WTF?



I remember thinking about how ridiculous it was when they went to the "donut" spare. Now they've gotten rid of that too!

What happens if you (or your wife or girlfriend ...) bounce off a curb and trash the wheel. A lot of good a sealer and inflation kit are gonna do you then.

What's next? "So, you want a steering wheel with that?"

 

It's turned into a nickel and dime business :shakehead

 

That's why I have AAA. I don't need my wife standing out on the highway changing a flat. No spare tire? No problem....tow it to my house or a tire retailer and I'll take care of it.

 

Normal commuting that is fine, although I'd still like to see a donut.

My big problem with that is if I am on a road trip. I drive from Boston to Montreal a lot and if you get a flat that the tire repair kit can't fix, you could be SOL looking for a quick repair in the middle of VT. Especially if you have a less than common tire size. Luckily I have a full size spare that I throw in place of the donut for those trips.

 

A combination of nickel and diming and most people having towing coverage for their auto insurance.

 

No one else is screaming blasphemy for the "4-speed automatic"?

Is this a base Cobalt or something?

 

The spare tire/donut option is ridiculous.


Why do car makers make you pay for paint too?

 

+1

AAA Gold here for both me and the wifey. Never leave home without it. It's almost financially irresponsible not to (at least for us) because the discounts we get for it on auto and home almost cancelled out the membership fee. It's only costing us like $20 a year.

 

HAHA! I won't be surprise if they charge $50 for inflated tires.

 

You hit the nail right on the head! How'd you know that?

The Tahoe is in for the emissions (cel) light being on. It's only a bad solenoid for the vapor recovery system, however the thing is still under it's cpo coverage so why do it myself, right?

The dealership pays for the rental too since I work too far away for the shuttle.

 

Fat lot of good some tire sealant will do you when the tire explodes. Which is usually how you get a flat on the freeway, during a road trip. Which is where you'd have to be to actually consider changing a tire yourself instead of calling AAA or CAA, which is what 99% of people do. Or even just call a tow truck and a cab. Which isn't an option when you're on the side of a freeway with a blown tire 500 miles from home.

This really hasn't been thought through, has it?

 

So true...I wonder how the dealer would react if you wanted to "delete" the paint option

 

This is largely a GM issue.

1) GM commented on this last year on the CTS-V forum I frequent. They stated that few people get flats, and most people who do just call for assistance anyway. Most people don't change flats or don't know how to.

2) The spare donut and tools weigh a certain, non-negligible amount. With that weight removed, the mileage improves.

3) Nickel and dime, baby! If you can make some more money on something that was previously an option, why not? In the case of GM specifically, anything they do to get off the government dole is OK by me.

In my personal case, the CTS-V does NOT come with a spare tire kit, tools, or run-flat tires. It does come with a rather lame air pump (made in China, WTF GM?) and the GM version of fix-a-flat liquid.

I popped a tire driving my V during a snowstorm in January. This caused a number of problems:
1) The fix-a-flat got all over one panel of my car because the wind was blowing at the time. It took until I fully detailed my car, including clar bar, in the spring, to get the shit off.
2) The tire had a huge hole in it, which I only discovered after I tried the fix-a-flat. So the fix-a-flat was used for nothing, and got on my paint.
3) The car was undriveable as a result. Luckily, I was only two miles from my dealer, located in downtown Cleveland . Unfortunately, I had to wait TWO HOURS for the tow arranged by Cadillac/OnStar. Not a surprise, it was a snowstorm.

If I'd had a spare, it would have been a 15-minute misadventure and I'd have gotten home. I complained to Cadillac/GM brass about the lack of a spare.

Someone actually took the trouble to make a spare tire kit, including a spacer, that fits the new Vs. I bought one a couple months ago and now I'm happy. All the same, GM should have provided a kit from the get-go.

Luckily, Acura still provides spares and I've had to use the spare on every Acura I've owned, twice while on road trips.

 

Get AAA. No worries.

 

I have seen this on a lot of lower end vehicles over the last few years. Never really thought much of it. Now, if it were on higher-end cars, it would be different.

For us, we have roadside through my AMA (American Motorcycle Association) membership... and that covers all household vehicles including my motorcycle (obviously).

