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. Dudley is about 102 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2 (further by road). We have no base or van stationed nearby. 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. DY1, DY2, DY3: Netherton, Kates Hill, Priory, Russells Hall
Puncture, blowout or worn tyres? We come to the car.
A job this far from our base is a long trip for one of our vans, so whether we can take it depends on the diary that day. We would rather tell you no on the first call than keep you waiting, so you can ring someone closer straight away.
Is a fitter from north London the right choice here?
Be realistic about the distance. A job in the Black Country is a long trip for the van, so it depends on the diary, and some days the answer is no. Planned work, such as worn tyres replaced on a car parked at home or at work for the day, is far easier to fit in than a flat that needs sorting straight away.
If you need the car moving and we cannot take the job, a breakdown service or a fitter based in the West Midlands may be the better option, and we will tell you that honestly on the call.
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.
Signs a tyre is due for replacing
Tread close to the legal minimum is the obvious sign, but it is not the only one. Fine cracks that open up when you squeeze the sidewall, a bulge, exposed cords or uneven wear on one edge all mean the tyre should be looked at.
Tyre safety groups suggest thinking about new tyres at 3 mm of tread, because stopping distances in the wet grow noticeably below that depth.
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.
Repair or replace: how the decision is made
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.
Local detail
From Castle Gate out to Sedgley, Netherton and Brierley Hill
The DY1, DY2 and DY3 districts run from the town centre and Castle Gate out to Kates Hill, Priory, Russells Hall, Holly Hall, Woodside and Eve Hill, south to Netherton and Dudley Wood, and north and west to Sedgley and the Gornals. Brierley Hill and Merry Hill, in DY5 to the south-west, are covered on the same basis.
Wherever the car is in the borough, it is the same long trip from Brent Cross, so the answer on the call is the same. On the big estates such as Russells Hall or Priory, give us the house number and the nearest through road as well as the postcode.
Where we can work
Where the fitter can work, and where not
The fitter needs a flat, legal place to park beside the car and room to lift it. A private drive or a residential street where the car is legally parked is ideal; on the steeper streets around Kates Hill, Eve Hill or the Gornals, tell us if the car is on a slope.
Car parks belong to someone. At Russells Hall Hospital, Port West Retail Park, the Castle Gate leisure park, Merry Hill or a supermarket, the operator has to allow the work, so check with them first.
Industrial and trading estates such as Castle Mill Works, Woodside Industrial Estate or Pensnett Trading Estate are private land too: the site owner or your employer needs to agree.
Visitor car parks at the zoo and castle or the Black Country Living Museum belong to those sites, so the same applies there.
Roads nearby
Birmingham New Road, the A461 and the M5
The A4123 Birmingham New Road runs out towards Wolverhampton and Birmingham, the A461 runs through Castle Gate Island as Duncan Edwards Way and on as Stourbridge Road and Birmingham Road, the A459 heads north towards Sedgley, and the A4036 Pedmore Road runs south past Merry Hill. The M5 is reached at junction 2.
If the car stops on one of these roads and can be moved slowly and safely, take it into a side street before you call. 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.
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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.
Dudley FAQs
Questions drivers ask
Can you fit tyres in the Merry Hill car park?
Only if the centre's management agrees to the work being done there, and only if we can take the trip that day. Check with customer services first, then call us with the car park and the row.
My car is on the Pensnett Trading Estate. Can you come to the unit?
Yes, if the site owner or your employer allows it and the diary has room. Give us the unit number and say whether the vehicle is a van, so the right tyre can be sourced.
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:
A4123 Birmingham New Road
A461 Stourbridge Road and Birmingham Road
A459 Dudley Road
A4036 Pedmore Road
M5 J2
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.
Can a tyre be repaired more than once?
Sometimes. Two repairs must not overlap or sit too close together, so where the earlier repair is matters.
Is there any way to save a burst tyre?
No. A burst or a split sidewall destroys the structure of the tyre, so it is always replaced.
What goes back on after removal?
Standard nuts matched to the wheel, or a new locking set if you prefer.
Are you insured?
Yes. Rescue Tyres is fully insured, has fitted more than 2,000 tyres and is a UK registered company.
Do new tyres come with a warranty?
New tyres carry the manufacturer's warranty against defects. It does not cover damage from punctures, kerbs or potholes.
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 Dudley area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
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Call to check we can take the job
Need a tyre fitter in Dudley? Call now.
Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.