[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

... <good stuff> ...

...and I take the spare out of my vehicles nowadays. Out of probably a dozen or so flats, the only one that couldn't be repaired with a plug kit and inflator was when I launched sideways off a gravel road, landed sideways in a farm field, and pulled the tire off the rim.

Thursday a piece of road debris took a chunk, down to the steel belt and tear into the sidewall. So I decided to try "road service" and lesson's learned:

• Never leave home w/o a cell phone - the tow service has a keypad response, phone system. On the third call to BMW service, built into the car, I asked the service rep to do a three-way with the road side service and handle the keypad responses.
• EV air conditioning saved the day - it was in the low 90s and the tire failure occurred 50 yards (~47m) from a parking lot exposed to the sun. After the first hour, I began to think about hailing a cab. The second hour, called again,"15 minutes away." The third hour, it was getting close to 5 PM. At 4:30 PM, the tow truck arrived.
• BMW Service Center stayed open - the service rep called it an emergency and they replaced the tire, $232, tire, labor, sales tax, and fees.

Yes, I was planning on a spare tire and jack. Now just watching eBay to get a good deal.

Bob Wilson