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No Spare Tire

27K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  th77046 
#1 ·
I've been lurking around this site for a few months. Tomorrow I am finally going to pull the trigger and pick up a new LTZ. Only problem is that it does not come with the spare tire. I took the jack, lug wrench, and space saver spare out of the 04 Pontiac Aztek that I am trading in. Anyone know where I can check to ensure the bolt pattern is the same on both vehicles? I suspect it fits but want to be sure.

Thanks, CoKTM
 
#3 ·
I checked with the dealer. He said he could get it for $300 something. If the Aztek spare id the same lug pattern I should be good to go.

CoKTM
 
#4 ·
After a little poking around on the internet I found a site that showed both vehicles are 5X115 and have the same offset. I should be good to go. Now I just need to see how it mounts in the car and set it up so it mounts solid without any rattles.
 
#6 ·
Starship, thanks for the info. I did some more digging and you are correct. Different bolt patterns. Guess I'll be hitting the junkyards.
 
#10 ·
That may be easier said than done. With the end of the month coming up, CoKTM may have signed the buyer's order already. You can't demand something else once you do that.

What I don't understand is where the $300 figure is coming from. The MSRP for the compact spare, jack asssembly, and retainer hardware is ~$300 total. Either CoKTM got a killer deal on the car or the dealer is being too greedy.
 
#17 ·
I got a great deal on the car and did not figure it was worth the effort to deal on the spare. I was guessing that the spare from the Aztek would fit so it would not be a big deal. Turns out it does not fit but I still have tha Aztek jack and spare. I suspect I can work a deal at a junkyard and trade the Aztek spare plus a bit of cash and get what I need pretty cheep. In the end I am sure I can still beat the $100 option price. The $300 something price is to get all the parts through the parts department. That's a deal that I have no interest in. Does onyone know what other vehicles have the same bolt pattern as the malibu? I'll do a little searching so I can get more options on which wrecks to look for.
 
#18 ·
It's none of my business but I assume you had taken the stuff out of the Aztek before the appraisal. Karma aside, the jack and spare tire are really much more valuable to the next owner. I have personal experience in getting a flat and then finding out the sleazy used car dealer had thrown a wrong jack and spare tire in the trunk.

Other cars built on the same platform include Saturn Aura and 2005 MY and on Pontiac G6.
 
#19 ·
Does onyone know what other vehicles have the same bolt pattern as the malibu?
Check out the other epsilon vehicles, Aura and G6 to expand your search.


Does anyone know if a full size fits in the cubby hole? You might also budget $100 with the trade in to try and score a full size spare to carry around. I was thinking about doing that. Some are for and some are against, but when you put mega miles on is when the tire goes, and I've gotten flats upwards of 1K miles from home. donutting is not an option then.
 
#22 ·
Not to stick my nose in here either, but I think the point was that the dealer may know, care, etc... but in the end they won't pass that info on and the person to get screwed down the road will be the old lady who buys the "pre-owned" Aztek from the stealer.

But I am admittedly hesitant to use morals when dealing with a stealer, just saying :)
 
#24 ·
When i bought my 09 it didn't have a spare. I just explained that i expect every car to come with one and that i wasn't told otherwise, and they ordered me one soon after free of charge! maybe i just have a friendly dealer.
gotta love the minnesota nice
 
#25 ·
Minnesota, Florida, "Everywhere but here" lol...
 
#26 ·
I must say that I am severely disappointed that GM has gone the route of charging for spare tires in order to try and make an extra buck.

My car came with one, which is now sitting in the closet b/c I don't feel like hauling around the extra 50lbs of weight on my daily drive. Besides, that's what roadside assistance is for anyways.
 
#27 ·
I've had three flat tires on my 2013 Malibu in the last 6 months -- I think I had three flat tires on all my cars in the last 25 years before this Malibu! The first one was a screw, and the goo fixed it so I could drive it. The second was a key, and the air compressor got me to the dealership. This last time, I blew a tire out on a pot hole, and no goo or air compressor could have helped me. And, I had to wait 2 hours for a tow truck, and the driver said that I was his third Malibu that morning. I got a free tow courtesy of GM, but had to buy a new tire. A spare certainly would have come in handy. I can understand why GM doesn't want to include spares, but if they had only used good tires in the first place, I wouldn't have needed one.
 
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