On New Year’s Day, I roused myself to help out a disabled relative with a flat tire, relatively early in the day.

Some things done well and some lessons learned to recap:

• The relative pulled the car over in a safe place before doing anything else, and I very was happy about that
• The relative’s vehicle is well maintained for the most part
• I had purchased an aftermarket extendable lug wrench for this relative and it worked well, giving me plenty of leverage
• The owners manual was where it was supposed to be, which allowed us to confirm that the jacking point I wanted to use was correct
• Having wet wipes on hand was great
• Scissor jacks still work, but they also still suck
• The donut spare was good, but this was luck more than good equipment maintenance
• I would have been smarter to bring an impact driver, which I have — this isn’t as good as an air-powered impact wrench, but I know from experience that with a bit of care they are easier than a lug wrench
• The plastic fastener holding the hub of the donut spare in place was well and truly frozen, requiring me to get some pliers out of my emergency kit to unscrew it — I will be suggesting that my relative to put some additional tools in this car
• I forgot to put work gloves on before starting — while I didn’t hurt my hands this wasn’t smart and led to a large number of wet wipes being expended before we left
• There was standing water in the spare tire well which didn’t do the retaining fastener or the tools a lick of good — I will take on a regular task to inspect the spare tire well and the tools therein, and I might need to get the seals replaced for the hatch to keep the water out