Can I buy a spare tire for my car?
Most tire shops will carry spare tires. However, an increasing trend is to avoid the traditional temporary “donut” spare tire in favor of a full-sized tire that can be easily switched on your vehicle without any restrictions. Simply put, based on our test fleet, about 45 percent of new cars today don’t come with a spare tire, though they might be equipped with a compressor and sealant kit to temporarily fix a flat tire. Carmakers are skipping the spare because of regulatory pressure to squeeze more miles out of every gallon of fuel.According to vehicles law, used car dealers are not obligated to give you a spare tire. But, if the car dealer is a sweetheart and cares enough, he might just throw in one or two spare tires in your purchased used car. No law abides the dealers from providing spare tires.If a car doesn’t come with a spare tire, it will usually be equipped with a can of tire sealant and a DC-powered air compressor. Some luxury models come with run-flat tires that can be driven on for short distances with low or no air. Minor punctures through the tread can be addressed with this gear.
Why are spare tires not included?
Less Weight Equals Better Fuel Efficiency This makes spare tires and their accessories an easy target for product planners to remove entirely and replace them with a lighter, space-saving spare or an inflation kit. Alternatively, they might outfit the vehicle with run-flat tires as standard equipment. To Save Weight Spare tires are heavy. Along with the tools to change them, they can add 30 to 50 pounds to a car. By removing the spare tire, cars become lighter. A lighter car uses less fuel, which helps improve gas mileage.Fuel-efficient tires can not only help save you money on gas, but they have environmental advantages, too. The less fuel your vehicle burns, the fewer emissions it creates.