Any one here work for a recovery service?

SexyGreyFox · 3 May 2009 at 13:34

My cousin has just been around my house and he's worked for the AA for 37 years and it isn't often I hear him moan but there is one thing that really gets his back up now -
Cars not having spare tyres.

He has just left me to go to the hospital where I work to tow a Physiotherapist all the way home to Manchester where she lives just because she hasn't got a spare tyre.

Other examples include a Police Commissionaire who burst a tyre on his Porche 911.
Now this had a spare smaller tyre but it meant he could not put the bust one where the smaller one went.
He had also got a suitcase in the boot so it was either one or the other.
My cousin had to take the bust tyre back all the way from Birmingham to Stoke on a saturday evening, get it repaired on a sunday morning and then get it back to the copper in a Brum hotel.

He has to do this type of thing all the time now.

Any other recovery service personnel who get fed up of no spare tyres or the smaller spare tyre problems?

rypt · 3 May 2009 at 13:39

Unless you have a complete blowout where the tyre is completely destroyed you rarely need a full on spare; one of those things that you inject into the existing tyre with a puncture that mends it is usually enough.
Spare tyres just add weight and take up space.

Besides, firstly ... people pay an AA premium precisely to get that kind of service ... and secondly there is no reason for AA to hand deliver the tyres; they are welcome to employ a courier company to deliver tyre to repairer; then get it sent back to them to just go back to the original person and fit it.
Equally, why must it go to Stoke, no tyre fitters/repairers in Brum?

Dogbreath · 3 May 2009 at 13:42

dmpoole said:
He has to do this type of thing all the time now.

But he's getting paid to do this, so surely more cars without spares are increasing his chances of keeping a job...

Wicksta · 3 May 2009 at 13:51

My dad has been an RAC man for many years, he has never moaned to me about this. People running out of petrol on the motorway though...

My dad actually prefers jobs where you have to recover the car, takes quite a bit of time and it's no hassle at all. I'm surprised to hear that your cousin has to deliver a fitted tyre to be honest, I'll have to check with my dad as it sounds like bs to me.

MrMatteh · 3 May 2009 at 13:56

I've had tyre pop before (was an F1 with sidewall of cheese)

I didn't have the spare with me so I opted to get recovered home, which was about 10 miles away.

First they sent a normal van with a dolly, then realised it was the front wheel so they couldnt use the dolly. So I had another wait for a flatbed to pitch up.

when the flatbed driver turned up and saw the 'damage' to my car was just a flat tyre he got really narked :confused:

I don't get why, what difference would it have made to him if it was something like my gearbox that had gone? I got a whole lecture on carrying spare tyres from him!

surely I should've been the one who was upset because of the double wait on their part

James_N · 3 May 2009 at 13:58

rypt said:
Unless you have a complete blowout where the tyre is completely destroyed you rarely need a full on spare; one of those things that you inject into the existing tyre with a puncture that mends it is usually enough.
Spare tyres just add weight and take up space.

Does that tyre weld stuff really work? I certainly wouldnt trust it, but somewhat amusingly, both my old bangers come with full size spare alloy wheels!

Kitchster_uk · 3 May 2009 at 14:23

Yeah, tyre weld works fine. I carry that instead of a spare in my mx5. The space saver is so small I would consider it more dangerous and simply would not be prepared to drive on it.

mattpc · 3 May 2009 at 14:44

tbh I don't know what the AA man is moaning about considering this is his job and that guy and his Porsche were helping to keep him in that job!! I do think it is daft however, that the old wheel wouldnt fit inside the car. Now that is daft!

I use tyre weld as well and have found it very useful. Try to keep a car in all my cars in case of emergency. The gf has even had to use it before. With a strong audience of male critics present telling her it wouldn't work I told her to get on with it and to their amazement it worked perfectly and we even managed to get the puncture repaired rather than having a new tyre (the tyre place grumbled a bit about having to clean out the tyre weld tho!).

SexyGreyFox · 3 May 2009 at 15:48

1 - Mike is not a moaner, he has just had 36 sessions of Radiotherapy and not moaned about it but sometimes we all get fed up with stupid little jobs. I get fed up with constantly sending out Consent forms for kids but I suppose it keeps me in a job.

2 - The Porsche incident happened. It was saturday evening with no tyre repair shops open, old tyre wouldn't fit in the car so Mike had to take it with him in his van back to Stoke. He got it repaired and then fitted it the following day while out on the job.

3 - The damage was far too big for tyre weld. The Physio's car tyre problem this morning was too large for tyre weld and she had to be taken back to Manchester.

mattpc · 3 May 2009 at 16:32

dmpoole said:
1 - Mike is not a moaner, he has just had 36 sessions of Radiotherapy and not moaned about it but sometimes we all get fed up with stupid little jobs. I get fed up with constantly sending out Consent forms for kids but I suppose it keeps me in a job.

2 - The Porsche incident happened. It was saturday evening with no tyre repair shops open, old tyre wouldn't fit in the car so Mike had to take it with him in his van back to Stoke. He got it repaired and then fitted it the following day while out on the job.

3 - The damage was far too big for tyre weld. The Physio's car tyre problem this morning was too large for tyre weld and she had to be taken back to Manchester.

Fair enough, not really having a pop at him personally I just think there is only so much one can/should moan about customers/situations that pay for them to feed their families. Without question however, it is stupid that the porsche could not fit the old wheel in. I also realise that tyreweld is not appropriate for every situation but its a darn useful tool to have in the boot. As is evident from my anecdote, the puncture cannot have been massive since the tyre shop repaired it fine.

realscot · 3 May 2009 at 17:24

I remember a few years back a friend had a puncture in his 106 pug, dropped the spare, to find a brand new tyre! on a 4 stud wheel, his car was the 3 stud model... seriously.. who put that in there.
My other gripe about spare wheels is the people that put a bald tyre on the spare wheel and rob the good tyre for their main wheels... why?!? Drive with that on and it's 3 points and a fine...why not just buy a new tyre you tight gits.
Plenty people out there will simply call the AA if they get a puncture and not even try and fit it.. i bet there's plenty drivers on the road that have no idea how to change a wheel. Things like that should be mandatory to learn as part of your driving test!!!