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. Kettering is about 61 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.
NN14, NN15, NN16: Barton Seagrave, Burton Latimer, Rothwell, Ise Lodge
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.
Sixty-odd miles is a long trip for one job, and we would rather say so than have you wait on a promise. The tyre size from the sidewall is one of the first things we ask for, because on a trip this length the right tyre has to be found before anyone sets off.
Jobs that can wait a day or two, such as a set of worn tyres or a slow puncture that still holds air with topping up, are easier to fit in at this distance than a car that cannot move tonight.
| Postcode districts | NN14, NN15, NN16 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Barton Seagrave, Burton Latimer, Rothwell, Ise Lodge, Brambleside, Pipers Hill, Cranford, Geddington |
| Landmarks | Wicksteed Park |
| Distance from our base | About 61 miles in a straight line from Brent Cross, NW2 |
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The town sits on the A14 between junctions 7 and 10. The A6 passes Barton Seagrave as Kettering Road and runs along the Burton Latimer bypass to the Burton Latimer roundabout, and the A43, A509 and A6003 also meet the town. The A14 is a trunk road looked after by National Highways, who can be reached on 0300 123 5000.
We cannot fit a tyre on any of these roads where the car stopped. Once it is off the main road, for example in a side street in Barton Seagrave or a car park in town, ring us with the exact spot.
Kettering General Hospital, the station, Newlands Shopping Centre, the Northfield Avenue retail parks, the Conference Centre and Wicksteed Park all have private car parks, and work there goes ahead only if the operator agrees. If you can, ask the site office or security before we set off, and tell us which level or row the car is in.
The same goes for a unit's yard on the Telford Way or Pytchley Lodge industrial estates, or on Furnace Lane in Burton Latimer: the occupier has to be happy with it. A yard with room around the car and firm, level ground is a good place for the fitter to work.
“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!”
“A pleasure having them come down and save me. Big shout out to Hiwad, really responsive, recommend him to anybody.”
“From start to finish, Hiwad was incredibly professional and helpful.”
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. 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:
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:
The area covers Barton Seagrave and Burton Latimer to the south east, Ise Lodge, Brambleside and Pipers Hill on the edges of the town, Rothwell to the north west, and the villages of Cranford and Geddington, across the NN14, NN15 and NN16 postcode districts.
In the villages, a drive or a quiet lane with room beside the car is best. If the car is on a narrow lane or a farm track, say so on the call, as it may need to be moved to firmer, wider ground first.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Kettering 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.
