I spend about 20-25 a week for gas too and fill it up exactly to halfway. Right now, it's $20 to get from 1/4 to 1/2. Living in an island, there isn't much long trips and if I need to go on a long drive, I'd fill it up.

On my previous cars, I removed the spare and kept it off because I was just too lazy to haul it back out after Auto-X and track day events. I actually removed the rear seats too but that was probably a bit overkill.

If you don't plan on driving it competitively, I wouldn't bother. I like that peace of mind I can replace a tire if something does happen.*knock on wood*

My car came with a pair of dainty white cotton gloves in the spare / tool kit - how thoughtful of MB.

lol! i saw those too, but i also saw a blond hair on it. ewww

How come did we reach this comment? rb, I bet you make more money than I do and I bought an S-class that here costs at least what an S600 costs in the US. Budget and the correct attitude is the key, I don't find any issues with that at any income level (spend all your money on MB is the correct attitude ).

Isn't he the guy that owns that Greek restaurant down the block? Drives a diesel Lada?

sounds like a bit of a contradiction ... how much does all the added sound damping material weigh?

I weighed the spare at 25 lbs, and the related "hold down" hardware at another 5 lbs.

You know him too? His lada stands no chance

I've done this before

I choose to keep my spare tire in my car.

IMHO, even though I have AAA and there is FREE Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance, in my past experiences it can take well over 2 hours for either one (especially the FREE Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance) to get to you (especially on busy weekends or holidays). Also, I regard the "fix" they do on your tire on-site as temporary, with no guarantee how long it will hold up (compared to a proper inside-out patch done at a competent tire shop), and would much rather be riding on a 100% hole-less spare than a temporarily "fixed" tire (of which they probably would use the "fix-a-flat" self-inflating foam stuff that will screw up your TPMS anyway). Not only that, but if your tire can't be repaired, they can only tow you one-way within a certain mile radius (which would in turn basically cancel the plans for the rest of your day... AND you'd have to make separate arrangements to get back home if the tire couldn't be replaced same-day).

With a spare tire, you can mount the tire yourself in minutes (or have AAA or the FREE Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance do it for you IF they can get to you in a reasonable amount of time), and go about your business for the rest of the day, then drive home. Then at your earliest convenience, you could bring your car into a tire shop or dealership and get a new tire, putting your spare back in your trunk. You wouldn't have to cancel ALL your plans for the rest of the day, nor would you be unexpectedly stuck without your car until your tire is replaced.

And as someone mentioned earlier, while the spare tire adds weight to the vehicle, I believe it also contributes to structural rigidity and becomes a force-absorbing obstacle upon rear impact.