Had a nasty experience down a country lane the other night. Steering felt all wrong. Stopped & found a puncture in front passenger side wheel. I've never examined the jack before nor familiarised myself with the "changing wheel procedure" in the handbook. End result it slipped off the jack & put a nasty dent in the sill!

 

My fault - I'm not blaming anybody else, - I should have wised up. But it was dark and I'm on the edge of an unlit road. I don't know whether I didn't locate the jack properly on the underside of the sill, or whether the ground under the jack was too soft. But the jack does seem a flimsy thing, & I wondered if something more substantial was available. (I don't want to haul a trolley jack about). 

Any way it could have been worse, luckily the wheel was still in place, otherwise I would have been the ****, with the hub resting on the ground, miles from anywhere with no mobile signal.

If anybody has replaced the feeble jack with something better, please say with what.

DEREK

You should be able to track down a proper portable jack, one that sits square on the ground, rather than the crappy scissor types. Scrapyards are useful, as they sell off the ones in any scrap cars.

 

I'd also recommend a nice flat, square bit of wood to support the jack so there is a nice stable surface under it.

 

Also always jack on the raised ridge further in on the sill. I accidentally missed it on my trolley jack today and put a very small dent in the bodywork as I jacked up on the weaker part... whoops!

I really wasnt sure what to expect to see when i read this topic title..........     i dont trust the standard jack so i carry a trolley jack in the boot of my octavia. 

This has happened to atleast 2 other members on here iirc, so your not alone

You can never be too carful when using jacks

ring skoda assist free for 3 years 

This happened on my fabia too ! Dented the sill although I've done the same on the golf

I joined the club a couple of years ago.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/2-tonne-bottle-jack/54957  - site is down at the moment but this appears to be £12.99... I can remember my work Dads Daihatsu Fourtraks coming with this type and used them often enough as a teen, though the Daihatsu ones used to require you to turn a handle iirc.

I did this last year when I changed my wheels over,I felt like a right c**k

just to be contrary, even though my last puncture was with my old grande punto (two cars ago!) I change my winter /summer wheels twice a year for the last 2 years with no issues (and an extra change last year for borrowed wheels/tyres for the czek trip!) it was all on my driveway in relaxed conditions though, not on the side of a road in the dark!

http://www.screwfix.com/p/2-tonne-bottle-jack/54957  - site is down at the moment but this appears to be £12.99... I can remember my work Dads Daihatsu Fourtraks coming with this type and used them often enough as a teen, though the Daihatsu ones used to require you to turn a handle iirc.

This link to the Screwfix Bottle jack seems to be the ideal solution. At that price I will definitely be getting one.

Thanks for that Dan.

Before you buy a jack, especially a bottle jack decide which jacking point/position you are going to be using front and rear 

at the roadside to change a tyre.

Be sure you are happy you can get the jack under that point and operate by pumping up and down the handle to get the car up,

and down again turning the valve.

 

I carry a bottle jack and a not very heavy trollet jack in a plastic  case.

Neither get used really at a road side, and a bottle jack is never trusted once a wheel is removed.

No jack is trusted really, and i shove a wheel under the car (the spare) as one is removed and swap it over PGQ if nothing else is there to use in case the car does drop.

 

Lifting a 4x4 with a separate chassis & plenty of other places under leafs or coils, axles etc, and the aid of a block of wood ,

is different from lifting a car with not the strongest of structures.

 

george

I took a look at a bottle jack today, wouldn't inspire my confidence without a stand to move the car onto quickly.

Thanks for all respondents to my problem. I would only ever use a jack in an emergency situation, such as occurred last Thursday night. I didn't really have an alternative, bearing in mind the location on a dark unlit B road, & no mobile signal. I am still tempted by the bottle jack  mentioned by Dan. It's got to be a big improvement on the OEM.

