Touring in Europe in a 996T: Vital Spares
Discussion
I enjoy the occasional excursion to Italy (very occasional these days with young children) and was wondering if there is a shortlist of inexpensive high consequence items I could fit in a shoe box as vital spares for when stranded somewhere they don't speak English. Things like ignition relay units, that sort of thing. Spares like this can make or break a trip and if they don't cost much or take up much space seem like a no-brainer. All suggestions welcome.
Amusing enough, but knowing what can go wrong with the car and having the spare might mean the difference between abandoning your car at a local garage / having it transported to the nearest OPC (a long way...) having a faulty diagnosis followed by a long delay for the wrong parts. As an example, the brake pad warning light can go on due to upstream rubbing on the steering rack of the wire. I have had this intermittently. Similarly, headlights suddenly going off due to the unit not being installed tightly. A two minute free fix to those in the know; hours of wasted expense to those unfamiliar. This site is very helpful in this regard.
I want to know a list of high consequence items that can fail, which can be checked or replaced before a long trip, or spares brought just in case. I don’t much like the idea of leaving my car at a garage in darkest Sicily.
PS I do like to have full repatriation roadside assistance - this is expensive from memory.
I want to know a list of high consequence items that can fail, which can be checked or replaced before a long trip, or spares brought just in case. I don’t much like the idea of leaving my car at a garage in darkest Sicily.
PS I do like to have full repatriation roadside assistance - this is expensive from memory.
davek_964 said:
Slightly OT, but my 996T had that problem and it was nothing to do with the headlights not being tight - it was a faulty light switch, which I understand to be a fairly common problem.
(I had the brake pad warning one too).
I also have a somewhat faulty / difficult headlight switch - the rotatey sort. Requires an aggressive turn to work. Is this an easy fix?(I had the brake pad warning one too).
FarQue said:
OP - you're a 'glass half empty' type of person, aren't you?
In our 997 I take a battery booster/jump leads (she's a tip') and a tyre plugging kit. Apart from that, it's mobile 'phone and credit card.
Agreed, I am. I have found 996T ownership to be shatteringly expensive. I drive 3000 miles a year, the car is ‘04 and very well maintained and driven wisely, but it still throws bills for 5 figures or nearly almost at random. It is next to impossible to justify. I used to be worried about IMS and d-chunking in my old Carreras - oh for the good old days. The T is so much better a car, though. I can’t give it up.In our 997 I take a battery booster/jump leads (she's a tip') and a tyre plugging kit. Apart from that, it's mobile 'phone and credit card.
rickprice said:
Took my TVR to France last summer. Didn’t occur to me to take anything.
Drive to France skiing most winters. Usually take the kids but nothing more than the regulatory safety stuff.
I recon we have driven well over 10,000km in France and never needed a tool kit.
Whenever our cars break down, they have never needed something small. The current problem in the Cayenne is a failed alternator, which I would not have thought to take to the Alps. The 997 had a new window regulator recently, which I understand may be a bit more portable, but equally unpredictable.
BTW it’s illegal to do any work on a car on the Autoroutes - even changing a tyre, I think? You have to be recovered to an Aire or a garage to do any work AFAIK.
Have faith - just take a phone, credit card and breakdown insurance. You’ll be fine.
Wife and girlfriend optional - maybe not both though?
Rich
Drive to France skiing most winters. Usually take the kids but nothing more than the regulatory safety stuff.
I recon we have driven well over 10,000km in France and never needed a tool kit.
Whenever our cars break down, they have never needed something small. The current problem in the Cayenne is a failed alternator, which I would not have thought to take to the Alps. The 997 had a new window regulator recently, which I understand may be a bit more portable, but equally unpredictable.
BTW it’s illegal to do any work on a car on the Autoroutes - even changing a tyre, I think? You have to be recovered to an Aire or a garage to do any work AFAIK.
Have faith - just take a phone, credit card and breakdown insurance. You’ll be fine.
Wife and girlfriend optional - maybe not both though?
Rich
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