Last Sunday I was driving back from lunch when the back end of my C2S began to slew around. It was obviously a puncture but I was on a high twisting hill that climbs from Souda Bay (Chania, Crete) to the Akrotiri and there was no where to pull off for a mile or so. Night was falling and what I had always dreaded was beginning to unfold i.e. the changing of a back wheel and replacing it with the blow up saver tyre.
Still, how hard could it be?
I initially used some tyre weld in the hope I might be able to seal the punctured tyre and then blow it back up using the compressor. After thirty minutes of faffing (good Scottish word) around it was obvious the tyre was not going to re inflate.
It was now dark and I had to remove the CD six changer unit - simple - to pull out the saver tyre. Attaching the compressor I began to inflate it but to my surprise only half the tyre seemed to expand. I'd previously watched a You Tube video of someone blowing up a 993 saver tyre so knew what to expect - this wasn't it!!
It was hard to find the jacking point under the car but I finally did and took some weight off the deflated tyre and then tried to remove the five studs. The first couple unloosened okay but the fourth and fifth broke at the head i.e. sheared off. The bolts were new two years ago but it looked like they were aluminum heads which seemed a little strange.
Now totally pissed off I called the owner of the garage who had done the 'rat repair' and asked him if he could arrange a tow truck. Unbelieveably, the truck arrived fifteen minutes later and within half an hour the car was offloaded at the garage.
The following day he called to say he'd snapped two further studs when trying to remove the other back wheel. Obviously a major problem was unfolding.
The upshot was he recommended I buy two new tyres but once he checked the front two suggested I needed all four replaced. Of course, this is Crete Greece where everything costs an arm and a leg so I was dreading the phone call telling me the cost. It took him a further couple of days to track down four Continental Sport N2 rated tyres from the Porsche dealer in Athens. Remember, this is a closed shop society and one man usually owns the franchise for Porsche, BMW, Ferrari etc.
The four tyres came in at an eye watering €1150 (£1000). The 20 new steel studs came in at a far more reasonable €40 (£35). Of course, the sheared studs had to be drilled out at another garage so three tows i.e. one off the hill and then two more to and from the second garage. Again though, a pretty reasonable €100 (£87) for all three moves. The labour cost to do everything (12 hours) was again a very reasonable €150 (£130).
So, total cost to change the four tyres came in at €1450 (£1260).
Something I wasn't aware of is Continental Sports have the date of manufacture on the rim. The garage owner pointed out that my new tyres were formed in October 2011.
This might be something everyone should note when buying new tyres i.e. when were they manufactured. This is important here on Crete because the 300 days of strong sunshine takes its toll on rubber, wood, plastic etc. In fact, if you leave cheaper cars outside all year round the paint will fade and then peel.
And just to make my day, I picked up the car this morning and bombed back along the National Highway, screamed down the Suda off ramp and into the arms of a police road stop. Fearing the worst - because the car is not registered here (they wanted €65,000 to legalise it) and they could impound it - I got out and said 'Hello' in my best plummy English accent. The cop looked at me, looked at the plate and asked if I was English. I nodded and he told me to get on my way!!
Suffice to say it was a good job I was wearing a heavy brown pair of Chinos!!
TD
Still, how hard could it be?
I initially used some tyre weld in the hope I might be able to seal the punctured tyre and then blow it back up using the compressor. After thirty minutes of faffing (good Scottish word) around it was obvious the tyre was not going to re inflate.
It was now dark and I had to remove the CD six changer unit - simple - to pull out the saver tyre. Attaching the compressor I began to inflate it but to my surprise only half the tyre seemed to expand. I'd previously watched a You Tube video of someone blowing up a 993 saver tyre so knew what to expect - this wasn't it!!
It was hard to find the jacking point under the car but I finally did and took some weight off the deflated tyre and then tried to remove the five studs. The first couple unloosened okay but the fourth and fifth broke at the head i.e. sheared off. The bolts were new two years ago but it looked like they were aluminum heads which seemed a little strange.
Now totally pissed off I called the owner of the garage who had done the 'rat repair' and asked him if he could arrange a tow truck. Unbelieveably, the truck arrived fifteen minutes later and within half an hour the car was offloaded at the garage.
The following day he called to say he'd snapped two further studs when trying to remove the other back wheel. Obviously a major problem was unfolding.
The upshot was he recommended I buy two new tyres but once he checked the front two suggested I needed all four replaced. Of course, this is Crete Greece where everything costs an arm and a leg so I was dreading the phone call telling me the cost. It took him a further couple of days to track down four Continental Sport N2 rated tyres from the Porsche dealer in Athens. Remember, this is a closed shop society and one man usually owns the franchise for Porsche, BMW, Ferrari etc.
The four tyres came in at an eye watering €1150 (£1000). The 20 new steel studs came in at a far more reasonable €40 (£35). Of course, the sheared studs had to be drilled out at another garage so three tows i.e. one off the hill and then two more to and from the second garage. Again though, a pretty reasonable €100 (£87) for all three moves. The labour cost to do everything (12 hours) was again a very reasonable €150 (£130).
So, total cost to change the four tyres came in at €1450 (£1260).
Something I wasn't aware of is Continental Sports have the date of manufacture on the rim. The garage owner pointed out that my new tyres were formed in October 2011.
This might be something everyone should note when buying new tyres i.e. when were they manufactured. This is important here on Crete because the 300 days of strong sunshine takes its toll on rubber, wood, plastic etc. In fact, if you leave cheaper cars outside all year round the paint will fade and then peel.
And just to make my day, I picked up the car this morning and bombed back along the National Highway, screamed down the Suda off ramp and into the arms of a police road stop. Fearing the worst - because the car is not registered here (they wanted €65,000 to legalise it) and they could impound it - I got out and said 'Hello' in my best plummy English accent. The cop looked at me, looked at the plate and asked if I was English. I nodded and he told me to get on my way!!
Suffice to say it was a good job I was wearing a heavy brown pair of Chinos!!
TD
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