Half of drivers would happily pay to have a spare wheel
in their car
More than a third would think twice about buying a car
without a spare
Only a fifth of 18 - 24 year-olds would check if their
car had a spare
More than four-fifths (82%)* of drivers would prefer to have a
spare wheel in their boot rather than a tyre inflation kit, a
survey of 11,959 AA members carried out last week has revealed.
With pothole-related incidents on Britain’s roads at a five-year
high, the case for having a spare wheel in the boot of your car
has rarely been stronger. Last year, pothole-related damage
accounted for almost £1/2bn in vehicle repairs, with a large
portion of that spend going on tyres.
Many drivers, especially those with newer vehicles, couldn’t be
blamed for thinking that they had a spare wheel tucked neatly
away in the boot of their vehicle – but on most occasions, they’d
be mistaken. According to the survey, one-fifth (20%)* of 18 –
24-year-olds wouldn’t think to check if the car they were buying
had a spare.
While it has been estimated that the vast majority of new cars
don’t have a spare wheel as standard, AA research indicates this
number could be greatly increased if drivers chose the option to
add a spare where available. This would help to reduce the number
of occasions where drivers find themselves stranded at the side
of the road after finding the tyre inflation kit that sits where
the spare wheel used to be, has failed to seal the offending
tyre, resulting in them calling for help.
Half of the survey’s respondents (49%)* said that they’d be
willing to pay to have a spare wheel kit placed in their luggage
area, and would welcome the peace of mind that comes with the
purchase. Similarly, more than a third (35%)* said that they
would hesitate to buy a car if it didn’t come with a spare and
one in three (35%)* wouldn’t feel confident using a tyre
inflation kit.
The survey showed that drivers in Northern Ireland (59%)* are
most likely to pay to have a spare added to their car – with
those living in the South West (45%)* least likely to make the
same purchase.
Last year, more than half of the vehicles that The AA attended
with punctured tyres, didn’t carry a spare wheel, and even though
AA patrols were able to carry out a temporary repair to some of
these tyres at the roadside, many required an immediate visit to
the garage.
For tyres that are beyond repair at the roadside, the driver is
left with a couple of options; Call a mobile tyre fitter or allow
the attending patrol to fit a temporary ‘Multi-fit Wheel’, then
be followed or recovered to a garage, where a replacement tyre
can be fitted. If outside garage opening hours, many opt to call
out a mobile tyre fitter.
Chris Wood, AA Patrol of the Year, said: “The
condition of Britain’s potholed roads is leading to lots of
damaged tyres. In previous times, if a vehicle suffered a
punctured tyre, our patrols would simply fit the spare wheel and
wave the member on their way. More recently, since manufacturers
opted to fit an inflation kit instead of a spare wheel, it can
take our patrols a couple of hours to resolve the same issue.
“Most of the members we attend say that they’d much prefer the
peace of mind of having a spare wheel in the boot, even if they
had to pay extra for it. As a result, we are seeing spare tyre
kits become more accessible online.
“Being proactive can help to save you time – one suggestion is to
store a list of mobile tyre fitters in your phone along with the
relevant tyre sizes for your vehicle. This way, if you feel safe
to do so, you can quickly arrange a replacement tyre without the
need to trawl the internet for the information you need when
under stress caused by a vehicle breakdown.
“Our advice is for all drivers to check if their vehicle has a
spare wheel before they need it, and if they find that
their vehicle doesn’t have one, to have a plan in place if things
go wrong. If they do find a spare wheel in the boot, we’d urge
them to check that it is serviceable, if they’re not sure how to
do this, most garages are happy to help.”
Edmund King, AA president, added: “Having a
spare tyre can save time and money. If you don’t have one,
consider buying one. Four out of five drivers would prefer a
spare so it should always, where practical, be offered as an
option.”
Ends
NOTES TO EDITORS
*Yonder received 11,959 responses from AA members to its online
poll between 11 – 23 January 2024. Yonder is a member of the
British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
How to change a tyre |
Simple guide with 7 easy steps | The AA
Learn about tyre age:
Things to know about your tyres | The AA
