Just a word of warning if you are travelling abroad.....

[Smiffy]

DO NOT RELY ON THE "EMERGENCY TYRE REPAIR KITS" THAT YOU GET WITH "MOST" BRAND NEW CARS THESE DAYS!!

Just got home, four days late, from our French trip.
Everything was going well until the last night. Decided to skip the fishing and go out for a nice meal with Sam and my Daughter Lydia to celebrate, and as it was Bastille Day, to go and watch the fireworks afterwards.
We were leaving a tiny little village around 11.30pm when I stupidly hit a pothole/raised kerb and we suffered an immediate blow-out on my offside front tyre. Aforementioned emergency repair kit was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, and after about an hour we eventually managed to get hold of Peugeot European Assistance, who were a great help bearing in mind the time of night it was, and the fact that it was France's biggest bank holiday of the year.
They arranged for the car to be collected the following morning, and by the luck of god the Gite owner where we were staying was still up and kindly came out to pick us up.
She drove us back to the car the next morning where we were met by the tow truck driver who didn't speak a word of English.
I assumed he was going to load the car up, and take me with him to a local tyre fitter..... no chance.
He explained (as best he could) that it would take at least two working days to get a new tyre for the car due to the make and size being a bit unusual.
The Gite owner (Lyn) took us back to the Gite and luckily she had additional accommodation that she could let us use until we were ready to come home.
For four days we were stranded 15kms from the nearest town with no way of leaving for even the basics.
I spent that time worried that they might find something wrong with the alloy wheel too, as we had really hit this kerb with a fair old clatter. That would have been doubly expensive!
Finally got the car back late on Tuesday afternoon and arrived home last night at 6pm absolutely knackered.
All in all cost me the best part of 400 euros what with the cost of the tyre and the additional administration charges made by the ferry company (DFDS). It would have cost us a lot (lot) more had Lyn not had the spare accommodation.
So next year when I go I am making sure that I take a spare wheel with me (even one of those stupid space-savers would have helped us out of the situation) PLUS I must make sure I learn a bit more basic French. I was embarrassed at my inability to make myself understood to all those concerned.
Luckily I have a friend in England who is French, as she made a few phone calls to the garage on our behalf and kept up informed to what was going on.

 

[Imurg]

My nearside front tyre gets a lot of abuse, for obvious reasons, and these days a spare is rare..
I got the spray kit with the car but went straight out and bought a space saver and Jack for £100. No good for going on a test but it'll get me to a tyre shop. I do a fair bit of work out in the sticks and it would be a nightmare to be miles down a country lane with a sidewall blowout and no spare.
Planning on keeping the same style of car for a while so, over the life of the cars ( hopefully a good long while!) The cost is negligible.
It's all in the name of saving weight and cost.
A bad move I think.

Glad you got back ok Rob👍

 

[CliveW]

Having travelled to Europe several times now in a classic car, my advise to anyone driving abroad is not to rely on any motoring assistance provided by insurance companies, banks or manufacturers. Instead take out RAC European Cover which in the past has proved invaluable.
During my last trip to Le Mans, I had a fuel pump issue and at the same time two others in my group had breakdown issues. I called the RAC who had an english speaking mechanic with me within an hour and my car was back at the Chateau within two hours where the mechanic carried out a repair which was good enough for me to drive home via Zeebrugge.
The other two, who were relying on their insurance provided cover, both had their cars uplifted by a non-english speaking tow truck driver, who took their cars to a compound more than 20 miles away from where we were staying. Because it was a weekend, they couldn't access their vehicles until the Monday and then had to get their cars to a garage for repair, where thankfully with much hand gesturing and miming, their cars were fixed.
I guess the moral of the story is take out the best breakdown cover you can when travelling abroad, rather like medical insurance. Pay the basic, and that's what you'll get.

Holiday memories!!!

 

[Tashyboy]

Just come back from the cambodian temples north of siem reap. anyway nearly wet me pants seeing a tuk tuk with one of its back wheels rolling down the road having fell off.