Hi everyone, new to the forum. I am very close to buying a 2004 Crossfire and I have a few questions about the lack of a spare that I haven't been able to find by search yet.

(1) I see some people carry an 18" spare on longer trips. Does that fit both the front and back?

(2) As far as an SLK320 spare, are there specific years that you have to look at? And I assume those fit both front and rear, is that wrong?

(3) I see people saying they get AAA. What do they do for you since you don't have a spare? Will they have to tow it or can they repair it? Assuming it's repairable.

I appreciate any input. Hoping to join as an owner soon.

 

The problem is that there is no place to put a spare (and a continental kit would block the spoiler). That said I do carry a can of Fix-A-Flat "just in case". If you really feel the need, and inflatable temporary spare uses the least space and just needs to be 26" diameter to use on all 4.


I just have "Century Plus" with AAA which includes up to 100 miles of towing. Have not needed it this century though.

 

If your're thinking of buying a cpe & not a conv. the SLK 320 M/B spare is what you need. I've had mine for many yrs. & it fits nicely in my 05 cpe. As you probably know it is a collapsible spare & gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing its there. Mine came from a 2002 SLK 320. Do a google search. That's how I found mine at a salvage yard out in Calif. For me this smaller type spare takes up little room since I don't need to carry luggage or other items except a small tool box for who knows what? I bought a tire cover for a travel travel in gray that makes it quite unnoticeable. The trunk will still accept a medium size suitcase if you do weekend runs or?

 

Is that tire fix kit in the trunk any good? Has anybody used it successfully? I would assume they go bad after a while as the chemical in the bottle probably goes bad with age or dries up (so my 2004 fix kit is probably worthless).
Anyways, I assume one option are run flat tires so you can at least limp in!

I seem to be haunted by bad luck when it comes to my Crossfire tires as I had two incidents so far (and before that never had a flat with any other car I have ever operated).
Here's the two times I had an issue and how it was resolved:

1) Firs time I bought Michelin Pilot Sport 2 (no run flats) at Sam's club and a day later took it on a drive from Tampa to Miami Beach. There was a construction site around the area of the apartment I was staying in but I had no chance of avoiding it. To make a long story short, I drove home and my tire blew completely on the highway. I have never seen something like this on brand new tires, torn to shreds! (Driver side - rear) So I called Sam's Club and under the Michelin warranty had a tow truck come out to Alligator Alley and tow my vehicle to the nearest Sam's Club in Naples. Biggest issue was that this was late in the day and they don't have our tires in stock as it's a special order so I had to stay in Naples overnight and hotel plus cab ride there and back was not covered.
I really have to give the manager of Sam's club credit however, he was extremely friendly and went great lengths to fix my issue as quickly as possible. They realized it would take 5 days for the tire to arrive and so he offered to call the local tire shops in the area to find if they can get the tire faster and they would take care of it. Sure enough, Tire Kingdom had the tire in Fort Myers and was able to bring it in by 10 AM the next morning!!

2) Just happened a couple of weeks ago. Had bought brand new Michelin Pilot Sports again from Sam's Club a couple of months ago. Came home from work at night and everything seemed perfectly fine but when I got to the parking lot in the morning the passenger side was completely flat. I didn't see any nails or anything and I would assume this would have been a good time to try out the tire fix kit but since I never tried it before I didn't want to do anything that might cause the warranty to lapse.
So again, called Sam's Club and had the car towed to the nearest store under the Michelin warranty. Unfortunately for me this time it took 5 days to receive the tire and so I was without a car for almost a week. They said something small and sharp must have ruptured the tire and that it was irreparable.

So both times I was happy to have the damaged covered under the Michelin warranty. Do other tires have the same service?
I do have AAA gold membership which would tow me for 150 miles if needed. The tire problem is definitely one of the worst parts about the Crossfire. I know the car looks awesome with the different sizes for front and back but it sure is a weak spot. Especially because most tire shops don't usually carry our tires in stock and they need to be ordered first so even if it's a warranty case it takes a while to receive the tire!

 

My AAA will tow up to 100 miles. This is enough to get back from either coast and I have spare wheels/tires/cars at home.


Mine has Contis that were on it when purchased so no warrenty. When needed I'll probably buy either BFGs or Michelins depending on how much driving I do.


Different sizes are obviously a styling touch & I have a minor concern about all of that rubber on the back in some of the frog stranglers we get but is conditions are really bad I probaably won't drive the XF.

 

I know off-topic but how did you like the Conties and which ones are you currently running?