So, when did they stop putting spare tires in cars?

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Should I mention the $400+ per hour charge for labor at the Lexus dealer in North Miami? I'll bet objecting to that is also "so unfair" and all my fault for "being uninformed" and not doing my homework.

...

Uhhh...yeah, that's what I'd call it. The time to ask is before someone handed over a blank check.
 
Uhhh...yeah, that's what I'd call it. The time to ask is before someone handed over a blank check.

LOL I had other words for it. I never had anything done... luckily I asked for quote to change the brake pads... they spewed out almost $800 like it was twenty five cents.
 
No doubt in my mind. Consider probably having to take the brunt of that in similar situations played out day in, day out as contributing to that disdain you spoke of.
 
No doubt in my mind. Consider probably having to take the brunt of that in similar situations played out day in, day out as contributing to that disdain you spoke of.

I'm sure they get their fair share of tire kickers wasting their time I've seen that too. But it's not the fault of the legitimate buyers and they sure treat everyone as if it is.
 
LOL I had other words for it. I never had anything done... luckily I asked for quote to change the brake pads... they spewed out almost $800 like it was twenty five cents.

Other than the $29.99 oil change deal you're lucky to get out of a dealership for under 5 bills.
 
I have worked with a lot of dealers making commercials for them and as a consequence of that I got to meet a lot of the salesmen and managers. They all had one thing in common. A disdain for the customer. A real kind of inexplicable hatred. As if somehow, the customer was trying to cheat them out of house and home. I'm not "making an interpretation" here but recalling the vitriol that they spewed. I never understood it.
Like sound equipment retailers, this is a generalization. I have several families to whom I have sold cars to three of their generations. They always refer new customers to me. I believe that is because I treat them fairly. I have individual customers who have come back to make purchases over a dozen times since I sold them their first BMW in 1976. Now I have also had customers who told me to "Take that f-ing tire and shove it up your f-ing a**!" when telling them they needed a tire to pass inspection on their two-year-old $140,000 sports car, insisting no dealership in town would ever make them pay for tires in such a short time period.

There are bad customers as there are bad salespeople. There are probably more bad salespeople today because of the merging of individually owed dealerships into conglomerate groups which are only responsible to their shareholders and do not value the salesperson. The average tenure for a salesperson at a dealership these days is probably close to two-years. Automotive News states the turnover rate in 2013 year was 66%. That's 41% among luxury brands versus 73% for non-luxury dealerships, compared to 44% nationally in the private sector in general. It is not unusual for a salesperson to work 60-70 hours each week without salary. It's an awful job to start in without a customer base to support you. And you get only two instructions from your management and that is to call at least 40 people each day, and don't stop calling until you get an appointment. They don't care about building relationships or telling the truth. And they don't care whether a salesperson can make an honest living, either.

I can't tell you which came first, the appallingly poor sales staffs or the trend toward Internet purchasing, but now they go hand-in-hand. Again, I call it the Wal-Marting of America. We get what we're willing to pay for. The car salesman will eventually go away, just like the manual transmission. By that time no one will miss them and we'll all be paying whatever list price Elon Musk wants us to pay, after letting him sit on our deposits for five-years to purchase the latest overweight electric car with two laptop screens in the dash in which we can read a book or fall asleep while the car plows into a tractor trailer. All because we just don't want to be involved in buying . . . or driving . . . anymore.
 
With respect for all moderators and the thankless job they perform:

Sorry for the continuity gap. Apparently one of my posts was removed for being "political" because I mentioned providing healthcare as a group for all humans.

What's "political" about that? I doubt a mention of the pros and cons of kill-free animal shelters would be deemed "political". Bringing aid to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico should not be "political" either. So what is it about healthcare being provided for all Americans that it must be "political"?
 
I would always think that if instead of blaming the customer for being uninformed, maybe trying to help them and using the vast amount of knowledge they had to assure a good value for the customer and a fair price for the salesperson (because after all, the person is probably making the biggest monetary commitment they will ever make besides buying a house) would have made everything much easier.

You are assuming that the salesperson does actually have a vast amount of knowledge of the product they are selling--many don't, these days. If you start asking questions, they are going to their laptop/table/phone to look up the answer (if it exists), just like you could have done at home.

