Rescue Tyres fits, repairs and replaces car and van tyres at the car: on a driveway, a side street or a car park where the owner allows it. Biggleswade is about 36 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2 (further by road). 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. SG18: Town centre and Market Square, Stratton Park, Kings Reach, Holme
Puncture, blowout or worn tyres? We come to the car.
Brands, budget tyres and winter tyres
Say on the call if you want a particular brand, such as Continental, a budget tyre, or a winter or all-season tyre, and give us the size printed on the tyre's sidewall or the registration. Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job. Particular brands and winter tyres are sourced for the job too, and we tell you on the call what we can get before anything is booked.
Winter and all-season tyres are fitted at the car in the same way as any other new tyre, on a drive or at the kerb outside home or work.
A nail or screw in the main tread can often be repaired. The fitter takes the tyre off the rim and looks at the inside before deciding, because a small hole can hide bigger damage.
Damage in the shoulder or the sidewall, or a tyre that has been driven flat, cannot be repaired safely, and you are told why before anything else is done.
Tyre taken off the rim and inspected inside
Repair considered only for small holes in the central tread area
A burst tyre, a bulge in the sidewall or a deep cut from a kerb or pothole cannot be repaired. The fitter replaces the tyre at the car and checks the wheel while the tyre is off.
Send a photo of the damage and the size on the sidewall so the right replacement can be found.
Damaged tyre removed and the rim checked for bends or cracks
Replacement matched to the size, load index and speed rating
New tyre balanced on the wheel before it goes back on
A vibration through the steering wheel at a steady speed is often a wheel out of balance. Balancing spins the wheel and adds small weights to even it out.
A wheel is balanced each time a new tyre is fitted to it, and it can be done on its own when a weight has come off.
Wheel removed and spun on a balancer
Weights fitted to the rim to even out the balance
Wheel back on with the nuts torqued to the maker's figure
We fit tyres only. We do not sell part-worn tyres and we do not do batteries, brakes or wheel alignment.
Worth knowing
Tyre know-how before you call
New tyres
New tyres fitted where the car is parked
Reading the size on your sidewall
The size is the string of figures on the tyre wall, such as 205/55 R16 91V. The first number is the width in millimetres, the second is the sidewall height as a percentage of that width, R means radial construction and the last number is the rim diameter in inches.
The part after the size, 91V in that example, is the load index and speed rating. A replacement should match or exceed both, and the two tyres on one axle should be the same size and pattern.
Pressure sensors and run-flats
Many cars have a tyre pressure sensor fitted inside each wheel, usually on the back of the valve. Mention it on the call, because the sensor stays with the wheel when the tyre is changed.
Cars that left the factory on run-flat tyres usually need run-flats again, and run-flat and standard tyres should never be mixed on one car.
Puncture repair
How a puncture is judged and repaired
What BS AU 159 allows
BS AU 159 is the British Standard for repairing car and van tyres. For car tyres it allows a repair only in the central part of the tread, known as the minor repair area, and only for damage up to 6 mm across. How wide that area is depends on the tyre.
Anything in the outer shoulder or the sidewall is outside the repair zone, because those parts flex too much for a patch to hold. Two repairs too close together, or an earlier poor repair, also rule a repair out.
Slow punctures and valve leaks
A tyre that needs air every week or two has a slow leak. The cause can be a small object in the tread, a leaking valve or valve core, or a poor seal where the tyre meets a corroded rim.
A slow leak still needs finding and fixing, because a tyre run underinflated wears faster, runs hotter and can fail at speed.
Roads nearby
Stratton Business Park, the station and the A1
A driveway, or a legal parking space on the street outside your home or work, is ideal.
Business parks, including Stratton Business Park, and workplace car parks are private. The occupier or site management needs to be happy for the work to be done there.
Supermarket, retail and station car parks, including the one at the station, belong to their operators, and their permission is needed too.
We do not work beside moving traffic on the A1 or the A6001. If the car stops on a busy main road and can be moved slowly and safely, take it into a side street before you call.
“From start to finish, Hiwad was incredibly professional and helpful.”
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★★★★★
“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!”
