Your Questions Answered: Do I buy a spare wheel or just rely on the tyre repair kit?

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My 2006 Mitsubishi 380’s metallic blue paintwork is flaking away and looks terrible. I really like the car, but would like it to tidy it up somehow. How much does a paint job cost these days? - Rob

Answer: Hey Rob, good on you for keeping the 380 on the road. Unfortunately, clear coat paint failure is a common problem on the 380.

The difficulty with getting old paint looking new again is that it is hugely time consuming and expensive to do well.

Sure, there are cheap respray outfits that advertise on social media for a full ‘closed door’ respray (meaning just the outside of the car, not including inside the boot, underbonnet or door jamb areas) for around $3000. 

These don’t include repairing any dents or rust, or much preparation (like smoothing flaking clear coat) at all. I haven’t seen such a paint job in the metal; I seriously doubt with your car’s already flaking paint that it would look much better.

As for a great paint job that made the 380 look like new... well you’d better budget for multiples of five figures, around $10k-$20k at a guess.

Even then, finding a good spray painter might not be easy or quick – it’s a dying art.

You could get a vinyl wrap instead, but even that would be about $5000 give or take, and would also need a smooth surface (that is, no flaking clear coat) to stick properly and look good.

Last choice: leave the flakey paintwork exactly as it is and call it ‘patina’!

I am a bit confused by capped price dealer servicing that is offered with most of the new SUVs we are looking at to buy. Some are for a shorter time period, like five years. Others say they offer capped prices for the lifetime of the car. Can you rely on the prices to cover everything that might need replacing in a car, over its lifetime? - Naomi

Answer: Hi Naomi, capped price servicing (CPS) was introduced almost 20 years ago by Toyota Australia and most other brands eventually followed.

It’s a transparent way of knowing what you will be up for in terms of scheduled servicing costs – before the charges were up to the individual dealer service centre; some would charge reasonably, others not so much.

Bear in mind it is only the expected, basic maintenance that the manufacturer deems is required under normal conditions. So CPS doesn’t include extra servicing typically required when towing, driving in dusty conditions, or even regular stop-start driving.

While CPS makes maintenance costs in the early years of new-car ownership a lot clearer, bear in mind it gets a bit wobbly if you intend to keep the car beyond the warranty period and/or do lots of kilometres.

Items like brake consumables and tyres – even replacement wiper blades – are normally not included as part of CPS; you’ll have to pay – sometimes a lot – extra for these.

I’m buying a new car that doesn’t come with a spare wheel, but some kind of tyre repair kit instead. I haven’t had a flat tyre for years, but should I try to source a spare tyre for it? I haven’t ever used a repair kit before - Ben

Answer: It’s a common dilemma, and tyre repair kits coming as standard instead of a spare wheel is becoming increasingly common.

It saves weight, frees up space and of course saves the manufacturer money over fitting a spare wheel. If you never leave the city, then a repair kit is a workable, just-in-case solution.  

These tyre repair kits basically insert a temporary sealant under pressure into the tyre via the valve to both inflate the tyre and plug the (small) puncture – you still need to drive to a tyre shop to get the puncture properly fixed.

If you do rural driving of any kind, then you risk having a tyre fail (as in a large puncture in the tread or gash in the sidewall) and being stuck on the side of the road.

It’s tow-truck time, unless you can talk someone into bringing you out a compatible spare wheel, wheel brace and jack.

Better to get a spare wheel for trips out of town. If boot space is tight, even a thin, 80km/h-limited space-saver is better than nothing.

You will also need a tyre changing kit (a wheel brace and jack). Make sure you do your research to get the right spare wheel for your car; they have to have correct, specific dimensions.

The views stated in this advice column are advisory only. Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

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