There are bad customers as there are bad salespeople. There are probably more bad salespeople today because of the merging of individually owed dealerships into conglomerate groups which are only responsible to their shareholders and do not value the salesperson. The average tenure for a salesperson at a dealership these days is probably close to two-years. Automotive News states the turnover rate in 2013 year was 66%. That's 41% among luxury brands versus 73% for non-luxury dealerships, compared to 44% nationally in the private sector in general. It is not unusual for a salesperson to work 60-70 hours each week without salary. It's an awful job to start in without a customer base to support you. And you get only two instructions from your management and that is to call at least 40 people each day, and don't stop calling until you get an appointment. They don't care about building relationships or telling the truth. And they don't care whether a salesperson can make an honest living, either.

Commissioned retail sales (of all types--be it autos, homes, electronics or even food service) is a tough business--if you don't "sell", then you don't make any money, and neither does your boss, and you will quickly be looking for another job. That's why salesfloors, showrooms and open houses have become the "shark tanks" that they are--the customer is just a "mark"--your next commission check/mortgage payment/car payment/kids college fund, etc. The internet and corporate conglomerates have placed ever increasing pressure on personal retail salespeople to "meet the quotas".
 
No I don't, and never did. I've taken one and two-year-old Korean cars in trade and always found that to be the case. This thread came as no surprise to me. I do find it funny on the Hyundai site they offer an "accessory" spare kit with jack and wheel available through the local dealerships for $202.00. The tire is not included!

spare%20tire%20kit.jpg
I don't find it funny at all. I feel badly for the gentleman who bought two entry level Accents for delivery vehicles and thought they came with spares but at least Hyundai offers a solution for it. albeit at a cost. And, I can't blame him for assuming they came with spares for previously stated reasons.

I do, however, blame the sales staff for not informing him that he could purchase these items from them or, perhaps, they simply didn't know about this option. After all, expecting a salesperson, or apparently the entire staff at that dealership, to know their product and available options is a bit much I guess. ...or perhaps they simply didn't care. After all they already got the sale.

But, OTOH, for such a reasonably priced car, I'd say the availability, at no extra cost, of a 10 year/100,000 mile power train warranty more than offsets this inconvenience.

My main gripe, however, was with my kia salesman who, when hearing about my issues and reasons, refused to acknowledge the validity of my concerns and tried pissing on my shoes and trying to tell me it was raining. And, yes, this is why people will stop using salespeople and, as you say, "wal-marting" the industry.
 
My main gripe, however, was with my kia salesman who, when hearing about my issues and reasons, refused to acknowledge the validity of my concerns and tried pissing on my shoes and trying to tell me it was raining. And, yes, this is why people will stop using salespeople and, as you say, "wal-marting" the industry.

That, in a well worded concise sentence is exactly what I've been getting at. As an advertising agency, I've come across similar situations when a new client who isn't only new to me but also to advertising in general, is unhappy or confused. Buying time on TV and radio can get complicated and costs for commercial production can also be confusing.

You know whose fault it is when one of my clients is upset because he or she didn't foresee something? Mine.

And as the salesperson, it's my responsibility to make sure they don't feel like they are being treated unfairly. I bend over backwards if I have to, to make the client happy.
 
With respect for all moderators and the thankless job they perform:

Sorry for the continuity gap. Apparently one of my posts was removed for being "political" because I mentioned providing healthcare as a group for all humans.

What's "political" about that? I doubt a mention of the pros and cons of kill-free animal shelters would be deemed "political". Bringing aid to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico should not be "political" either. So what is it about healthcare being provided for all Americans that it must be "political"?

meh... it's probably a little too close to the precipice. I didn't see the post though. It's got to be hard moderating a bunch of opinionated audio geeks.
 
I don't find it funny at all. I feel badly for the gentleman who bought two entry level Accents for delivery vehicles and thought they came with spares but at least Hyundai offers a solution for it. albeit at a cost. And, I can't blame him for assuming they came with spares for previously stated reasons.

I do, however, blame the sales staff for not informing him that he could purchase these items from them or, perhaps, they simply didn't know about this option. After all, expecting a salesperson, or apparently the entire staff at that dealership, to know their product and available options is a bit much I guess. ...or perhaps they simply didn't care. After all they already got the sale.

But, OTOH, for such a reasonably priced car, I'd say the availability, at no extra cost, of a 10 year/100,000 mile power train warranty more than offsets this inconvenience.

My main gripe, however, was with my kia salesman who, when hearing about my issues and reasons, refused to acknowledge the validity of my concerns and tried pissing on my shoes and trying to tell me it was raining. And, yes, this is why people will stop using salespeople and, as you say, "wal-marting" the industry.