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“Good and reliable service in all conditions.”
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Pricing
How the price is worked out
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 given on the call. 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.
What goes into the price
The tyre itself: size, load index, speed rating and whether it is a run-flat
The tier you choose: budget, mid-range or premium
The work: a repair, one new tyre or several, and any locking nut removal
The location of the car
Tyres and the law
Tread depth, tyre age and the law
The legal tread limit
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.
The 20p test
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.
Other defects that make a tyre illegal
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.
How old is your tyre?
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.
Sources: the tread and tyre rules are in the Highway Code, annex 6 on GOV.UK; TyreSafe publishes tyre safety advice.
Staying safe
Staying safe until the job is done
While you wait for the fitter
Stop somewhere off the main flow of traffic, switch on the hazard lights and, if you have one, put on a high-visibility vest.
Get everyone out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind a barrier, on a pavement or well back from the road.
If the tyre may still be repairable, say so before using a sealant can, and leave any nail or screw where it is.
Keep your phone on and charged, and tell us about anything that makes the spot hard to find.
Tyre failure on a motorway
If the car can still be driven safely, carry on to the next exit or services and stop away from traffic before you call.
If you cannot leave, use an emergency area or the hard shoulder, stop well to the left and, if it is safe to, get out on the side away from the traffic.
Wait behind the barrier, not in the car. Rule 277 of the Highway Code says not to attempt any repairs on your vehicle on a motorway.
Call 999 if you are in danger or stuck in a live lane. Otherwise National Highways can be reached on 0300 123 5000.
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.
Biggleswade FAQs
Questions drivers ask
Will you fit a tyre in a lay-by on the A1?
No. A lay-by on a fast dual carriageway sits beside moving traffic, so it is not a safe place to work. Leave the A1 at the next junction if you can do so slowly and safely, and call us from a side road or a car park.
Can you get winter or all-season tyres?
Yes. Give us the size and say which kind you want, and we tell you on the call what we can source and whether we can take the job.
Can the fitter work in a hospital, station or retail park car park?
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:
Biggleswade station
A1 Retail Park
Which main roads near here can the fitter not work on?
If the car stops on one of the roads below and can still be driven safely, leave at the next exit or turn into a side street, then call:
A1
A6001
A507 via Shefford
B1040
Can I bring the car to you instead?
No. Our base at Brent Cross holds tyres only and is not a walk-in garage. Every fitting and repair is done at the car.
Can you fit tyres at my workplace?
Yes, if the car is parked legally on the street, or in a car park where the owner or site manager allows the work. Tell us where the car is. If the car has locking wheel nuts, have the key ready.
Should I buy budget or premium tyres?
It depends on the car and how it is used. The tyre label's wet grip grade is a fair way to compare tyres in the same size.
Should new tyres go on the front or the rear?
When only two are replaced, the newer pair generally goes on the rear axle, which helps keep the car stable in the wet.
Can a tyre with sealant in it be repaired?
Sometimes, but not always, as some sealants leave the inside of the tyre unfit for a repair.
What should I do if a tyre bursts while I am driving?
Hold the wheel firmly, keep straight, ease off the accelerator and avoid braking hard. Once the car has slowed, brake gently and pull over where it is safe.
Around Biggleswade
The town, its estates and the villages around it
The SG18 area takes in the town centre around Market Square, the newer estates at Stratton Park and Kings Reach, and Holme to the south. We also cover the villages around it, among them Langford, Broom, Northill, Old Warden and Dunton, and further south Clifton, Henlow and Shefford.
In Old Warden, the Shuttleworth Collection is a private site, so its staff would need to agree before a fitter works on a car there. Elsewhere a home drive or the street outside the house is usually the easiest spot.
Area map
See the area on a map.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Biggleswade area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
Find your car's recommended tyre pressure on the door placard or in the handbook, and learn how to set it correctly for load and conditions on UK roads.
Tyres are a big running cost. These six habits stretch their life and save you money without compromising safety, from correct pressures to smooth driving.
Call to check we can take the job
Need a tyre fitter in Biggleswade? Call now.
Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.