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. Dunstable is about 25 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call.
LU5, LU6: Town centre and the crossroads, Downside, Beecroft, Kingsway
The van comes up the M1 to the car, whether it is on a drive in Downside, at work on the Woodside estate or outside a house in one of the villages below the Downs.
The car park on Dunstable Downs is run by the National Trust and the car parks at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo by the zoo, so the operator's permission is needed before we can work there. If you are parked in one, ask the staff on site, or tell us and we will check what is possible.
The B4541 climbs steeply over the Downs. A car stopped on that hill or on a narrow verge is not a safe place to change a wheel, and a car cannot be jacked up safely on a slope. If it can be driven slowly to somewhere level and off the road, do that; if it cannot, put the hazard lights on and get yourself clear of the road. The same applies on the lanes out towards Totternhoe, Kensworth and Whipsnade.
| Postcode districts | LU5, LU6 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Town centre and the crossroads, Downside, Beecroft, Kingsway, Priory, Manshead, Icknield, Woodside industrial estate, Totternhoe, Kensworth, Whipsnade |
| Landmarks | Grove Theatre, Priory Church of St Peter, Priory Gardens, Dunstable Downs, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable Leisure Centre |
| Distance from our base | About 25 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.
Tread close to the legal minimum is the obvious sign, but it is not the only one. Fine cracks that open up when you squeeze the sidewall, a bulge, exposed cords or uneven wear on one edge all mean the tyre should be looked at.
Tyre safety groups suggest thinking about new tyres at 3 mm of tread, because stopping distances in the wet grow noticeably below that depth.
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.
Nobody can promise a repair over the phone. The decision is made with the tyre off the rim, against the limits in the standard and the tyre maker's own guidance.
If the damage rules out a repair, you are told why before anything else is done. Common sizes are often on the van; other sizes are sourced for the job.
On a driveway or a residential street where the car is legally parked, the fitter can work beside it. Downside, Beecroft and Kingsway are mostly residential streets where that is straightforward.
The car parks at the Quadrant shopping centre and the leisure centre, and the yards on Woodside industrial estate, belong to their operators or to the businesses there, so we need their agreement before working on that land. If your car is at work, a word with the site manager before we arrive saves a wasted trip.
Around the crossroads in the town centre, where the A5 meets the A505, say exactly where the car is and whether it is in a short-stay bay, so the fitter can find somewhere legal to stop beside it.
The M1 at junction 11, the A5 and the A505 all carry traffic around the town, and the B489 runs out to the west. If the car stops on a busy main road and can be moved slowly and safely, take it into a side street before you call.
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 the M1, follow the Highway Code and call your breakdown cover or National Highways; once the car is off the motorway and somewhere safe, call us.
“From start to finish, Hiwad was incredibly professional and helpful.”
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
“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.
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:
We cover the whole town, from the centre around Priory Gardens and the Grove Theatre to Priory, Manshead and Icknield, and the villages of Totternhoe, Kensworth, Whipsnade and Eaton Bray on the B440. For a house on a lane, give us the house name and the nearest junction as well as the postcode.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Dunstable area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
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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.
