[Aileen]

Hi
Not sure whether to purchase the spare wheel - the RAC package isn't great and I've heard the emergency kits don't work brilliantly (either that or the mechanics jus don't like having to use them) - someone suggested I just purchased the cheapest one I could rather than the official one?
Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I've ordered a Citroen one as an option/accessory to be on the safe side. It's only £75 which I don't think is too bad.

 

[Decepticus]

Personally, I didn't bother with the wheel. I feel it's more of a hindrance as one is fitted you can only drive for a set amount of miles at a certain speed. On my last car I had a puncture on a rear wheel in bad torrential rain whilst on holiday , and used a puncture sealant can to seal the puncture. Once I got back from holiday I took the car to my local tyre shop and had it fixed. I asked them there what they thought was the best option for future reference and was simply told to look at high end cars. Hardly any of them being spares anymore, just sealant cans. Ideally I'd fit run flat tyres on my cactus, but we will have to see.

 

[JohnC]

Don't know if it helps but here in turkey mine came with a spare wheel as standard which is a 185/55 R 15 so not a space saver type.

 

[Moro]

I don't have my car yet but in the UK brochure it is listed as a space saver, but I have ordered it anyway.

The car my Cactus is replacing has run flat tyres - the ride is so hard I would not choose them again. I know they are the problem, as my winter tyres are so much more comfortable.

The problem with not having a spare is that sometimes a tyre or rim can become so damaged that no amount of sealant will work...but I normally have a can of sealant for quick fixes.

 

[cactusjack]

I opted for the spare as I'm 'old school' and don't have faith in this 'new way' of dealing with punctures. After all, sealant will not fix a blow out which means you're stuck on the side of the road waiting for the breakdown Truck who will then have to take your wheel off and go and find a tyre garage before you can carry on. Personally I find that a pain, would sooner change the wheel and get my own tyre fitted/fixed atleast I can get going.

 

[journeyman]

just another citroen rip-off....you getn nowt off them you have to pay for everything its a joke,a mean no spare wheel how pathetic is that!!!....we give them our custom and then they just add to the price...nee cd player aswell all cars come with one free of charge but you have to buy it off citroen....and plz don't say mp3 use that...why!!!...RIP-OFF...COME ON CITROEN YOU TIGHT T..TS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DarkHorse]

Most cars these days don't come with a full size spare wheel. The best you get is a space saver spare, or a puncture repair gloop (which Citroen give you within the price). An extra £75 for a full size spare is a good deal. Like all car manufacturers there is pressure to keep price to a minimum.

Regarding a CD player, times have moved on, and many people don't use CD's anymore, but have their music digitally stored. Its the same thing that happened with the demise of tapes. I wouldn't want a CD player in any new car I brought, and if there was one, I would be thinking why am I paying for something I don't want or need.

Personally I don't see any problem here, and citroen are only giving the car buyers what a majority want.

 

[spinner]

Have to admit I thought "oh bugger" when I read there was no CD player then I realised how often I had ever used an incar CD player in the last 4 years.

Never........

 

[cactusjack]

If a new car I was looking at had a CD player in it I would think it was behind the times and why??, saying that my missus would like it cos she's a technophobe lol

 

[Stuzilla]

All good info everyone, can anyone answer these questions for me regarding spare wheel/repair?

1. Does the spare wheel from Citroen come with a jack?

2. If you use the puncture repair fluid, can the punctured still be repaired by a garage?

By the way re: CD player, I've ripped a lot of CD's to FLAC since I've had my Cactus, can fit over 20 albums on a 8gb USB memory stick, and it's the same quality as CD (lossless)!

 

[journeyman]

Most cars these days don't come with a full size spare wheel. The best you get is a space saver spare, or a puncture repair gloop (which Citroen give you within the price). An extra £75 for a full size spare is a good deal. Like all car manufacturers there is pressure to keep price to a minimum.

Regarding a CD player, times have moved on, and many people don't use CD's anymore, but have their music digitally stored. Its the same thing that happened with the demise of tapes. I wouldn't want a CD player in any new car I brought, and if there was one, I would be thinking why am I paying for something I don't want or need.

Personally I don't see any problem here, and citroen are only giving the car buyers what a majority want.

ooops looks like the clues in your name eh!!.......citroen spy maybe? you have an answer for everyone don't you "darkhorse" :lol:

 

[Guest]

All good info everyone, can anyone answer these questions for me regarding spare wheel/repair?

1. Does the spare wheel from Citroen come with a jack?

2. If you use the puncture repair fluid, can the punctured still be repaired by a garage?!

My Cactus is still on order but I have ordered a space-saver spare wheel. In the online handbook it shows a space for the spare wheel together with jack e.t.c. but this may be dependent on country.



I'm pretty sure the puncture can be repaired when you have used the repair kit, although I have heard of instances where some garages won't because of all the gunk.

 

[Rob]

I would go for the spare wheel option, buy a tin of foam for £5 from Asda too. That way if you're in somewhere that's difficult to change a tyre you at least have another option.

 

[Aileen]

Thanks very much for all the replies will have think.

Re the CD player, I'm now about to cough up £120 for an ipod I didn't expect to have to buy (and don't want), but I am a technophobe...or maybe after 8 hours in front of a computer each day downloading music jus feels too much like work :roll:

Thanks.

 

[adinet]

Originally ordered a spare wheel back in October with the original order. My main Citroen stealer? Has just rung me up three days before I pickup my cactus and tried to fob me off with a load of excuses that the spare wheel not now being offered by Citroen. Phone calls to Citroen UK have confirmed that the spare wheel IS AN OPTION that is still available. Although I suspect the dealers are somehow losing money on the deal. After yet another phone call back to the dealer, he is now back peddling like crazy. Oh, and by the way has anyone's cactus come with mats as standard as they along withe the boot liner are not listed as options anymore in the brochure or the configurater website.

 

[JohnC]

Aileen no need for an Ipod just get a USB stick for your music. These are relatively cheap and once you plug it in you just scroll down the albums on tye central screen to play the album you want.

Adinet mine came with carpet mats at the front, I purchased the set of rubber mats for inside and boot seperately from the dealer.

 

[Luga]

Hi Aileen, like you I am a technophobe but managed to put some music on a USB fairly easily. My first freebie USB didn't work but I bought a cheap one and it is great. It's easy to find and choose your music, the screen displays album covers for some of it too and it sounds great. It did take a while to load the first time. I plugged it in at the beginning of my 20 minute journey, and it was there by the time I arrived, but I don't know when it appeared.

Adinet, my car came with front, rear and boot mats and a large bouquet of flowers from the dealer, who was fantastic from start to finish.

 

[Aileen]

Thanks for info. re USB, that's sounds more up my street (queue, query on how you up load it :lol.

My car came with mats but no boot liner, it was a demonstrator though, so perhaps that's why. When I bought my last car, a Juke, the Nissan dealer gave me hee haw, it was a bit of a battle - had a far better experience with Citroën.

 

[geoffus]

Mine came with mats front and back. The driver one has the cactus name on it. The spare wheel question was something I spent ages with the dealer pondering about. In the end I decided not to get one. I was told that if you want one it has to be built in at the factory. You can't just get one later as it won't fit that space in the boot. The plastic thing in the boot that holds the tyre compressor and the towing hook looks like it should also hold a jack if you had one.