiles. However, I have a Jeep, and as you already said, I have a REAL spare tire, so its not really an issue for me.

Its definitely nice to have a real spare tire, so you don't have to worry about your car looking retarded when you put it on, or worry about those speed restrictions for the donut. Though, now that I think about it, if memory serves, my spare tire is the original spare, and a tire that's over 22 years old may not be much better.


Edit: Its a bit off topic, but,

This reminds me of a while back when I was staying on a farm in jungles of Peru. The damn things were making noise all the time. One even attacked me. Though, at the time I was trying to kill it to make dinner, so I don't begrudge it the clawing and what not.

 

The reason why you have a cheap tire is to force you to have the flat one changed or fixed. Otherwise, people would go: "OK, I have now that I have a flat and changed it to a perfectly good new tire, what is the rush to get a new spare tire, or have the flat one fixed? I'll do it next time..." until they get another flat tire and realize that they are still carrying the flat one. Now you're stuck.

 

So, you're saying the car company gives everyone a retarded tire to help stupid people?

 

mercedes Benz SLK has a space saver cause the full size spare won't fit.

 

In my 12 years of driving I've had seven flat tires. I would have loved a full size spare on any of those occasions.