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. Croydon is about 15 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call.
CR0, CR2, CR5, CR7, CR8, SE25: Central Croydon, South Croydon, Addiscombe, Thornton Heath
The borough is on the far side of London from us, so the drive across town is part of every job here, and the northern neighbourhoods are the nearest part of it.
The A23, which runs through the borough as London Road, Purley Way and Brighton Road, is a TfL red route. We cannot stop or work on a red route; the car needs to be on a side street or private ground first.
If the car is in a controlled parking zone permit bay, tell us so the fitter can park legally beside it.
Private car parks need the permission of whoever runs them before we can work there. That includes the shopping centre car parks in the town centre (the Whitgift Centre and Centrale), the Purley Way retail parks, the car parks at East and West Croydon stations and Croydon University Hospital, and industrial estates such as Vulcan Way and Thornton Road. Check with the site first, or tell us where you are and we can agree another place to meet.
A multi-storey with a height barrier may not take the van, so a car parked on an upper deck in the town centre may need to come down to a surface level or a side street.
The area is inside the London-wide Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), in force since 29 August 2023: a charge for driving a vehicle that does not meet its emission standards, not for a parked car.
| Postcode districts | CR0, CR2, CR5, CR7, CR8, SE25, SE19, SW16 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Central Croydon, South Croydon, Addiscombe, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Purley, Coulsdon, Selsdon, Sanderstead, New Addington, Shirley, South Norwood, Upper Norwood, Kenley, Waddon, Old Coulsdon, Forestdale, Woodside |
| Landmarks | East Croydon station, Selhurst Park, Fairfield Halls, Boxpark Croydon |
| Local rules | Inside the London-wide Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) |
| Red routes: we cannot stop or work on them | |
| Controlled parking zones (permit or pay-and-display bays) on many streets | |
| Distance from our base | About 15 miles in a straight line from Brent Cross, NW2 |
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.
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 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.
A tyre that needs air every week or two has a slow leak. The cause can be a small object in the tread, a leaking valve or valve core, or a poor seal where the tyre meets a corroded rim.
A slow leak still needs finding and fixing, because a tyre run underinflated wears faster, runs hotter and can fail at speed.
We cover the whole borough: Norbury, Thornton Heath, South Norwood, Upper Norwood and Woodside in the north; Addiscombe, Shirley and Waddon around the centre; South Croydon, Purley, Kenley, Coulsdon and Old Coulsdon in the south; and Selsdon, Sanderstead, Forestdale and New Addington to the south east.
On the south-eastern edge, around New Addington and the lanes out towards Fickleshole and Farleigh, give us the house name or the nearest junction as well as the postcode. If the car is in a garage court or a block of flats with its own parking, say so, and check that whoever manages it is happy for the work to be done there.
Besides the A23, the main roads are the A212 Wellesley Road through the town centre, the A232 Addiscombe Road and Croydon Road running east towards Shirley, and the A22 Godstone Road through Purley and Kenley. In the south, the M23 starts beyond Coulsdon, near Hooley.
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 goes on one of these roads, turn into the first side street or car park you are allowed to stop in, and call from there.
“I urgently needed to replace my tyres and the team were prompt, friendly and efficient at a great price.”
“Arrived and was very kind and polite. Reassured me about changing the tyres and was quick and attentive straight away.”
“Amazingly fast, polite and saved my day.”
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.
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:
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Croydon area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
The UK tyre tread depth law, explained
The legal minimum tyre tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm. Here's exactly what the law means, how it's measured and the fines for getting it wrong.
Correct tyre pressure for your car, and what under-inflated tyres do
Find your car's recommended tyre pressure on the door placard or in the handbook, and learn how to set it correctly for load and conditions on UK roads.
Illegal tyres: the fines and penalty points explained
Driving on illegal tyres can cost £2,500 and 3 penalty points per tyre. Here's what makes a tyre illegal in the UK and how to stay legal.
Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.
