I picked up a GLC 43, and didn't think much about the lack of a spare. Lets say I get a flat, what do I do? Assuming the tire is still driveable, can I take it to any old tire shop or does it need to go to the dealership? I'll assume this means a few days of downtime rather then the old switch the spare and drive on.

The nearest dealership is about 30m from my house and being that I haven't had a flat tire in at least a month, I'm thinking I'm kind of screwed if I get one. What am I missing?

 

If your vehicle has run-flat tires and no spare and you get a flat, the theory is that you can drive on the flat for up to 50 miles and at speeds up to 50 MPH. The reality is that flats often occur at the most inopportune times and you may find yourself in a situation where the tires on your car are not readily available (e.g., in a remote location and/or the middle of the night). Worse, the you could have more than a simple puncture and may not be able to drive on the "run-flat" tire at all (e.g., blowout, shred). You don't have to take the car to a M-B dealer to address this, but be aware that the types of tires on some of these cars may not be in stock.

I had run-flats on three previous BMWs and did not care for them; they were loud, harsh, and I often worried about getting a flat in one of the aforementioned situations. I finally got so tired of the road noise and harsh ride that I traded my last BMW in for my current M-B. When shopping, I initially looked at a 2017 model that I really liked, but when I opened the trunk I immediately eliminated that car as an option. The salesperson informed me that I'd have to go back to 2016 to get a spare in the trunk, as M-B was now heading in the BMW direction (run-flats on all models). It took me a while to find what I was looking for, but I did indeed end up buying a CPO 2016 model from a neighboring city.