I realized I am still paying for my AAA membership even though my wife and I both have the Roadside Service now. I suppose its worth it in the end since it saves us here and there on discounts but it did lead us to a debate this weekend.

If you got a flat tire - change yourself or call roadside assistance? My wife feels its too lazy to call for help given that we are both physically able to operate a jack however my feeling is that I paid for it I might as well use it and not take any chances getting hit by a stray car. I may feel lazy doing it but in the end I would call for assistance.

 

the thing with calling is that they take at LEAST 45 min to an hour...whereas you can change your own in 20 min tops. They only reason I'd call is if I didn't have my spare in the trunk and needed a tow.

 

This really depends on the situation and how long the ETA is on the RSA. I personally have changed the tire. It only happened once. Everytime I call RSA (both times) ETA was in excess of an hour. But they got my car unlocked once.

 

Either way really .... If roadside gives me a 1 hr wait time, I'd probably do it myself.
Then again, who here checks the air pressure on the spare ?? I don't
I'd try roadside/aaa first to get a handle on time and then decide.

But your point on being safe is well taken ..... I'll do it only if it is safe to do so ...... its ok to wait 1 hr rather than get hit !

Now you know why I didn't vote in the poll !

 

i think we all agree that the poll needs a 'depends' option.

likewise- If your old enough to be wearing "Depends", I suggest you call AAA/Roadside Assistance.

 

lol your wife says it's lazy to call, and you think you should call because you paid for it. seems like it should be the other way around. be a man, change your own tire. jk it really depends on where you are, what you're doing, what you're wearing, and where you're goin.
say if you were in a business suit and it's 100 degrees outside, no way i'm changing it on my own.

 

If it's female, then please call. I hate seeing women doing that and if I see, I will try to help.
If it's male, please act like a man. DIY

 

But like he said, it depends...

If it's on a 1-lane highway or it's snowing or some ****, I'll wait and call. I'd rather have the guy come and tow me out of the way than get bonked by traffic because I wanted to be a man...

And it depends on your brakes too... if you bug out and your spare won't clear your BBK, then you're calling for the tow. Either that or changing two tires instead of one.

 

i guess it would depend on how i feel at the moment, if im late for somehting or not etc. but i have aaa so ill probably just call them and have my car towed to my mechanic/tire shop and get it done on the spot.

 

While sitting comfortably at my desk typing on my PC, my initial reaction to your poll is "call Roadside assistance". However, in practice, I will likely change the tire myself. Throughout the years, in my past 3 cars (one had AAA and the other had a roadside assistance program like Infiniti's), I've had about 6 to 8 flat tires. Each time, I've replaced them myself. Once you get a flat tire, you think "should I wait an hour or more for help, not knowing exactly when they will come", or do I get dirty and replace it myself? Once, I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, it was raining, about 40 degrees F outside, and I got a flat. I replaced the tire in less than 10 minutes, a personal record. Granted, I was miserable afterwards (no raincoat), but got going right away.

Another issue is, not everyone is good about inflating their spare tire. Personally, I don't always check the spare tire when I inflate my other tires. The spare is hidden underneath the trunk, and when you're in a hurry to get going, having to check it is a pain. Would be great to have a tire pressure monitor (which will actually tell you the actual pressure) for the spare tire!!

 

Depends - I voted Infiniti, but it depends on a) whether I'm dressed for work vs. jeans etc., and b) how long they would take. I would guess my wait tolerance is about 20 minutes for a flat.

 

Yep... or if you find the flat while you're doing something. Once I got to where I was going and then got a flat, right as I parked... hit a nail or some other crap.

I called roadside and the guy came and did his thing while I was busy, then I came back to sign the paperwork and stuff.

If it's at home or something and I'm not in a rush then I'd do it myself...

 

How about using one of those tire-fix inflation cans? That should get you to the shop

 

Why would anyone that pays for roadside assistance want to change his/her
own tire? WTF that's why I put out all that $ every year, to have that
service available to my family. Not only that but I have extended mileage
service with AAA because of what it cost me on one of my trips to Vegas.