 

It is only my second jacking incident in over 50 years of motoring history. The first concerned a 1962 Series 1 E type. I suffered a front tyre blow out at well over a ton on M1 near Leeds (no 70mph limit then). Again I was not familiar with the jacking arrangements, and proceeded to jack it up using the supplied ratchet jack, & what I thought was the jacking point. After ratcheting away for ages & not seeing the front wheel lift up, I realised (too late) something was wrong. The whole sill, & the strut incorporating the jacking point had been filled. Rotten as an old pair of knickers it was, & it pushed the sill up into the drivers door. As a consequence I couldn't open the drivers door. It was like that for the next three months, & I had to get in by vaulting over the door. It was a roadster & I was young & agile then. Sadly the car was repossessed by the finance company, after I stopped paying for it, after a row with the garage I bought it off (I was young & stupid then)

 

Apart from being a bird puller, it was a  horribly unreliable car, with many issues during my brief ownership. And it wasn't as fast as the Fabia vRS, & I only got about 15 miles to the gallon. But petrol was only about 5 bob a gallon as I recall. Happy days.

Further to my original post re supplied jack:-

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/2-tonne-bottle-jack/54957  - site is down at the moment but this appears to be £12.99... I can remember my work Dads Daihatsu Fourtraks coming with this type and used them often enough as a teen, though the Daihatsu ones used to require you to turn a handle iirc.

 

I have now adopted Dan 's suggestion & bought the Screwfix jack. I was a bit apprehensive at first as the cross sectional are of the the part of the jack that makes contact with the jacking point of the car seems small. In practice, it wasn't a problem. Neat little package in its plastic case & no problem to stow. Amazing value @ £12.95

Just seen the post linking to the bottle jac ad had a look on the B&Q website and saw these:

Same jack but in a different colour for half the price:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/car-maintenance-car-accessories/access-lifting/Torq-2-Tonne-Bottle-Jack-11377524

 

And a 4 tonne jack that would be more sturdy than that one for the same money:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/car-maintenance-car-accessories/access-lifting/Torq-4-Tonne-Bottle-Jack-11377523

Just a thought - have you tried using the bottle jack when a tyre is properly flat?

 

Scissor jack can be a PITA, but they generally work.

Just seen the post linking to the bottle jac ad had a look on the B&Q website and saw these:

Same jack but in a different colour for half the price:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/car-maintenance-car-accessories/access-lifting/Torq-2-Tonne-Bottle-Jack-11377524

 

And a 4 tonne jack that would be more sturdy than that one for the same money:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/car-maintenance-car-accessories/access-lifting/Torq-4-Tonne-Bottle-Jack-11377523

Story of my life. I never get a bargain.

Same with the Fabia vRS. When I wanted one, according to the dealer, there were only 4 available in the country ex-stock - rarer than hens teeth, he said. Consequently, even though it was a cash deal with no px I ended up paying list price for their 3 month old demonstrator. But guess what,now I'm thinking of selling,  and only 5 months down the line there seems to be a surfeit of them & it's only worth circa £10,000. C'est la vie as they say sur la continent.

Just a thought - have you tried using the bottle jack when a tyre is properly flat?

 

Scissor jack can be a PITA, but they generally work.

Not yet. But I see where your coming from. There seems to be sufficient clearance, even allowing for a complete flat. Only time will tell though.

Story of my life. I never get a bargain.

Same with the Fabia vRS. When I wanted one, according to the dealer, there were only 4 available in the country ex-stock - rarer than hens teeth, he said. Consequently, even though it was a cash deal with no px I ended up paying list price for their 3 month old demonstrator. But guess what,now I'm thinking of selling,  and only 5 months down the line there seems to be a surfeit of them & it's only worth circa £10,000. C'est la vie as they say sur la continent.

No point crying over spilt milk though as they say. It's only £6 at the end of the day.

Would obviously depend on the puncture but possibly an idea to carry a tube of tyre sealant and a cheap electric compressor. Not always guaranteed to work and ultimately might wreck a repairable tyre but might be enough to get you out of a position like that and having to jack the car at the side of the road full stop and damaging the car.

Again v annoying you had no mobile phone signal as I got Skoda Assist out to put my spare on having found that I was developing a flat having just arrived at work; changing the tyre myself in shirt, tie and suit trousers and lack of time led to the call. Fantastic service and was mobile again within an hour.

Edited 21 November, 201312 yr by pipsyp

Pal was doing an M B A & they had to give a 5 minute talk to the others on the course.

This guy said whenever he got a new car, he took the tools out of the boot and removed and replaced each wheel in turn.

Makes sense.