I am thinking of purchasing a new Rav4 and have been told by a salesman that they do have a a spare tire. Instead, the car is equipped with tires that can go 50 miles on a flat. Are these tires any good. And is it really wise to not have a spare.
I’m assuming you meant that you were told RAVs ‘do not’ have a spare tire.
I’ve never seen a RAV4 without a spare tire. It hangs on the back door in plain sight (under a cover).
these 50 mile flats are fine for city driving, but it you lived way out up here, you wouldn’t want to have a flat any time soon.
They all look like this - http://0.tqn.com/d/trucks/1/0/P/R/06_rav4_rearside.jpg
Some of the older RAVs had a soft cover.
Yes, I meant to write that the new ones do not have a spare tire. Nothing on the back door, nothing in the cargo area. Would you buy it?
Interesting. That change really is a surprise to me.
I would prefer to have a spare tire but I suppose the answer depends on the kind of driving you do and the odds of getting a flat tire over 50 miles from a place where you would be able replace the tire.
Aside from that issue, I really like my 2009 RAV4 and would recommend it to anyone who is considering buying one.
There is no indication that the RAV has or is going to have anything but a full sized spare. Perhaps that particular dealership has put run-flat tires on their RAVs? I wouldn’t buy a vehicle with run flat tires.
I looked it up. The dealer was telling the truth. The 2011 RAV4 has been redesigned and there is no spare.
Check this out.
No spare on a vehicle that’s touted as being an off-road vehicle.
That’s just. . .Stupid.
Upon further review - it seems that the ‘No Spare’ is an option offered in certain RAV4 models.
Along with my earlier link, which refers to the ‘Sport Model No-Spare’ option, This link refers to an ‘under body’ spare.
So do these have “run-flat” tires??? NEVER buy a car with run-flats. They’re very expensive to replace. Buy a car with regular tires.
I agree with Goldwing, I will buy no car with ‘run flat’ tires, they’ve proven troublesome everywhere they’re used. I also will not buy a Rav4 with the spar on the back, because it blocks some of the rear view, and mostly because it’s the bumper, back up into something and it pushes in the tire/wheel, messing up the whole rear door. I’ve seen a few driving around like that. So I guess I’d only consider a Rav4 with the underfloor spare and regular tires.
Most salesmen are there to sell cars, not to provide any truth in their answers 
Several cars don’t have spare tires, I know a Miata and even some Mercedes will give you a can of Fix-A-Flat to throw in your car for that flat tire you might get.
I wouldn’t buy a vehicle with run flat tires. The tires are very expensive to replace, you have to find a tire shop that can deal with them (or take it to the dealer), and on some vehicles, you often have to replace the rims with the tires because they are virtually impossible to deal with. I know this was a problem with some of the Honda Odyssey Tourings. I know I wouldn’t want to pay $2000+ every 40k miles for new rims and tires.