What to do prior to or following the theft of your Vauxhall Zafira spare wheel

Below are a list of suggestions that aim to advise Vauxhall Zafira owners prior to or following the theft of their spare wheel.

Prior to your spare wheel being stolen

• If you are considering buying a Vauxhall Zafira, make the dealer aware that you are aware, that spare wheels are regularly being stolen from the cage underneath the Vauxhall Zafira.  Insist that a locking wheel device (K LOK series 19) is fitted at Vauxhall's expense as part of the deal that you agree.  This should help to prevent the theft of the spare wheel and any additional cost to yourself following your purchase.

• Remove the spare wheel yourself from underneath the Vauxhall Zafira and stow it in the boot.  This method is certainly very effective but reduces the carrying capacity.  It also makes it a bit awkward for folding up the rear seats.

• Remove the spare wheel yourself from underneath the Vauxhall Zafira and store it in your house.  Not ideal really. If you get a puncture you'll find yourself in the same predicament as if it had been stolen in the first place.

Following the theft of your spare wheel

• Report it to the police and to Vauxhall.  You may be lucky and if you have a crime reference number and the police retrieve any wheels stolen from a Vauxhall Zafira, you may get one back.

• If after all your wrangling with Vauxhall you find you are being forced into the position of replacing the spare wheel at your own expense, you could consider purchasing a can of 'tyre weld' instead.  This costs about £7.00 and gets you back on the road a great deal quicker than having to replace a tyre.  It is NOT illegal to drive without a spare and the MOT test is NOT subject to a spare wheel being present.

• You could always replace the Vauxhall Zafira spare wheel at your own expense and then leave it in the shed rather than putting it back underneath the Zafira.  This at least stops the thief in his tracks but if you get a puncture is not a great deal of help.

The Zafira is a good all round family car

Based on the Vauxhall Astra chassis, there are quite a few similarities between the two cars, such as the general driving ride and the quality of the car as a whole.

There have been a few problems that general users have seen with the cars, such as:

• The engine cutting out when idle.
• The In car radio not functioning correctly.
• A squeaking noise from the brakes after only 10,000 miles or so use.
• Spare wheel thefts.
• A necessity to keep refilling the oil on diesel models (1 litre every thousand miles or so).
• Small storage space.
• Strange engine noises which can not be located or fixed.

Saying this, however. The car is very practical and does have some very good points. The innovative ’Flex 7’ seating system makes it very easy to switch the car from 5 to 7 seats without too much hassle.

Other nice features include easy access to the car thanks to the wide opening doors, ideal for families with small children, and an anti-stall device. Designed to stop the car from stalling a low revs.

The car is generally very good and although a minority of owners have had some problems, it represents extremley good value for money and provides a great means of getting the whole family from one place to another.