Convertible Boot Space

[steventon95]

I fear that old GM900 will probably have to go to before the next MOT in September. It needed some welding last time, the rear wheel arches are rusting, the aircon leaks like a baby and the rocker box covers leak oil onto the drive. It still goes like the proverbial but it would be a waste of time and money to keep her going, particularly as these old V6's are Not Approved of by the Saab Cognoscenti.

This is the second fun car so I may replace it with a Convertible of a (slightly) more recent vintage. For various reasons it should be one with the pop-up roll bars (is that post MY2004 or whenever?) and a petrol (I can't be having with all that 1.9tid nonsense). Is there enough space in one of these to put a real spare wheel? I have a deep distrust of space-savers but have a worry that the convertible boot is a bit weeny as the hood takes up a bunch of space.

All advice welcome

[sgould]

It's a saloon, but it's a bit different in being a four wheel drive one.  But that came with a full size spare under the floor.  I don't think that the others are much different.  But I could be wrong.

[Audax]

It's a saloon, but it's a bit different in being a four wheel drive one.  But that came with a full size spare under the floor.  I don't think that the others are much different.  But I could be wrong.

The boot floor for the N9-3 is the same part for the saloon and convertible. (Thread moved to the right part of the board)

[Max Headroom]

I just 'live with' the space-saver on mine.

While I too, dislike the idea of a space-saver, it is still better than not having a spare wheel at all - as some new cars have; or worse still, a next-to-useless repair/inflate emergency kit.

The space-saver is just to get me to the next tyre-fitting shop if I have a major drama damaging a tyre so badly it can't be used.
In other words, it would only be on the car for a few miles and not many minutes.

I think I can live with that when put into that context.

[Audax]

The space-saver is just to get me to the next tyre-fitting shop if I have a major drama damaging a tyre so badly it can't be used.
In other words, it would only be on the car for a few miles and not many minutes.

Even with that when we had a tyre shred it took us an hour to get somewhere we could put the space saver on (with the police escorting us as we had kids) once we did that we were only 30 miles from home but had no data coverage on our phones so we managed to call a family member up and get them to type some things into google and find us a kwik-fit that was en route to our destination (family part 90 miles away from home). We were lucky as by then we were late and it was 3pm on a Sunday, at other times we'd have had to complete the journey on the space saver and that wouldn't have been fun.

I can certainly imagine that if you live somewhere remote or travel at odd hours a full size spare would be desirable.

[sgould]

I went for a full size spare when I got a "free" one.

I use one of the winter tyres in the boot as a spare in summer, and a summer one in the boot in winter.

It was the thought of being on holiday in the south of France and waking up on Sunday morning and finding a puncture, with an 8 hour 500 mile drive and a ferry to catch.  Not possible with a skinny spare.  Even a new full size wheel and tyre is cheaper than a Sunday price for a tyre from a rescue service, an extra overnight stop and a charge for rearranging the channel crossing.