I was enquiring at my garage about replacing my steel spare wheel for a fullsize alloy. The quote for wheel and tyre was over £400! Does this sound realistic? Any opinions greatfully receied.

You will find the alloy WILL stick up into the boot as its wider than the steel spare and its a tight fit as I tried it once

I bought a spare alloy when I ordered my scout cost was ~£170 for the wheel (and £125 for a tyre from mytyres)

The Alloy does stick up a little which raises the boot floor a touch.

Mark

eBay would be my approach.

Proteus alloys are as rare as rocking horse muck so you've no chance of finding a used one.

It'll have to be brand new from a delaer unless you are very lucky...

Proteus alloys are as rare as rocking horse muck so you've no chance of finding a used one.

It'll have to be brand new from a delaer unless you are very lucky...

Its the same with Pegasus alloys too

What happens to the ones that are changed under warrenty as there must be plenty of them around ?

I'd just stick with the normal steel spare. After all it's only there for emergencies.

Seems a bit of a waste of money, IMO of course.

What happens to the ones that are changed under warrenty as there must be plenty of them around ?

They are refurbed and used for the next warranty claim.

I'd just stick with the normal steel spare. After all it's only there for emergencies.

Seems a bit of a waste of money, IMO of course.

+1, I've never understood the desire for a fifth alloy as a spare, the steel spare is only a short term solution until the original tyre can be repaired / replaced and then hidden in the boot for another few years.

Thanks for your thoughts, but the reason for asking is that Skoda UK advised me not to tow a caravan using the steel spare!( Ishould have stated this at the beginning. Sorry.)

Ah that changes things slightly then, but it is still OK to tow on the spare wheel...

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/non-standard-spare-wheels.html

I can see absolutely no reason for that advice whatsoever - the spare steel wheel, properly inflated, will be just as capable for towing as the 'proper' alloy.

Yes I agree, I tow a caravan and the first thing I asked for was a spare wheel and NOT a can of gunk, if the steel spare is a 'normal tyre' why does it have a 50mph speed sticker on it ?

^{I can see absolutely no reason for that advice whatsoever - the spare steel wheel, properly inflated, will be just as capable for towing as the 'proper' alloy.}

^{The steel spare supplied with a Scout is 16 inch - so different size to the normal alloys - which might be the reason for the Skoda UK advice.}

Yes I agree, I tow a caravan and the first thing I asked for was a spare wheel and NOT a can of gunk, if the steel spare is a 'normal tyre' why does it have a 50mph speed sticker on it ?

Although the wheel is a full size steel wheel with a normal tyre on it is a different size to the normal wheels. For the Scout the normal tyre is 225/50/R17 whereas the spare is a 205/55/R16 which gives a different rolling radius and could cause issues.

If you had 16 inch alloys then putting on a 16 inch spare steel wheel would be fine.