We work evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays when the diary allows, at the same price as a weekday job.
Hemel Hempstead is about 16 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Postcode districts | HP1, HP2, HP3 |
| Main roads | M1 J8, M25 J20, A41, A414 St Albans Road and Two Waters Way, A4251 London Road |
| Stations nearby (OpenStreetMap) | Apsley, Kings Langley |
Residential streets and drives in Adeyfield, Bennetts End, Warners End, Woodhall Farm, Highfield, Chaulden and the Old Town give the fitter a level spot beside the car. A lit street with room on the side of the flat tyre is ideal after dark.
The Marlowes and Riverside shopping centres, The Heights, Bellgate, the Maylands business area and estates such as Saracen, Frogmore and McDonald Business Park are private sites. The owner has to allow the work, and some car parks close at night, so say where exactly the car is.
Junction 8 of the M1 and junction 20 of the M25 are the motorway links for the town, and a tyre that fails on either cannot be repaired where it stops. If the car can be moved slowly and safely, leave at the junction and stop in the first lit side road, then tell us which junction you used.
Station, retail park and industrial estate car parks are private land. The fitter can work there only if the owner or operator allows it, so check the signs or ask first. A driveway or a quiet, well lit residential street is usually the easiest place for the work.
A repair in the evening, at night or at the weekend is held to the same standard as one in the day. The damage must be in the central part of the tread and the hole no bigger than 6 mm, and the tyre comes off the wheel so it can be inspected from the inside before it is repaired. Sealant from a can, or a plug pushed in from outside, is not a repair to that standard.
Damage in the sidewall or the shoulder, or a tyre that has been driven on while flat, cannot be repaired, and the tyre needs replacing. We tell you before any work is done. Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job, and tyre suppliers may be closed in the evening, at night, at weekends and on bank holidays. If the right tyre cannot be found, we tell you so you can decide what to do next.
Do not wait on the carriageway or the verge of a motorway or a fast road. If the car can be moved safely, leave at the next exit and stop in a lit side road or car park. If it cannot, follow the Highway Code: hazard lights on, everyone out on the side away from the traffic and behind the barrier if there is one, use the emergency phone or call 999 if anyone is in danger, then call your breakdown cover. We never work on the carriageway of a motorway or main road, on a hard shoulder, in a smart motorway emergency area or on a slip road. We can help once the car is somewhere safe.
Try not to keep driving on a flat tyre. It can turn a repairable puncture into a tyre that has to be replaced, and it can damage the wheel.
The shoulder and the sidewall are never repaired. They flex with every turn of the wheel, and the sidewall has no steel belt behind it for a repair to hold against, so a patch there can let go without warning.
The tyre is replaced rather than repaired when:
A repair is only as good as the tyre around it. If the tyre is old, cracked or close to the legal limit, a new tyre can be the better buy even when the hole itself could be repaired, and we say so on the day.
A tyre that needs air every few days usually has something in the tread, a leaking valve, or a poor seal where the tyre meets the rim, often from corrosion on an alloy wheel. A tyre pressure warning light that keeps coming back after the tyres have been pumped up is a common sign.
Tyre sealant from an emergency kit is meant to get the car to a safe place, not to fix the tyre. The sealant has to be cleaned out before the inside can be checked, and some sealants make a repair impractical, so say on the call if a can has been used.
Run-flat tyres let the car keep moving for a limited distance after a puncture, but that driving can damage the tyre from inside. Some run-flat makers advise against repairing their tyres at all, so the fitter follows the maker's guidance for your tyre.
Call or WhatsApp with where the car is, the registration and the tyre size from the sidewall.
You hear what the job involves and the options for your car. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
The fitter comes to your home, your workplace or a safe place to park, raises the car on a jack and does the job beside it.
Before the fitter leaves, the wheel is checked for security and the tyre pressure is set to the maker's figure.
“From start to finish, Hiwad was incredibly professional and helpful.”
“Good communication, excellent work and takes the initiative. Happy to go the extra mile, highly recommended if you're in a tyre-related bit of bother!”
“Fast and efficient, really good service, sociable guy.”
Cars and light vans need at least 1.6 mm of tread across the central three-quarters of the tyre, around the whole circumference.
For a car, each illegal tyre can bring a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points; the maximum fine for a van is higher.
Push a 20p coin into the main grooves at several points around the tyre. If the outer band of the coin is visible, the tread may be close to the limit and should be measured properly.
A tyre is also illegal with a cut longer than 25 mm or a tenth of its section width, whichever is greater, that reaches the ply or cord, a lump or bulge, exposed cords, or the wrong size or type for the car.
The last four digits of the DOT code on the sidewall give the week and year of manufacture, so 2319 means the 23rd week of 2019.
Rubber hardens and cracks with age even on a tyre that has done few miles, and many tyre makers advise replacing any tyre ten years old or more.
There is no fixed figure that suits every car, so the price is built from a few things and told to you before you decide.
The price is the same at any hour. Asking for a price does not commit you to anything.
When you compare prices, compare like with like: the same brand and pattern, the same load index and speed rating, and whether balancing and a new valve are part of the job.
These are the neighbourhoods, postcode districts and main roads on record for this area. Whether we can take a particular job depends on the diary and the distance from our base, so the call always decides.
Yes, if the site allows it. Supermarket, retail park and station car parks are private ground, so the owner's permission comes first. Places of this kind in this area include:
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Call to check what the diary allows this evening or this weekend. Tell us what has happened and the make and model of the vehicle. The price is given on the call.
