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. Chesham is about 19 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call.
HP5: Town centre and High Street, Pond Park, Hilltop, Newtown
The town sits in a Chilterns valley with the HP5 villages on the higher ground around it, so the first thing we ask is where the car has stopped and whether that spot is level enough to work on.
The fitter needs firm, fairly level ground beside the wheel, room to jack the car up and somewhere to leave the van close by. A drive, a legal space at the kerb or a quiet side street all work.
Roads out of the centre climb out of the valley, the A416 up Nashleigh Hill among them. A car cannot be jacked up safely on a steep slope, so tell us on the call if it has stopped on a hill. Do not drive on a flat tyre to reach a flatter spot, least of all uphill: it ruins the sidewall, and then a repair is no longer possible.
Supermarket, retail park and station car parks are private ground, so the owner's permission comes first. The same goes for the town-centre car parks such as Star Yard and Water Meadow, and for the one at Chesham Moor: check with whoever runs it, or tell us who that is, and we can plan the job around it.
| Postcode districts | HP5 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Town centre and High Street, Pond Park, Hilltop, Newtown, Waterside, Chessmount, Ley Hill, Botley, Lye Green, Chartridge, Asheridge |
| Landmarks | Lowndes Park, Chesham High Street, Chesham Moor Gym and Swim, Elgiva Theatre |
| Distance from our base | About 19 miles in a straight line from Brent Cross, NW2 |
The fitter brings the tools to the car, so there is no need to drive on a damaged tyre to a garage.
The fitter brings the new tyre to your home, your workplace or a safe place to park, fits it, balances the wheel and sets the pressure.
Tell us the size from the sidewall and we can talk through budget, mid-range and premium options for it.
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.
A flat tyre does not always mean a new tyre. Whether it can be repaired depends on where the damage is and how far the car was driven flat.
If the spare is missing, flat or a space saver you would rather not rely on, the repair or the new tyre is brought to the car.
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.
We work evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays when the diary allows, at the same price as a weekday job.
Out of normal working hours, where the car waits matters more: somewhere lit, legally parked and away from passing traffic.
Lost, broken or rounded key? The nuts are removed at the car with extraction sockets made for locking nuts.
Plain nuts or a new locking set go back on, and the tyre can be sorted on the same visit.
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.
Van tyres carry heavier loads and are marked with a C after the rim size and a higher load index. The replacement has to match both.
Fitting at a yard, a business car park or the kerb outside the job keeps the van working.
Run-flats keep the car moving for a limited distance after losing pressure, but they still need sorting properly afterwards.
The correct run-flat is sourced for your car, including maker-approved fitments, and fitted at the car.
We fit tyres only. We do not sell part-worn tyres and we do not do batteries, brakes or wheel alignment.
Call or WhatsApp with where the car is, the registration and the tyre size from the sidewall.
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.
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.
One new tyre is fine when the others still have plenty of tread and match it in size and pattern. A big difference in tread depth across one axle makes the car brake and corner unevenly.
Four-wheel-drive cars are more sensitive to differences in tread depth between tyres, so check the handbook before replacing just one.
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.
Nobody can promise a repair over the phone. The decision is made with the tyre off the rim, against the limits in the standard and the tyre maker's own guidance.
If the damage rules out a repair, you are told why before anything else is done. Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job.
In the villages and lanes, such as Ley Hill, Botley or Chartridge, give us the nearest house name or junction as well as the postcode, because one postcode can cover a long stretch of lane.
If the car is parked tight on a terraced street, in Newtown or near the station for example, tell us whether it is boxed in and whether the flat tyre is on the traffic side. The fitter can then judge whether the job can be done safely where it stands or the car needs moving a short way first.
For a job after dark, a drive or a spot under a street light is the better place to wait: a lit, level spot is quicker to work on and safer for everyone.
The nearest motorway junction is junction 18 of the M25, at Chorleywood. From there the van comes in on the A404 towards Amersham and then the A416 into the town; the A413 via Amersham and the B485 are the other main ways in.
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 a tyre goes on one of these roads, get the car off it first, to a side road, a car park or home, and call us from there.
“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!”
“I called out for a mobile repair. The service was quick and quite reasonably priced. Would recommend.”
“Amazingly fast, polite and saved my day.”
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.
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.
Sources: the tread and tyre rules are in the Highway Code, annex 6 on GOV.UK; TyreSafe publishes tyre safety advice.
Yes, if the site allows it. Places of this kind in this area include:
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:
We cover the whole town and the HP5 villages around it, from the High Street and Lowndes Park in the centre out to the estates on the valley sides and the villages on the ridges. Great Missenden and South Heath, over towards the A413, are covered too.
Hyde Heath is often grouped with these villages, but it sits on the Amersham side in HP6. We cover it as well; give us the address and we will tell you on the call how the job fits the diary.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Chesham area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
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Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.
