Anyone seen my spare?

My dad lost a wheel when it was in the holder underneath his Zafira. Or, maybe that should read that he had one stollen!

Also, recently, I watched 2 blokes nick the man over the roads spare from underneath his 4x4 pickup. Wouldnt have been cheap to replace.

Its a good idea in some respects, but I think they need to be made safer and stronger.

What a nice neighbour you are.

You obviously live in a nice neighbourhood where asking scum to stop causes them to stop, and they don't take every opportunity to cause havoc.

In the time it took me to go from my garage side door into the house and back to the garage again last night my bike and pressure washer just vanished. When loading your car around here if you leave your boot open that empties itself as well. After a holiday while we were re-unpacking the car, again while in the house and during daylight we got back to the car to find a smashed window and a missing bag.

Well, if the police were to have come quicker, maybe they would have been caught!!!

Why should I go out there and risk getting abuse?

Tim S Kemp ( snipped-for-privacy@timkemp.karoo.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Have you considered moving house?

I left the house & car keys in the ignition of one of the cars the other night, with the window open. No problem.

I've left the garage door open overnight before. No problem.

The message from Adrian contains these words:

This place is supposed to be really rough - Woodside in Telford. We were even advised not to move here - but we've had very little trouble in three years. Couple of times we've had kids knock at the door and tell us we've left keys in the car door.

We had the garage broken into but that wasn't as well locked as it should have been and my old Maestro sitting next to the garage has been played in - but that's about it.

Jeez, mate, where do you live?

I'd like to know so that I don't become your neighbour one day!

Adam H

Anyone see that prog on Channel 4 last night about the bloke sailing round Britains Atlantic coastline. He stopped at the Scillies and found that virtually no-one locks their car doors and a few even leave the keys in the ignition. Mined ewe how far can a car thief go there?

-- Malc

Too right. I rang the police about it, but they wernt too worried really.

We have 4 cars on our drive, and dont fancy getting them smashed up either.

spare wheel. This was no major >problem and it was allowed for in the price. A donation of £3 to a local scrappy solved things but I am hesitant

can be retrieved very easily by just >pushing a catch and down it falls. My worry us that this seems too easy and I plan to drill a hole and put a pin or >padlock in. Maybe I'm paranoid but the kids in our area will take anything not nailed down just for the fun of it. I >would prefer the spare to be inside the boot (as it is now) even if this meant it was harder to get at when needed.

spare from one?

Had a 5 turbo a few years ago and the basket holding the spare wheel got bolt cropped so a padlock isn't going to help much. Only noticed when I set off and heard the thing trailing on the floor.

Went to Cyprus last year - that's the same sort of attitude there. Perhaps it's to do with the fact villagers would probably tie the perp to a tree and set them on fire. I think it's to do with community and ppl looking out for one another, just doesn't happen here mostly. Blame it on the rat race.

I hired a 'jeep' in the Canaries a few years ago. Everything that could be removed was chained to it - even the bonnet was padlocked closed.

So it's not much to do with being a smallish island.

Holidaying chav scum then

Never has on mine - I've never cleaned it either

Only if you're in a field!. You never mentioned the fact that the design is far better for your back as you dont have to lift the wheel out of the boot. It also allows for a solid metal flat boot without loads of ridges. You can also change the spare wheel if the boot is full (Ie suitcases, shopping, dogs). It has one slight flaw, when you are putting it back, but that it is. Admit defeat to the French, man - it's a better design ;)

No easier or more difficult than any other

The message from Johannes H Andersen contains these words:

You don't need to. By the time you come to use the spare it'll have been nicked anyway.

It always gets full of road spray and salt, meaning the rim rusts very badly, and does not seat properly on the hub, giving rise to possible wheel loss.

It is far, far easier on your back lifting a spare out of the boot, than trying to get the spare back into the frame, then try and lift it with one hand while trying to get the frame back onto the hook with the other hand!

Also for some reason they do not put a bolt head on the lift/lower screw, instead having a bloody silly rounded slot type thing, which is almost impossoble to operate with anything other than the end of the jack handle (which is ussually missing!) and even then you can only get 1/2 a turn on it before the handle slips out.

Like anyone ever does!

Does anyone else feel the quick release basket is a bad idea?

This is mostly seen on French cars. Yes I dislike this system because the spare wheel gets full of mud & road dirt. And if you need to change wheel, you'll also get very dirty. And how do you check the air pressure in the spare?

Thanks but I think I'll continue to blame it on the justice system. It just doesn't pay to get involved anymore. Even if the police show interest (highly unlikely... they have given up as well) and the perpetrators are caught they are just set loose again within hours. Then they come looking for you and if you defend yourself or your property you end up in court. In your case the courts are not so easy going.

The vast majority of crime is carried out by very few people. Until the justice system takes these off the streets the country will just continue in its downward spiral.

Civilisation is very precarious. Law and order only exist because of the fear of the consequences. Now when you are caught the consequences are minimal. The chances of being caught are even less.

We need to find a new large island (like Australia) and start shipping people out again. The good old US 'Three strikes and your out' attitude. The age of criminal responsibility also needs looking at.

Vin. (feeling a bit better for the vent)

Yes, this has been the French design for ages. I can imagine a 2CV full of a large family and suitcases in the 1950's, but nowadays every member of the family have their own car, the boot is rarely full of anything. And just in case the family go out together, they take the Renault Espace of course.

The French are clever and have many brill ideas, but this one is past it's sell-by-date.

Well you have to drop the spare out.