Puncture Predicament- What would you do?

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Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
33
Location
Hampshire
Car
CLK, Golf & TVR Griffith500
Just wondering as I drove home tonight there was an unlucky E class driver on the hard shoulder of the northbound M3 trying to change his tyre.

These days it seems the done thing to call for assistance....what would you do?
On the CLK I would definitely call for assistance for fear of messing up the alloys or the shafts.
CK500
Edited to add...if it was you, very sorry that it happened.
 
Went thorough a bad patch of frequent punctures a while back.

Call the AA everytime. No fear of me doing it myself - I pay for the service so I use it.
 
I don't know whether it is my age/generation, but I am certain that I would think twice before stopping to help a fellow motorist in trouble. You hear horror stories about supposedly innocent cries for help turning into cleverly thought out traps, for example asking young girls to stroke your kittens/puppies/rabbits...terrible.

I generally try and be a good sport with regards to other road users, ie flashing out a bus or allowing somebody to pull into the main carriageway from a driveway/sidestreet, but I would probably not have time to make a split decision whilst travelling along a motorway.

The reality is, I think there is a bit of good samaritan in all of us, but because of the sorry state of the world, we generally just turn a blind eye.

That said, if it ever happened to me, I would call for assistance and patiently wait for help to arrive.

--
Antony
 
On the note of "cleverly thought out traps", there is a scam going on in France.
When you stop for fuel and go to pay, someone creeps up the side of your car and punctures a rear tyre.
When you drive off, they follow you and then, when the tyre is flat, the flash you up.
Once you pull over and get out, they give you a hand to change the wheel, (making you think they are good French citizens), and then make off with your pride and joy, leaving you stranded.
I heard this from a friend today, who saw this happen on his way to Bordeaux last week.
His advice is to fill your car up, then park as close to the shop as possible. (There are normally parking spaces right near the door in most large services).
BEWARE.:crazy:
 
I got a puncture last year and called the Mercedes rescue number. Took them (actually, I think it was the RAC) over an hour to come out. In the meantime, my g/f had stopped and a police patrol car had stopped, both wondering why I just didn't change it. "Because one doesn't" :D ;)

I felt a bit of a plonka sat there waiting for them actually, and if it happened again, I would just change it (not forgetting to use the different bolts, of course :p).

Cheers

Andrew
 
You lot are a bunch of big girls blouses .

Get yourselves out the car and change the wheel. I would make changing a tyre part of the driving test and fail people who couldnt do it. ( cunning plan to stop the cronic women from passing eh ..;) )

I would change my own wheel thank you very much.:D
 
With a physique like mine, I could barely even lift a wheel + tyre, let alone change one :p

Arms like spaghetti and low testosterone levels: I am well suited to my profession of IT Sysadmin :)

Good idea about stricter testing though. I am all for keeping 'tards off the road.

Would you believe about 18 months ago I saw a learner reverse straight into a hedge as if it wasn't even there??? The manoevre was a simple enough reverse around a 90 degree corner. No idea what they did but they ended up on the pavement and in some guy's bushes.

Hope it wasn't a test...

--
Antony
 
Originally posted by fuzzer
You lot are a bunch of big girls blouses .


Perfectly able thanks.

As I am of washing up and ironing but I don't do those myself either.

I think of the AA as staff. If I need my tyre changed, I have staff to do it!
 
Oih Fuzzer - I just got slapped on the back of the head because of you! The wife wants to know what you mean by "chronic women"? I told her that meant sh*te drivers! Thats when I recieved the summary justice ;-)
 
Originally posted by weebobster
Oih Fuzzer - I just got slapped on the back of the head because of you! The wife wants to know what you mean by "chronic women"? I told her that meant sh*te drivers! Thats when I recieved the summary justice ;-)

Serves you right you shouldn't be surfing in public.:D :D

ps--- I'd change my own wheel I might be getting on but I am not yet too senile to let someone else change my wheel, even though it comes under my Mobilo cover.:cool: :cool:
 
Speaking of Scams, A lady posted the following a BMW forum I used to visit......

After leaving my parent's house at around 9:00 pm, I decided to pop to a Safeway/Petrol store to get a few things in for tomorrow's lunch etc. I drove down this dark narrow alley and before the width restriction I saw two women on the ground - one laying down, the other crouching next to her. They looked Somalian - scarfs over the head and most of their face - I don't know why they don't just wear a bag - honestly!?!

Anyway - I couldn't reverse back because it was too dark - no streetlights and also my plastic screen on my read windscreen was misted over - no luck there.

