[Noah930]

Learn something new everyday.

Neighbor across the street bought a new Dodge minivan a few months ago. Recently he had a flat. I noticed it, as his van was parked on the street in front of my house. So when he came out, I helped him change the tire.

Only, we couldn't just change the tire because he had no spare! The spare on Dodge minivans apparently is carried UNDER the vehicle, between the driver and passenger front seats, so it's not something that's easily visible in the "trunk." We followed the directions to lower the spare...only to find out there was none. So we just pulled the wheel and plugged it with a kit I keep for my motorcycles. At least this allowed him to get to a tire shop to get it properly patched.

I'm surprised that in consumer-protection-oriented America, there is no law that mandates spare tires for new car purchases. (Excepting cars with run-flats.) What if this happened in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to at home? Heck, even in super-urban LA, there are plenty of places with spotty or no cell coverage. A minivan is typically a family vehicle; I wouldn't want Mrs. Noah to get stranded with no way other than AAA (or whatever roadside assistance people use) to get home. The Dodge stealer wanted $300 for a spare, so my neighbor bought a used rim and tire for about $100.