Buying tyres online can be convenient, but the tyre still has to be the right size and rating for your car, and it still has to be fitted. The process is simple: find your exact size, match or exceed the ratings, compare on safety not just price, and arrange fitting. With mobile fitting, the fitter comes to you, so you skip the garage trip entirely.
Find your correct size
Your tyre size is printed on the sidewall, something like 205/55 R16 91V, and on the door placard, see how to read your tyre size. Use the car's recommended size, and match or exceed the load and speed ratings. If your car has optional wheel sizes, make sure you order for the size actually fitted. When in doubt, your registration confirms the correct fitment.
Compare safely, not just on price
It's easy to sort online listings by price, but the cheapest isn't the best value. Compare the EU label grades, prioritising wet grip, and check independent tests for the tyres in your size. A well-rated mid-range tyre often beats a cheap unbranded one on safety and cost per mile.
Getting them fitted
Tyres bought online need professional fitting and balancing. Some retailers ship to a fitting centre; the easier route is mobile fitting, where the fitter brings everything to your home or work and fits the tyres there, see how mobile fitting works. That way you never have to drive on a worn or damaged tyre to reach a garage, and you don't lose a half-day. Whoever fits them should balance each wheel, fit a new valve and, on cars with TPMS, make sure the sensors are reset before they leave.
Avoid the common mistakes
The usual online pitfalls are ordering the wrong size, buying on price alone, or being tempted by part-worns, which carry hidden risks: TyreSafe found that over 90% of the part-worn tyres it inspected were being sold illegally and many were unsafe to return to the road. Double-check the full size and ratings before you pay, prioritise wet grip, and treat the fitting and disposal as part of the total cost when you compare.
Step by step: from search to fitted
Buying tyres online and getting them fitted is a seven-step job, and most of the mistakes happen at steps one and six. Work through it in order and the process is straightforward.
- Read the size off the tyre that is on the car now, not from memory or a forum. Note the full string, for example 205/55 R16 91V, and any OE marking such as a star or MO.
- Decide the type: summer, all-season or winter, and whether you need a run-flat or an XL load rating to match what is fitted.
- Shortlist two or three tyres in that size using the EU label and independent tests, then compare fitted prices rather than tyre-only prices.
- Check the retailer's fitting options. Some deliver to a partner garage, some to your door, and some mobile fitters supply the tyre themselves so there is nothing to post.
- Order in pairs if both tyres on an axle are worn, so the axle stays matched.
- Inspect the tyres on arrival before anything is fitted: size, load and speed rating, date code, condition (see the checklist below).
- Have them fitted and balanced, with new valves, and ask for the old tyres to be disposed of properly. If your car has TPMS sensors, confirm they have been reset before the fitter leaves.
If you would rather skip the posting and the partner-garage visit, a mobile fitter who supplies and fits removes steps four and six entirely: you give the registration, agree the tyre and the price, and the fitter arrives with it. See what to ask before buying tyres for the questions worth putting to any supplier.
Online retailer vs mobile fitter who supplies
The headline tyre price online is usually only part of the bill. Once fitting, balancing, valves and disposal are added, the headline gap can shrink, so compare all-in figures. The table shows where the costs and risks actually sit.
| What you are paying for | Online tyre retailer | Mobile fitter who supplies |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre | Priced per tyre, often the cheapest headline | Included in the fitted price |
| Delivery | Sometimes free, sometimes per tyre | Not applicable |
| Fitting and balancing | Extra, at a partner garage or a fitter you arrange | Included |
| New valve and disposal | Usually extra | Usually included; check |
| Wrong size ordered | Your problem: returns, delay, possibly a restocking charge | The fitter checks the size against the car before ordering |
| Your time | Waiting in for delivery, then a garage visit | One appointment at home or work |
The online route wins when you want a specific tyre a fitter cannot source, or when a retailer has a genuine clearance price. The supply-and-fit route wins on convenience and on removing the wrong-size risk. Whichever you choose, compare the all-in figure, as explained in mobile vs garage tyre fitting cost.
Your rights when buying tyres online
Tyres bought online are covered by the same consumer law as anything else bought at a distance: you normally have 14 days from delivery to cancel and return them, and they must be as described and of satisfactory quality.
The catch is that a tyre that has been fitted is no longer in the condition you received it, so check everything before it goes on the wheel.
The points that matter in practice:
- The 14-day cancellation right for online orders is set out on GOV.UK. You may have to pay return postage, and tyres are heavy, so a wrong order is not cost-free.
- If the tyre delivered is not the one you ordered, or arrives damaged, that is the retailer's problem to fix, not yours.
- Keep the order confirmation and the sidewall photo of the old tyre. If a size dispute arises, that is your evidence.
- A mobile fitter fitting a tyre you supplied will usually inspect it first and may decline to fit a tyre that is damaged or wrong for the car. That protects you as well as them.
None of this applies to part-worn tyres in the same way, since their condition is the whole issue.
Check the tyres when they arrive
Spend two minutes on each tyre before it is fitted. Once it is mounted and balanced, returning it becomes difficult.
- Size, load index and speed rating on the sidewall match your order and the door placard exactly.
- Date code: the last four digits of the DOT string give the week and year of manufacture, so 2325 means week 23 of 2025. Query anything that looks several years old.
- Condition: no cuts, flat spots, cracking or storage damage, and the bead area (the inner edge that seals to the wheel) is clean and undamaged.
- Matching pair: if you ordered two, they are the same range and, ideally, similar date codes.
- EU label present and showing the grades you expected.
- Direction and side markings: directional tyres have a rotation arrow and asymmetric tyres are marked outside or inside; the fitter needs to see these.
If anything is wrong, photograph it and contact the retailer before the fitting appointment rather than after.
We supply and fit
We can supply the right tyre and fit it at your home or work from our base at Brent Cross, NW2; if you are further out, call and we will tell you whether we can take the job. Send your registration for a quote.
