Between Nuneaton and Coventry, a car with a missing or broken locking nut key can sit on a CV12 drive for days, because nothing else will turn that nut. Removing it at the car, with care for the alloy, frees the wheel again.
Bedworth is about 82 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.
A key with worn or chipped teeth, or a nut already attacked with the wrong socket, gets worse each time it is tried. Every slip rounds the pattern further and can scratch the wheel. If it has slipped once or twice, leave it and tell us what has been tried.
A photo of the nut, and of the key if you have it, helps the fitter judge the job before setting off.
A drive or a legal space on a residential street in Collycroft, Exhall, Bulkington, Goodyers End, Mount Pleasant, Bedworth Woodlands, Ash Green or Keresley End is ideal.
Works yards on the Bayton Road and Three Spires industrial estates, and the car parks at Arena Shopping Park and the Leisure Centre, are private. The people who run them decide whether work can happen there, so ask first.
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. That rules out the A444 bypass, the Exhall Interchange and M6 junction 3 until the car has left them.
Coming from NW2 makes this a long trip, so whether we can book it depends on the diary. If we can do it, you get an arrival time on the call. If not, we say no at once, and your breakdown cover or a local garage may be the better option.
The price depends on how many locking nuts need removing and whether you want standard nuts or a new locking set, plus any tyre work. It is confirmed on the call before anyone sets off, and it does not change in the evening or at the weekend.
Most cars with locking wheel nuts have one on each wheel, with a patterned head that only its matching key will turn. The key is a small socket that fits between the nut and the wheel brace. Without it the wheel cannot come off, so a lost or broken key turns a simple puncture into a bigger job.
Each key has a code, usually on a small card that came with the car or stamped on the key itself. With the code, a replacement key can often be ordered from a dealer or the lock maker, which is worth doing if the wheel does not need to come off urgently.
A nut can also be damaged: the pattern rounds off when the wrong tool or an impact gun is used, or the key snaps inside the nut. In those cases the key would not help even if it turned up, and the nut has to be removed.
Every wheel nut is tightened to the maker's setting with a torque wrench. It is good practice to have the nuts checked again after the first short drive following any wheel work, as alloy wheels can settle slightly.
If you want locking nuts again, a new set can be fitted later. Keep the new key in the glovebox and note the key code somewhere outside the car, such as on your phone, so a replacement key can be ordered if it goes missing.
Tell us whether the key is lost, broken or rounded off. A clear photo of one of the nuts helps.
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.
If the key turns up but does not fit, or it slips on the nut, stop rather than force it: a rounded nut is harder to remove.
The previous owner, or the dealer that sold the car, may still have the key or its code, so a call to them can be worth it if the wheel can wait.
“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!”
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
“Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service.”
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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Tell us the make, model and registration, and whether you have the key code card. The price is given on the call.