After my purchase, I gave the dealership a 5 star review simply because the salesman asked me nicely to do it, and I said sure. This is even though the dealership got the financing paperwork screwed up and I had to go there a second time to sign new set of papers.

When I sent my initial text to the salesperson asking if he felt he had a 'moral obligation' to have told me about the lack of a spare tire, his immediate response was "you didn't ask me, or else I should have told you", "we expect all of our customers to have done their homework", "buyer beware". It was a multitude of text responses. Since I had made two trips to the dealership and had spent considerable amount of time chatting with the Finance Manager, I only asked him if "buyer beware" are appropriate answers to a customer.

That was the extent of my communications. In the end what really bothered me was that the dealership did not offer to sell me spare wheels and that I was on my own to shop for identical rims which took me hours to find and wait two weeks to get the tires, which ironically was ordered from Walmart.

In the interim the car was laid up in our parking lot on a jack stand for the tires to arrive. Hyundai had roadside assistance that came with the new cars so we did not have to pay for the tow. Not that the dealership mentioned this to me either but our people found incidentally by calling the dealership service department for assistance with a spare tire which was not available locally.

Please note that I am a long term business owner and well versed in dealing with customers and vendors, especially in conflict resolutions. Which is why I started with a simple question rather than unloading on them. I did not negative 'Yelp" them either because their employees depend on that dealership for their living.

But trust me that with my one email to the dealership they took me very seriously, the reason being that I only raised one issue which was safety.
 
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I'd just like to interject an off topic story into this serious discussion to keep things light. :)

When I picked up my 'new' 2015 Civic last weekend, we signed all the stuff, they handed me the key fob and the wife and I headed out the door. But the fob would not unlock the car. Our salesman had told us he drives the same car - 2015 Civic. You guessed it: he gave me HIS key and had mine in his pocket! I said I didn't know they were running a buy one get one free deal...:rflmao:
 
I can see why the Australian gentleman previously in this thread called the inclusion of a sore tire a true safety issue. Maybe there are parts of the US where not having it is a safety issue. However in the parts of the country where 99% of the population lives, not having a spare tire is an inconvenience at it’s worst.
 
According to AAA, 28% of new cars in 2017 came without a spare.

For a full PDF list go here: Spare Tire Availability - 2017 Model Year

There's an article related to the above list, but it reads more like an infomercial to sell you AAA roadside service.

If you are interested in older cars, this list covers 2003 - 2015: Vehicles Sold Without a Spare Tire (2015)
This list is a bit more informative than the 2017 list, as it shows which cars have Run Flat Tires.

Interesting and timely topic, as My Wife and I just started car shopping. It will be interesting to see how the salesperson reacts when I ask "Can I see the spare?"
 
Here's a bit on the issue:

https://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/it-will-send-you-spare-20030427-13jxx

The interesting part about the rear spare tire forming part of the safety crush zone I hadn't considered. The car makers are often taking out a full size spare and putting in a space saver in the same well- all to save money.

Thanks for the link and an excellent article discussing both the cost and the vehicular aspects.
Never realized that temporary use tires are of different width and diameter.
 
Here's a bit on the issue:

https://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/it-will-send-you-spare-20030427-13jxx

The interesting part about the rear spare tire forming part of the safety crush zone I hadn't considered. The car makers are often taking out a full size spare and putting in a space saver in the same well- all to save money.

That's fine IMO because a space saver spare is still a spare. You can still run around town at 30 mph for a couple-three days without interruption.
 
Thanks for the link and an excellent article discussing both the cost and the vehicular aspects.
Never realized that temporary use tires are of different width and diameter.
Although we've been referring to these donut tires as spare tires, they are not replacement tires. They are intended for temporary, emergency use to allow one to drive to some place to get the "real" tire repaired or replaced. Generally, they are intended for emergency use only and recommended for < 50 mph for 50 miles or so. But, I've driven on a highway at about 60 mph from Sherman to Plano, Tx, about 50 miles, where I had the tire replaced. ...and held my breath the entire time.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/4-essential-things-to-know-about-the-spare-tire-in-your-car
 
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Never realized that temporary use tires are of different width and diameter.
In general, they have to be the same, or similar, diameter otherwise the ABS and other stability control systems will sense this an an error and either turn-off or malfunction. The sensors don't care about width.
 
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