Found a flat on a Brent permit bay or outside the office in Canary Wharf? Do not drive on it. Call, and the patch-or-new-tyre question is settled beside the car.
In London most flats are discovered, not felt. A car left on a Southwark street overnight sinks onto its rim, a commuter returns to a flat near Kings Cross, or a slow leak empties a tyre on a Harrow driveway. The instinct is to find a garage or petrol station, but driving on a flat, even for a few streets, crushes the sidewall and can ruin a tyre that was mendable, and a ULEZ charge besides.
Leave the car where it is and give us the street, the borough, the registration and anything visible in the rubber. The car is jacked, the tyre removed, and the inside wall examined for crushing. A tread puncture within BS AU 159 limits is repaired there; sidewall damage means a new tyre in your size. Both prices are given before anything is started.
The fitter works on resident bays, pay-by-phone bays and drives, as long as the van can stop legally. Station, hospital and shopping centre car parks do not allow vehicle work, so the car meets the fitter on the road outside.
| Main roads | M25; A406 North Circular and A205 South Circular; M1 J1 to J4 and M4 J1 to J3 |
|---|---|
| Typical arrival | Usually under an hour |
About flat tyre help nationwide → · Flat tyre help on the London page
Before calling about a flat in London, check the other tyres too; building debris on a Southwark or Tower Hamlets street seldom stops at one. On the deflated one, search for a nail, press the valve to hear if it hisses, and look for a kerb graze along the wall. Driving to a garage wrecks the casing and may cost the ULEZ in an older car. If you use a space-saver, keep the trip gentle and short. Otherwise leave the car on its bay or drive until the fitter comes.
Flat in London? Leave the car parked, call, and the fitter comes to you.
