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You have rented a car for a long journey. Everything has been fine until now. One of the tyres has become flat and you cannot drive on it. Worse still, you have discovered that there is no Spare Tyre in the car. If you do not have breakdown cover yourself this situation has the potential to be a logistical and financial nightmare. At least if you had a spare tyre you could drive to a garage and have the flat tyre repaired or replaced.

You may think that the onus is on the rental company, to provide spare Kumho tyres, or whichever make they use for their fleet. In fact, rental companies often do not provide spare tyres with cars. This is why you need to take responsibility when you rent a car; so you do not end up stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Why checking for a spare tyre is vital
You can see the problems which can occur if you do not have a spare tyre in the vehicle you rent. This is why it’s so important to check if there is a spare, before you sign the rental agreement. Do not forget that it’s up to you whether you accept a car that is offered to you. If there is no spare tyre in the car you are offered you are completely within your rights to ask for a different car.

What about the tyre that is flat?
If you make sure that there is a spare tyre in your rental car then at least you can continue driving it until the flat tyre is repaired or replaced. But what happens about paying for the flat and any resulting damage? You may be surprised to learn that you are responsible for all the costs incurred.

This is why it’s a good idea to check the condition of the tyres on the vehicle at the same time as you check for a spare. If you identify an issue then you can just raise it with the rental company and ask for a different car. Once you have left the rental company premises, you are responsible, should a flat occur. This can even be the case if the tyre was already damaged before you rented the car. In this case, the rental company should be liable but it can be difficult proving the damage was already there.

Obviously, you hope that the car you have rented does not develop a flat tyre, but these things do happen. Checking the tyres of the car before you rent helps to reduce the chances. Checking for a spare helps to prevent you from being stranded with no means of transportation. Hopefully, we have made you think a little more carefully about the car hire process. Never take the condition of the tyres on the vehicle you are renting for granted. It’s always a good idea to check.

The post What Happens if Your Rental Car Does Not Have a Spare Tyre? appeared first on Travel Experta - Specializing in Unique International Family Travel.