Technical Spare wheel vs Space saver

[Ralf S.]

Ragazzi,

My neice has ordered a brand new 500.. but since her insurance will cost almost more than the car, it is an extreme poverty spec Pop. She can't even afford to have it painted; it will come in that polished dark primer grey colour (no extra cost).. and she will have a tube of goo instead of a spare wheel.

I thought I read that the facelift version 500 (with the colour coded rear lights) has a shallower wheel-well than the first models, so that it can only fit a space saver wheel rather than a full size one. Is that correct, or did I dream it?

If I wanted to track down a spare (assuming it's a space saver)... just so the AA can get her moving again in the event of a puncture (she won't change the tyre herself ) what size would I be looking for?

She'll have the weediest (13"/14"?) steel wheels that Fiat makes... with any luck someone will confirm that a "full size" replacement is the same size as a space-saver anyway or will otherwise fit in the wheel well..


Ralf S.

 

[chris3234]

Just what is she paying for Insurance if it nearly costs more then the car .

My first year was £780 fully comp without blackbox on my 2009
Allthrough I was 22 at the time

Assuming she will be 17-18 area


Although there's nothing wrong with a space saver
Remember theres no distance limit on once just a speed limit so can happily be used for a few days till you get a replacement or repair

 

[jrkitching]

She'll have the weediest (13"/14"?) steel wheels that Fiat makes... with any luck someone will confirm that a "full size" replacement is the same size as a space-saver anyway or will otherwise fit in the wheel well..

Unfortunately not.


The standard steel wheel pop tyres are 175/65x14; the spacesaver is 135/80x14 and only just fits into the wheel well.


Best plan is to buy a secondhand spacesaver; there are plenty about.

 

[typecastboy]

Unfortunately not.


The standard steel wheel pop tyres are 175/65x14; the spacesaver is 135/80x14 and only just fits into the wheel well.


Best plan is to buy a secondhand spacesaver; there are plenty about.

I’ve got one for sale for £50 on eBay. Yours for £45 including postage.

 

[TrevC]

Do they give you a jack and wheelbrace if you just get the can of goo? If not, you will have to source those too. Note that the Fiat jack is specially shaped so it lifts in the correct place - the inner sill.

 

[2668GRIFFIN]

Buy A higher spec model on finance or lease hire and have all the bell and whistles
LUIGI

 

[Maggie]

Do they give you a jack and wheelbrace if you just get the can of goo? If not, you will have to source those too. Note that the Fiat jack is specially shaped so it lifts in the correct place - the inner sill.

You get a towing eye, a screwdriver, can of sealant and a compressor to apply the sealant and then inflate the tyre.

 

[Ralf S.]

I’ve got one for sale for £50 on eBay. Yours for £45 including postage.

It looks like a space-saver is the way to go. Does yours include the jack insert doodah with the jack and the tools in it? And the little plastic screw thing that holds it in place?

Buy A higher spec model on finance or lease hire and have all the bell and whistles
LUIGI

Her dad likes tech'. He spent the last bit of budget on the bigger touchscreen...

Just what is she paying for Insurance if it nearly costs more then the car ��.

My first year was £780 fully comp without blackbox on my 2009
Allthrough I was 22 at the time

Assuming she will be 17-18 area

Aye! The girl is 18. Personally I'd have gone for one a few years old.. but Fiat managed to come up with a deal for a new one which was cheaper (per month, after the deposit etc.) than buying a second-hand one. I'm not sure how that's possible.. but anyway we have a minimal spec' Pop... with the biggest spec' ICE options.

You get a towing eye, a screwdriver, can of sealant and a compressor to apply the sealant and then inflate the tyre.

Handy to know, thanks. A few space-savers I've seen for sale have lost some of the tool pack.


Ralf S.

 

[chris3234]

Is the car on PCP? That would explain how it's cheeper then buying a second hand car on regular finance as you basically renting the car and won't own it unless you pay s huge fee and the end of term

 

[306maxi]

Where is she located? I’ve got a spare wheel she could have for not much.

 

[frupi]

On both our former 1.2 POP and TA, I carried a full size spare. Correct, it didn't fit properly inside the wheel well because of the obvious depth difference over a skinny spare, but all I did was put two old towels folded in half and half again to take up the height difference and then just sat the boot bottom board on top of it to create the illusion of a proper fit. I still managed to fit the jack and tools inside the rim of the upturned wheel wrapped in another old towel.

I've still got five 14 inch Fiat steel rims sat in my garage doing nothing, one with an almost unused tyre still fitted plus a full set of wheel trims in very good condition, I'm just too lazy to advertise them.

 

[alexGS]

One more thing to consider - how to secure the spare wheel - is that an MOT requirement? It’s a Warrant of Fitness requirement here, since unsecured heavy objects can become lethal inside a hatchback in a rollover crash.

If the sealant-equipped model comes with the threaded hole to accept the standard hold-down bolt, so much the better, but otherwise I guess it’s off to B&Q (or you have Bunnings now, like we do) to find a suitably large bolt, nut, and washers etc.

