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Old 19th August 2021, 11:32   #76
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Re: Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel

Let's face it, we are living in an era where a good majority of car owners don't know how or where to fill the windshield washer, let alone changing a wheel. More and more owners are purely dependent on the service walas and care less about the nitty grities of maintaining a car, especially true in Tier 1/2 cities.

Space savers and run flat tyres are more suited for developed countries with better paved roads, where the chance of having a puncture is quite negligible. Not to mention the stone like ride quality of run flat tyres due to their thick sidewalls.

In India, we always have the "friendly neighborhood tyrewalla" with his rudimentary pressure guage (I'm still amazed at the number of people who still visit these champs), who is quite eager for a quick buck. They have quite generously scattered the area with nails, thorns and whatever that can rip out tyres. Also sidewalls of tyres are more prone to damage in India due to poor road conditions.

So we are more likely to have punctures and blow outs in India due to sub-standard conditions, and also the scorching heat in summers. This is more of an issue for highway users, where reliable garages are scarce.

A full size spare wheel may be more suited for Indian conditions, as other options are not so practical. And puncture repair kits are not really welcome in this smart phone generation, where a wireless charging pad is preferred as "it's so difficult to plug in a normal cable"!!
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Old 20th August 2021, 11:06   #77
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Re: Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by sramanat View Post
Given,

1. The idea of rotating tires seems to be to ensure uniform wear & tear.
2. You tend to rotate tires during service

*SNIP*
You probably missed some of the earlier posts on this subject. Please read this:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5128142 (Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel)

One should not "tend" to do this; or tend to ignore (or be unaware of or be unwilling to follow) basic safety precautions and basic periodic checks of the car by oneself. This is part of owning a vehicle and is not "optional".

Even if one is not physically capable of doing these things (due to age or other reasons), and has to depend on a dealer to do these; what prevents one from driving to the dealership (or a third-party service provider) and having these done in between scheduled service times?

Driving is not a right, it is a privilege. There are duties and responsibilities to owning and operating a vehicle.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jitz_c View Post
Let's face it, we are living in an era where a good majority of car owners don't know how or where to fill the windshield washer, let alone changing a wheel. More and more owners are purely dependent on the service walas and care less about the nitty grities of maintaining a car, especially true in Tier 1/2 cities.

*SNIP*
Please read my response above to sramanat.

Cheers
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Old 20th August 2021, 12:56   #78
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Re: Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by tilt View Post

Driving is not a right, it is a privilege. There are duties and responsibilities to owning and operating a vehicle.



Please read my response above to sramanat.
Point taken, totally agree with you. I understand the different standards abroad, where each driver during the learning stage is trained in even general maintenance of the car, how to check the tread depth of tyres, etc. I also have a British driving license, and have experienced this first hand during my training and examination.

Sadly in our country, most cars are driven by chauffeurs and most owners have cars just for the sake of it. It might sound strange to some, but this is true when living in a city like Mumbai.

Not all people share the passion and enthusiasm for cars like us users of this forum.

I have experienced a tyre blow out during a very long road trip in my previous Ford Figo, and thankfully the full size spare came in handy to safely reach us home. "Getting to the nearest garage" has a whole new meaning when you are in a far-off unknown place. Surprisingly there is no proper road side assistance in India like the RAC or the AA in UK. Business opportunities, anyone?
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Old 20th August 2021, 21:35   #79
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Re: Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel

It is certainly a good move by a consumer and a perfect decision by the consumer court. But IMHO what India requires is the lemon laws as implemented in the US and the protection guaranteed by the law to the consumer for a long term hassle free ownership of the things he wants to own whether it be a car or say a laptop. I mean the overall quality of products needs to be improved and provided the scale of production in India it is quite achievable without much appreciation in price.
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Old 21st August 2021, 08:05   #80
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Re: Customer takes carmaker to court over small-sized spare wheel

Going slight OT here

Quote:
Originally Posted by AnandB View Post
I am driving my Kodiaq to Ladakh in a month and it comes with a space-saver which is already giving me head-ache. Worse part is i don't think i can even put a full-size tyre in its space.

Couple of unconventional ideas:

1. Carry one in the roof rack like the overland adventure guys do with the 4WD rigs. Mind the dynamic weight permissible for your ride though.

2. If you are bold enough to try, go the ecosport way. It is a very crude idea. I do understand that.

Last edited by kkr2k2 : 21st August 2021 at 08:08. Reason: Wrong post quoted
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