 

I figure, it says chevy on the sticker, and it doesn't seem to have any options at all. It looks like a brand new car too since it has a window sticker, and GM is phasing in the 6AT, but figured the Cobalt is a low priced model... That or an Aveo. Either was a base model of either one wouldn't be getting the 6-speed

 

My brother owns a 08 volvo that has the run-flat tires so no spare. He hit a pothole one rainy night which destroyed the tire. It had to be towed.

 

Having a spare tire is greater than AAA to me for just a flat. By time i got a hold of someone i could have changed the tire and been on my way. I want a spare in my car. Period. Ill use AAA for stuff like if i get in a accident/hit a deer etc.. to tow my car.

 

No AAA, Bob? It's not too expensive, and if you get the Premium/Plus level (which I suggest), you can get free towing up to 100 miles (it used to be 250 :shakehead)

 

Gm has done this for a couple years now.

 

I have AAA as well--I'm a 20-year member. I also have OnStar in my Cadi, which I made easy use of.

You missed my point, though. My point was that changing a spare for those like me who know how to do it is much faster than waiting for AAA or Cadillac Roadside. This is especially true on long road trips, which I take on a regular basis. It's 15 minutes vs. 1-2 hours of my time.

 

Seriously. What has this country come to? At one point in time everyone knew how to do basic shit like this. Replacing spark plugs, changing oil, rotating your own tires have all become too difficult for people all of the sudden.

 

This.

So you get a flat and the car gets towed? WTF!?!?!?

A simple flat becomes a big production! WTF is wrong with this world? No wonder we're spinning out of control. Pussification of America.

Maybe we need to call someone to wipe our asses for us too.

 

Ford used to throw in the same tire that's on the other wheels on a winter hub for a spare.
Saved some $ when one tire couldn't be repaired, tire didn't exist anymore, pointed that out to them, they threw it on.

I think its a smart idea to keep a container of inflate and seal regardless of AAA.

 

slippy slope...
Next, the passenger and rear seats would be $$$ options.

 

It's an option on several GM cars, including the Caddy CTS

 

Wasn't an option on the Mustang I ordered... I've heard that Canadian Mustangs get a flat tire/jack kit and Amercian cars get the inflator tire goop crap.

I don't care for the tire goop stuff...I can only imagine what it does to the TPMS sensors... Give me a jack, spare tire and a tire iron damnit

 

Yup, even the SRX. Just read an old review of the new one and you either get a spare tire, or a cubby in the trunk.

I wish there was some sort of law requiring all cars to have some emergency equipment: Spare tire, first aid kit, etc. At least a donut, but a full-size spare would be nice. I think the Toyota Camry has a full-size spare.

 

It is an option on the regular CTS but not the CTS-V. It is not available from GM as an option or anything for the V only.

The spare kit I bought was modified from GM stock by another vendor for use on the V after serious experimentation and bird-dogging (not to mention spending $$$$) by a V forum member. God bless the Interweb!

 

Ah ok, sorry.

 

I get flats on most my cars like its my job. Mostly random shit like walking out of Target to a flat tire and that stuff. I can't imagine not having a spare and the best thing is full size spares like the Toyota Avalon which blew out on me in the middle of SC. Would have been screwed on that road trip otherwise.

 

I don't have a spare in my Mini...Only some really stiff run-flats...

 

They figure we might be somewhere in the arctic with our convertible mustang and get a flat.
I remember our Ford dealer gave us free roadside for a couple years.

Fun fact:
Apparently Nissan sticks in the wiring for a block heater on Canadian cars.

Where I live, its exciting to have the temperature drop below 5*C in the winter.
An inch of snow shuts down the entire city of half a mill - half of which drive FWD.
Radio station comes on saying "don't leave your house" - its actually quite funny...

 

This is me right here. I pop at least one tire a year.

NP, that was a pretty long post from me.

Wow. What a bunch of pansies. Wouldn't survive a week during the winter in Cleveland.

 

It became an option when BMW decided E39 M5's didn't need them.

Obviously the rest of the industry followed their cue.

 

My wife got a flat a couple years ago near home and it was quicker for me to just change the tire then to wait. But if roadside protection... it's good to have it. Plus it doesn't cost me anything... so why not!