Yes, this seems to be an annoying trend with many cars.
My current car, Clio 172 Cup lacks a spare wheel too, though I guess as it is a stripped down and supposedly lightweight version there is a genuine reason.

My Smarts I had also lacked spares though I did what you have done with them and just bought a spare steel and tyre. Fitted neatly behind the passenger seat.

Andrew

NOW SOLVED

Ok I finally got to the bottom of this problem so just in case it happens to anyone else here is the cause.

It was nothing at all to do with the pod itself.

Last week driving home indicated to turn right and double fast indicator sound, leading me to think a bulb was out. Got home and checked and yes rear drivers side bulb not working.

Into the hatch and I was surprised how easily the bulb carrier came out they are normally really really tight. Checked the bulb which was ok.

By now a bit puzzled so I put the bulb and carrier back in and made sure it was firmly home by using a large flat blade screw driver to twist the carrier body.

Since then the flicker has ceased and I have driven the car each night with the lights on and have covered about 400 miles since re-seeting the bulb holder.

As the flicker mentioned above seemed movement related the slightly loose bulb holder makes a lot of sense but best of all the "fix" cost nothing other than a few little grey cells and about 2 minutes of my time.

Heavens knows what this might have cost at the local VW Palace I can hear the "new pod required sir" now.

As always

Mark

Hi,

I can't comment on 150k miles, but I had an 52 plate S60 D5 auto which I returned at the end of it's 3 year lease with 60k. I had some minor electrical problems with the cruise control. I was thinking of buying it at the end of the lease, but the suspension/steering felt tired, and the car was getting lazy at starting ( a sign of diesel injector problem) and I wanted 4wd for towing. Otherwise the car was fine. I was generally happy with the ownership and have now leased an XC70 D5 auto.

Other than some suspension work, and possible diesel injector problem I reckon it would have gone to 150k easy.

Hope this helps.

If you need to remove a hinge, it's best to do it in a garage and support the open tailgate with rope from the garage roof. Only remove one hinge at a time. Make light marks so that you can put the hinge back in exactly the original position. If you get the adjustment wrong you can damage the lip of the tailgate by fouling the catch panel.
It weighs a ton - much easier in my view to by-pass the hinge alltogether and use ordinary cheap wire.

I got advice from a well respected Saab mechanic who

said, "it should be okay, it should not have caused any

damage". And another mechanic who said, "we've done loads of

these, we've never had any damage on one to my knowledge".

>>

you will find loads of cases where this is true, and you will find loads of cases where people have been panicked in to spending hundreds or thousands or pounds on "preventative work".

i have yet to find any documented case of actual real damage ( whether short-term or long-term), rather than "may damage your engine in the long term etc. ".

i am with no-fm2r on this one. all this scaremongering is designed to fleece money off the gullible section of motorists. as i think no-fm2r said in his own thread, you will be better off waiting to see if any of this forecast damage materialises, and if it does and you are still the owner of the car, pay for it to be repaired then.

of course if you ask the "experts" (health and safety people are the worst at this ) they will say "zero" tolerance is the best.

they would probably tell you that the best way to avoid damaging your engine is never to drive your car !