Short-notice mobile tyre fitting means a fitter comes to you to repair or replace a tyre where your car is parked, when the diary allows, with an arrival time given when you call. No driving a doubtful tyre to a garage and no waiting in for a slot days away. It is worth asking about when a tyre needs sorting soon, not next week.
What short-notice fitting means
You call or book online, tell us your location and tyre size, and a fully equipped fitter comes to your home, work or a safe place off the road and sorts the tyre on the spot, see how mobile fitting works. It's the same professional job a garage does, with the convenience of it happening where you are, when the diary allows.
When can you get here?
It depends on how far you are from our one base at Brent Cross, NW2, on what is already in the diary, and on whether your size needs sourcing. We give you an arrival time when you call. Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job, and we tell you when you book if yours has to be ordered. Out of hours, we cover evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays when the diary allows, at the same price as a weekday job.
When you'd use it
- A flat or slow puncture discovered before work.
- A tyre that's failed the MOT and needs replacing to retest.
- A tyre too damaged to safely drive to a garage.
- Any time waiting days for an appointment isn't an option.
That MOT-fail case is a common one: the legal minimum tread is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre, and driving on a tyre below it risks a £2,500 fine and 3 penalty points per tyre. A fitting where the car is parked gets you legal again without driving to a garage on an illegal tyre.
What to have ready
Two things help us bring the right tyre first time: your tyre size or registration, and a clear location. If you can check the size on the sidewall before you call, we can tell you whether it is a common size we often carry on the van or one that has to be sourced for the job.
- The size from the sidewall, for example 205/55 R16 91V, or a clear photo of it.
- Whether the car has locking wheel nuts and where the key is.
- Exactly where the car is: postcode, and whether it is on a drive, in a car park or on a street.
- What has happened: slow puncture, nail, sidewall damage or MOT fail.
Mobile fitting vs garage vs out-of-hours callout
Short-notice mobile fitting sits between a booked garage slot and an out-of-hours callout: more flexible than the first and calmer than the second.
| Garage appointment | Short-notice mobile | Out-of-hours callout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | You drive to them | Home, work, a car park or a safe place off the road | Where the car is safely parked, off a live road |
| When | Next available slot, often days away | When the diary allows; arrival time given on the call | Evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays, when the diary allows |
| You need to | Get the car there and wait or return | Have the keys and tyre size ready | Be somewhere safe with the car |
| Best for | Planned replacement of a worn set | A flat or MOT fail that cannot wait but is safe where it sits | Stranded, late at night, or a burst tyre |
| Cost | Tyre plus fitting | Tyre and fitting; price agreed on the call | Tyre and fitting; price agreed on the call, at the same price as a weekday job |
A rough rule: if the car is parked somewhere safe and the tyre cannot wait, call and ask what the diary allows; evenings, nights and weekends cost the same as a weekday job. If you are stuck on a motorway or another live road, call your breakdown provider, or 999 if you are in danger: we never work on a hard shoulder or a live lane, so the car has to be somewhere safe before a fitter can help. If nothing has gone wrong yet and the tyres are just getting low, a planned mobile tyre fitting booked a day or two ahead gives the widest choice of tyre.
What happens on the day, step by step
- You send the details. Registration or tyre size, the location, and a photo of the damage if there is any. The enquiry is free.
- We confirm the tyre and the price before the van sets off, so there are no surprises at the kerb.
- The fitter arrives and checks the car is on firm, level ground with room to work. A driveway, a car park bay or a quiet street is fine; a steep slope or a soft verge is not.
- The wheel comes off. If the car has locking wheel nuts, the key needs to be to hand. If it is missing, we can usually remove them, see locking wheel nut removal.
- The old tyre is stripped, the new one fitted and balanced on equipment carried in the van. A new valve or TPMS service kit is fitted where needed.
- The wheel goes back on, the nuts are torqued to the manufacturer's figure and the pressures are set to the door placard.
- The other tyres get a quick look for tread and damage, so you know what is coming next.
- Ask on the call about disposal of the old tyre.
Fitting a single tyre is a quick job once the fitter has arrived; four tyres take longer. You do not need to stand by the car for the whole job, but someone needs to be reachable with the keys.
Repair or replace: what gets decided at the kerb
Not every call-out needs a new tyre. A puncture can be repaired if it meets the British Standard limits, which usually costs less than a new tyre.
The standard is BS AU 159. In plain terms, a repair is allowed when:
- the hole is in the central three-quarters of the tread, not the shoulder or sidewall;
- the hole is no more than 6mm across;
- the tyre has not been driven on flat, which breaks up the inner liner and sidewall;
- there is no other damage such as a bulge, exposed cord or a previous unsafe repair, and the tread is legal.
The fitter takes the tyre off the wheel to check the inside, because a nail hole that looks tidy from outside can hide a liner shredded by being driven on flat. If it passes, a proper plug-and-patch repair is fitted from the inside. If it fails on any point, the tyre is replaced. TyreSafe explains why the limits exist. For the full picture see can a puncture be repaired and our puncture repair service page.
When your tyre has to be ordered
The main limit on short-notice fitting is stock: common sizes are often on the van, other sizes are sourced for the job, and an exact tyre may not be available from a supplier until the next day. The sizes most likely to need sourcing are:
- unusual or very large sizes, such as some 4x4 and performance fitments;
- tyres with a manufacturer marking, for example a star, MO or N0 code, that a lease or warranty requires you to match;
- run-flat versions of common sizes;
- specific EV or acoustic-foam tyres.
If yours is one of those, you have three options. Wait a day for the exact tyre. Accept an equivalent tyre in the same size, load and speed rating from a different brand, which is legal and safe as long as it matches its axle partner reasonably. Or, if the tyre is repairable, have it repaired first and decide on replacement later. We will tell you which applies when you send your size, rather than sending a van out with the wrong tyre.
Whatever you choose, do not drive on a tyre that is flat, bulging or below the legal 1.6mm tread. GOV.UK sets out the penalties, which apply per tyre.
Book a fitting
We offer mobile tyre fitting from one base at Brent Cross, NW2. If you are further out, call and we will tell you whether we can take the job. Urgent jobs are fitted in when the diary allows, and we give you an arrival time when you call.