-Alex

 

[alexGS]

Is the car on PCP? That would explain how it's cheeper then buying a second hand car on regular finance as you basically renting the car and won't own it unless you pay s huge fee and the end of term

Yes, I read about these PCP deals - we don’t have them here - basically instead of buying the car, you’re just paying for the depreciation; then at the end you have the option of handing the car back or buying it at roughly market value (the new price less the depreciation you’ve already paid).

I suppose it best suits people who want a new car every three years. It’s basically a way to spread the true cost of ownership over the first three years, without having the asset value (capital) tied up... and since you don’t own the car, you don’t have to sell it to recover the asset value when the three years are up.

I’m sure it will always work out better value to buy a three-year-old car outright, since the depreciation in years 3-6 will be less anyway, and keeping the car beyond six years old can then be even more economic. But I guess no-one wants to have the same car for more than three years.

-Alex

 

[frupi]

One more thing to consider - how to secure the spare wheel - is that an MOT requirement? It’s a Warrant of Fitness requirement here, since unsecured heavy objects can become lethal inside a hatchback in a rollover crash.

If the sealant-equipped model comes with the threaded hole to accept the standard hold-down bolt, so much the better, but otherwise I guess it’s off to B&Q (or you have Bunnings now, like we do) to find a suitably large bolt, nut, and washers etc.

-Alex

I was still able to secure the wheel with the standard hold down bolt with the wheel in the upturned position, so no issues with securing.
As for Bunnings, they're pulling out of the UK, they got our market totally wrong :devil:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...ngs-uk-disaster-unfolded-20180528-p4zhvw.html

 

[306maxi]

I was still able to secure the wheel with the standard hold down bolt with the wheel in the upturned position, so no issues with securing.
As for Bunnings, they're pulling out of the UK, they got our market totally wrong :devil:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...ngs-uk-disaster-unfolded-20180528-p4zhvw.html

As an Aussie I thought this would happen and could have saved them millions, but whatever.

 

[alexGS]

I was still able to secure the wheel with the standard hold down bolt with the wheel in the upturned position, so no issues with securing.
As for Bunnings, they're pulling out of the UK, they got our market totally wrong :devil:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...ngs-uk-disaster-unfolded-20180528-p4zhvw.html

Just to be clear, my comment was directed at Ralf S. rather than yourself, as my concern was whether the sealant-equipped car would have the threaded hole for the hold-down bolt. A minor point really, I guess

Anyway it’s interesting to hear that about Bunnings, highly successful in NZ and noted for their complete online product catalogue (not found on the UK site when I looked). Thanks. Mind you, that article was terribly written, but I tend to find that at the “shaking my head.com.au” site (smh.com.au)

-Alex

 

[Maggie]

One more thing to consider - how to secure the spare wheel - is that an MOT requirement? It’s a Warrant of Fitness requirement here, since unsecured heavy objects can become lethal inside a hatchback in a rollover crash.



If the sealant-equipped model comes with the threaded hole to accept the standard hold-down bolt, so much the better, but otherwise I guess it’s off to B&Q (or you have Bunnings now, like we do) to find a suitably large bolt, nut, and washers etc.



-Alex

Yes, the sealant and tools are contained in an expanded foam disc the same size as a space saver wheel and fixes with a plastic bolt into the wheel well threaded nut.

 

[frupi]

I realise if you do get a punture in a really inconvenient location whereby you don't have access to any form of High Street puncture repair facility, such as driving across Exmoor at 02.30 then one might not have much option but to use tyre sealant to get you home. Be aware though, tyre sealant will most likely render the tyre unrepairable and to make matters worse, can ruin the TPMS sensor and they are not cheap to replace! This is exactly the reason why I bought a full size spare wheel off Ebay with a TPMS sensor already installed, for my Wife's i10. It wasn't an issue with either of our previous two 500's because they didn't have TPMS installed, but the tyre slime still wouldn't have been my first option, hence why I bought a full sized spare and stuck that in the boot.

 

[Maggie]

I realise if you do get a punture in a really inconvenient location whereby you don't have access to any form of High Street puncture repair facility, such as driving across Exmoor at 02.30 then one might not have much option but to use tyre sealant to get you home. Be aware though, tyre sealant will most likely render the tyre unrepairable and to make matters worse, can ruin the TPMS sensor and they are not cheap to replace! This is exactly the reason why I bought a full size spare wheel off Ebay with a TPMS sensor already installed, for my Wife's i10. It wasn't an issue with either of our previous two 500's because they didn't have TPMS installed, but the tyre slime still wouldn't have been my first option, hence why I bought a full sized spare and stuck that in the boot.

Totally agree. I have a spare wheel, jack and tools for my Abarth albeit a 500 space saver wheel. I do also carry the sealant and compressor with me but, would only use in an emergency and, assuming the space saver had already been deployed.

The space saver can only be fitted on the rear of an Abarth as the front calliper fouls, but if you get a front wheel puncture you take a good wheel off the rear and swap with the front and put the space saver on the rear.

 

[PRJ S4]

I recently acquired a 2006 GP 130 Sporting, and the first thing I bought (via ebay) was a steel spare wheel and jack etc. I use the car for commuting via the A1 in the North East. Most punctures I have had render the tyre useless, so the sealant would be of no help.

I picked a spare tyre 'kit' that fitted fine for about £30. Its not mint but then again it does not need to be !