I couldn't get pass them either. So I stopped - got out of the car taking my keys and went over to them to see what was wong - bad decision - the next thing I remember was being pushed to the floor and feeling like someone had slapped me in the face - later found out that I had a gash in my cheek - OUCH!! I next heard the car alarm go off as it must have reset itself after a few minutes of me not alarming it. The doors were unlocked so they must have got in the car, realising that the keys were missing they just grabbed my mobile - Nokia 6310i from its cradle, my fascia of my Pioneer stereo, my Ray-Ban sunglasses and my laptop bag with my Sony VAIO laptop, Sony digital camera that I'd just bought at the beginning of November, together with my Sony CLIE PDA.

The next thing they just took off running - I needless to say, kept my head down and then carefully got up feeling not too brilliant, got in my car and managed to turn around in the road and went back to my parents where I was a nervous wreck. Dad called the police and ambulance. Ambulance came within five minutes - police took 2 hours - but did say they would put it down as a priority luckily, otherwise I don't know when they would have arrived. Today I'm just counting my blessing that I'm still here and so is my car. The finger print crew are coming this morning to see if they can get any evidence. Not that I'm holding anything for them catching them. SCUM.

Take my advice. DON'T GET OUT OF THE CAR. Stay seated and called the police, etc from your mobile.



The lengths that some people go to. :crazy:
 
Jeez, I'm with fzzer on this one - I cant believe that anyone would wait for a recovery firm to do a five minute job instead of doing themselves.
 
I'm with Fuzzer too, I'd change my own wheel everytime as I can't be bothered to wait for the AA to turn up... life's too short.

Also the AA have a policy where by if you call them too many times within one year they will refuse to come to your aid unless you pay a supplemement for each extra 'additional' visit. Imagine calling them out for wheel replacements and then when you really require their services for a serious mechanical break-down they then refuse! :crazy: I think you have to have made 5 call outs in a year before you get the first warning. Graham, think of it as a staff revolt ;)

On the issue of helping others change a wheel or sort a car problem, if it was in a public place such as garage forecourt or supermarket car park then I would help if I thought the people a.) really need help b.) will appreciate my efforts. If the breakdown was on the side of a road or hard-shoulder then I'd drive past, partly for my protection and also for not wanting to worry whoever had broken down, sad reflection of the times? - definitely.

S.
 
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My AA cover is Fleet not personal.

Have never waited more than 30 minutes for a wheels change or other rescue.

If I was ever somewhere where I thought my personal safety was in question, I would only be more likely to call for aid. Having said that, if I felt really unsafe, 3 cheers for standard alloys - I would just drive with the flat!
 
Something ive noticed about changing the wheels is ....


You know the bar you screw in to locate the wheel...

Ive got Two of them , makes puting the wheel back on a lot easier and stops it spinning round ....

Might be worth the few quid from the dealer for another one as anything to make changing the wheel easier.:bannana: :bannana:
 
Cannot believe you have hours to waste waiting for the AA!!

Tell you what, you can pay me the equivalent of half a years AA subscription, and i will teach you all how to change a wheel in five minutes at the GTG....

Sign up here!
 
Changing a wheel is no big deal is it? Even my non technical wife can jack up her car and change the wheel. I am a member of the R.A.C. did you know that they have a points system? I think it is 4 or 5 free visits a year and after that they charge £50 a callout.
 
I just had my amp install to accomadate removal of the spare wheel! id def change it myself! like Ian said both AA ans RAC run a points system to stop people abusing the system!
 
:( :eek:

I will change my own wheels
I will change my own wheels
I will change my own wheels
I will change my own wheels
I will change my own wheels
I will ...

:D

(When I picked my car up, the salesman said I should never change the wheel in the event of a puncture - always call MobiloLife :p ). When I got my new wheels, I did change them myself, honest :D .
 
Peer presure cannot change my mind. If I was at home, had nothing to do and had my old jeans on I might do it if I fancied it.

But anywhere else, all ready for work etc, that's what the Fleet membership is for. Maybe personal membership is different.


1. I don't have to disturb my jack or remove my jack point covers.

2. The AA man gets dirty not me, uses his trolley jack, does it in 2 minutes having arived in around 20 mins (less than me doing then cleaning up).

3. Have never had any remarks or unpleasantness from AA staff - always happy to just change my wheel.

I have even used them before when I have seen a nail in my tyre and it hasn't even gone flat yet! (hours outside of Tyre shops being open of course).
 

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