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. Oxford is about 46 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.
OX1, OX2, OX3, OX4: Headington, Cowley, Botley, Marston
The fitter needs a safe, level spot beside the car with room to jack it up: a driveway, a quiet side street, a parking bay or a car park where the owner allows it.
| Postcode districts | OX1, OX2, OX3, OX4 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Headington, Cowley, Botley, Marston, Jericho, Summertown, Blackbird Leys, Iffley, Temple Cowley, Wolvercote, Rose Hill, Littlemore |
| Landmarks | Westgate Oxford, BMW Mini plant, Cowley |
| Distance from our base | About 46 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.
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.
Driving on a tyre with little or no air crushes the sidewall between the rim and the road. The inner liner rubs on itself and breaks up, which often shows as grey dust or a groove inside the tyre.
Once that has happened the tyre cannot be repaired, even if the hole itself is small and well placed. Stopping as soon as the tyre feels soft gives the best chance of saving it.
The city sits towards the outer edge of the area we serve, so a job here is a longer trip for the van and has to fit the diary. Planned work, such as a pair of new tyres booked a day or two ahead, is easier to arrange than an urgent call.
Because the van is coming a long way, we want the full tyre size before it sets off: the whole line from the sidewall, including the load and speed rating at the end. A photo of the sidewall is fine if the numbers are hard to read.
Much of the traffic round the city uses the A34 Western and Southern By-pass, the A40 Northern By-pass and the A4142 Eastern By-pass, with the A44 Woodstock Road and the A420 Botley Road running into the centre.
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 fails on one of the by-passes, leave at the next junction if you can do so safely, keep clear of the big roundabouts such as Cutteslowe, Littlemore and the Botley Interchange, and stop on a side road before you call. If the car is unsafe where it is, your breakdown cover may reach you sooner.
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
“A pleasure having them come down and save me. Big shout out to Hiwad, really responsive, recommend him to anybody.”
“Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service.”
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:
This covers the city from Summertown and Wolvercote in the north to Rose Hill, Littlemore and Blackbird Leys in the south, Headington and Cowley in the east, and Botley and the Hinksey villages in the west. It also takes in places just beyond the ring road, such as Wheatley, Kennington and Cumnor.
If the car is in one of the college lanes or a pedestrian street in the centre, tell us where the nearest road a van can legally stop on is, as the fitter has to work beside the car.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Oxford area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
The UK tyre tread depth law, explained
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Illegal tyres: the fines and penalty points explained
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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.
