This is for a car that cannot be driven on its tyre and has no spare. The fitter brings the tyre machine, the balancer and the tools to the car, and does the job where it stands if the ground and the wheel allow it.
Our only base is at Brent Cross, NW2 1LX, about 95 miles in a straight line from Birmingham; we have no van stationed in the city. Urgent jobs are fitted in if the diary allows. Call and we will tell you straight away whether we can take the job; if we can, the arrival time is given on the call. If the car is unsafe where it is, your breakdown cover may reach you sooner.
We cannot work beside moving traffic on a busy main road such as the A4540 Middleway ring road or the A38 Queensway, and we never work on a motorway or its slip roads, which here includes the M6, the M42 and the A38(M) Aston Expressway. On a motorway, follow the Highway Code and use your breakdown cover. If the car can be moved slowly a short way to a side street, do that; if it cannot, tell us exactly where it is so we can be honest about whether we can help.
The Clean Air Zone inside the Middleway is a charge on driving a non-compliant vehicle, not on a parked car, so a car left standing in the city centre with a failed tyre is not charged for sitting there.
A car park is often a good place for the job, but it belongs to someone. Before we come out, check with the store, the site manager or security that a tyre fitter can work on the car there. Industrial estates and shopping parks are private ground in the same way.
The price depends on the tyre and the work needed, and you hear it on the call. The price is the same at any hour.
An urgent job is fitted into the day's work when the diary allows. We run more than one van, and if one is already working nearby that can help, but we never promise a slot we cannot keep.
On the call we tell you honestly whether we can take the job and, if we can, when to expect the fitter. If we cannot, we say so at once so you can make other plans, such as calling your breakdown cover.
The more you can tell us, the easier the job is to plan: the tyre size, where the damage is, a photo on WhatsApp and exactly where the car is.
Call or WhatsApp with where the car is, the registration and the tyre size from the sidewall. A photo of the damage helps find the right replacement.
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.
Most punctures from a nail or screw in the middle of the tread can be repaired. The decision is made with the tyre off the wheel, because the outside of a tyre does not show everything. BS AU 159, the British Standard for car tyre repairs, sets out which damage can be repaired and how the repair must be done.
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.
A tyre that has been driven while flat is the other common reason. Even a short distance on a flat tyre can crush the inner wall, and that damage is often invisible until the tyre is off the rim.
The tyre is replaced rather than repaired when:
“A pleasure having them come down and save me. Big shout out to Hiwad, really responsive, recommend him to anybody.”
“Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service.”
“Good and reliable service in all conditions.”
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.
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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Get the car somewhere safe, send a photo of the damage and the size, and the new tyre comes to the car. The price is given on the call.
