Aston is about 95 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.
If we can take the job, we work evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays when the diary allows, at the same price as a weekday job.
The A38(M), the Aston Expressway, and the M6 at junction 6, Gravelly Hill, are motorways, and the A38(M) has no hard shoulder. We cannot work anywhere on them or on their slip roads. Once the car has been recovered or driven off, a side street off the A5127 Lichfield Road, the A4040 or Trinity Road is where the fitter can get to it.
Station, retail park and industrial estate car parks are private land. The fitter can work there only if the owner or operator allows it, so check the signs or ask first. A driveway or a quiet, well lit residential street is usually the easiest place for the work.
If the car runs on a large or performance size, read the full size, load index and speed rating off the sidewall before you call. A less usual size has to be sourced for the job, and that is harder late in the day, so we will say on the call whether it can be done.
Give the street and a landmark such as Villa Park, Trinity Road or Salford Circus. Witton, Lozells, Newtown and Salford are in our record for the area, and the nearest stations are Witton and Perry Barr. Tudor Works near Birchfield is a private site, so ask there before the fitter is booked.
The price is the same at any hour. It depends on the job, and we confirm it on the call before anyone sets off.
Whether we can come out depends on the diary, on where the vans are and on how far the car is from our base.
Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job. Late at night or on a bank holiday suppliers may be closed, so if the right tyre cannot be found, we tell you on the call so you can decide what to do next. A puncture is repaired where the damage allows it.
Do not wait on the carriageway or the verge of a motorway or a fast road. If the car can be moved safely, leave at the next exit and stop in a lit side road or car park. If it cannot, follow the Highway Code: hazard lights on, everyone out on the side away from the traffic and behind the barrier if there is one, use the emergency phone or call 999 if anyone is in danger, then call your breakdown cover. 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. We can help once the car is somewhere safe.
Try not to keep driving on a flat tyre. It can turn a repairable puncture into a tyre that has to be replaced, and it can damage the wheel.
Many newer cars, especially some BMW and MINI models, leave the factory on run-flat tyres and carry no spare wheel. The sidewall says so, with a marking such as RSC, ROF, SSR, ZP or RFT depending on the maker.
A car built for run-flats should stay on run-flats, because it has no spare to fall back on and its suspension is set up for their stiffer sidewalls. Tell us on the call if the car has them, so the right tyre is sourced.
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.
“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.”
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
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.
These are the neighbourhoods, postcode districts and main roads on record for this area. Whether we can take a particular job depends on the diary and the distance from our base, so the call always decides.
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:
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What to keep in the car for a tyre emergency
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Call to check what the diary allows this evening or this weekend. The price is given on the call.
