A repair at the car when the damage allows it, fitted in when the diary allows.
Havering is about 18 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call. If we cannot come we say so.
The A12 and the A13 are TfL red routes. We cannot stop or work on a red route; the car needs to be on a side street or private ground first.
The M25 runs along the east of the borough, with junctions 28 to 30. On a motorway, leave at the next exit if you can. If you have to stop, pull into an emergency area or onto the hard shoulder, get out by the left-hand doors and wait behind the barrier. Call your breakdown provider, or 999 if anyone is in danger; in an emergency area, use the SOS phone to reach National Highways. 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.
If the car is in a controlled parking zone permit bay, tell us so the fitter can park legally beside it.
When a tyre lets you down without warning, the first question is whether it can be repaired. A puncture in the central part of the tread, no wider than 6 mm, can usually be repaired; damage on the sidewall or shoulder cannot. Urgent jobs are fitted into the diary if it allows.
At the car, the fitter takes the tyre off the wheel, checks the inside and repairs it from the inside with a combined plug and patch. If it cannot be repaired safely, it needs a new tyre: common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job. Our main puncture repair page, linked below, explains the standard.
Have these ready when you call:
We work evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays when the diary allows, at the same price as a weekday job.
The price depends on the tyre size, the brand and the job, and we confirm it on the call before anyone sets off.
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.
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:
Call or WhatsApp with where the car is, the registration and the tyre size from the sidewall. A photo of the tread where the damage is helps judge whether a repair is possible.
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.
“Arrived and was very kind and polite. Reassured me about changing the tyres and was quick and attentive straight away.”
“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.
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:
How much does puncture repair cost in the UK?
What a proper UK puncture repair includes, what changes the price, the BS AU 159 limits, and when a new tyre is better value than a repair.
Tyre valve problems and replacement
A faulty valve can leak air just like a puncture. Here's how to spot a bad tyre valve, why to replace it with every new tyre, and how TPMS valves differ.
Can a puncture be repaired? The UK rules
Not every puncture means a new tyre. Learn which punctures are safely repairable under the UK standard (BS AU 159) and which ones always need replacement.
Send a photo of the tread and where the car is; the damage is checked before anything is decided. Tell us what has happened and the make and model of the vehicle. The price is given on the call.
