> #2 You have a flat tire. You drag out the spare and the jack, get dirty putting the jack in place and get sweaty getting the car jacked up. Only then, do you realize that the lugs are on tight and you have to lower the jack until the tire is firmly on the ground before you can loosen them.

Oh man, I hate hate hate hate the mechanics (seemingly all of them) that just put the lug nuts back on with an impact wrench instead of properly torquing them. THANKS GUYS! I never wanted to actually remove that tire or anything. I'm sure that when I have to change a flat, I'll also have easy access to an impact wrench and not be stuck with, say, a simple lug wrench.

The one plus side of that is I pretty much always loosen the nuts before I lift up the car, because I just assume they're on there for life.

Stephen