What Car? Q&A - Is a different sized spare wheel legal?

Q: My dad has just purchased a new car from a reputable dealer. During the sale he asked for the wheels to be upgraded from 16-inch to 18-inch rims. When he collected the car the new 18-inch wheels were in place.

However, now he has the car at home he has found that the spare wheel has not been upgraded to an 18-inch version, but is still a 16-inch wheel. He returned to the garage, but they will not entertain him. Surely this cannot be legal?
Kate Paton

A: Our legal advisor with the RAC thinks you have a strong case to go back to the dealership and insist that they supply an 18-inch wheel of the same design to use as a spare.

The Sales of Goods Act provides you with two good reasons for why they should do this. First, you can argue that the goods are not of satisfactory quality. While the wheel might be satisfactory in itself, it is no use when put alongside three 18-inch wheels.

Second, you can argue that they should stump up for an 18-inch wheel under the description of goods section of the act. While some cars come with space saving wheels, your particular model doesn't. So if you pay to upgrade to 18-inch wheels, the dealership needs to ensure that all wheels are of this size.

It is also highly questionable whether your 16-inch spare is legal with 18-inch wheels. Any vehicle built and approved after 1987 has to comply with ECE regulation 64 or community directive 92/23. These state that a temporary spare tyre has to be approved for use by the vehicle manufacturer.

A standard 16-inch wheel with 18-inch upgrade combination is highly unlikely to have been approved by a manufacturer.

We not recommend mixing tyre sizes, with the exception of an approved temporary spare that has been tested and approved by the vehicle manufacturer.