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. Jewellery Quarter 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. B1, B3, B18: St Paul's Square, Vyse Street, Warstone Lane, Hockley
Puncture, blowout or worn tyres? We come to the car.
A job this far from our base is a long trip for one of our vans, so whether we can take it depends on the diary that day. We would rather tell you no on the first call than keep you waiting, so you can ring someone closer straight away.
Where the car needs to be for us to work on it
The fitter needs a safe, level spot beside the car with room to jack it up: a driveway, a quiet side street, a parking bay or a car park where the owner allows it. In the Quarter that usually means a side street, a business yard or a car park, with a few conditions.
On the street, the car has to be parked legally. If the car is in a controlled parking zone permit bay or a pay bay, tell us so the fitter can park legally beside it.
Private car parks and works yards need the permission of whoever runs them before we can work there, so ask first.
We cannot work on the carriageway of a busy main road such as the A41 along Great Hampton Street and Hockley Hill, the A4540 at Icknield Street or the A457 at Sand Pits and Summer Hill. Hockley Circus is no place to stop either.
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. Once the car is safely off the road, call us.
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.
Tyre taken off the rim and inspected inside
Repair considered only for small holes in the central tread area
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.
Damaged tyre removed and the rim checked for bends or cracks
Replacement matched to the size, load index and speed rating
New tyre balanced on the wheel before it goes back on
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.
Wheel removed and spun on a balancer
Weights fitted to the rim to even out the balance
Wheel back on with the nuts torqued to the maker's figure
We fit tyres only. We do not sell part-worn tyres and we do not do batteries, brakes or wheel alignment.
Worth knowing
Tyre know-how before you call
New tyres
New tyres fitted where the car is parked
Reading the size on your sidewall
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.
Budget, mid-range or premium
Tyres fall roughly into three tiers. Premium brands usually stop shorter in the wet and often last longer; budget tyres cost less up front but vary more in quality.
The label on most new car tyres grades wet grip, fuel efficiency and outside noise, which is a fairer guide than the brand name alone. For a car doing high mileage or plenty of motorway driving, look at the wet grip grade first.
Puncture repair
How a puncture is judged and repaired
What BS AU 159 allows
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.
Nails and screws in the tread
If you can see a nail or screw in the tread, leave it where it is. It is often partly sealing the hole, and pulling it out can turn a slow leak into a flat.
Take a photo of where it sits and send it on WhatsApp. Its position across the tread says a lot about whether a repair is likely.
Local detail
Workshop yards, setts and narrow streets
Many of the older streets around Vyse Street, Warstone Lane and Frederick Street are lined with workshops, and a car may be parked in a yard behind a gate. If it is, tell us how a van gets in and whether there is room to work beside the wheel, and check the yard owner is happy for the job to be done there.
Around St Paul's Square some of the road is laid in setts, which can be uneven for a jack. If the car is on an uneven or sloping spot, say so on the call; moving it a short way to flat tarmac, if it can be driven safely, often makes the job possible.
Local detail
The Clean Air Zone and the Middleway
Birmingham's Clean Air Zone covers the roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road and has charged since 1 June 2021. It is a charge for driving a vehicle that does not meet the standards, not for a parked car. Along this edge of the city centre the ring road runs as Icknield Street.
If your car is not compliant and you will need to drive it inside the zone after the repair, check your vehicle on the GOV.UK clean air zone checker before you set off.
Local detail
Streets and corners of the Quarter we can reach
The area takes in St Paul's Square, Vyse Street, Warstone Lane and Frederick Street, and runs out to Key Hill, Newhall Hill, Hockley and Great Hampton Street, across the B1, B3 and B18 postcodes. Constitution Hill runs in from Snow Hill on the city centre side. The fitter can come to any of them, as long as the car is somewhere it can legally and safely be worked on.
Near the station and Metro stop or the Assay Office, give us the street name as well as the landmark.
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
PNPegah NourmandGoogle review
★★★★★
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“Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service.”
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Pricing
How the price is worked out
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.
What goes into the price
The tyre itself: size, load index, speed rating and whether it is a run-flat
The tier you choose: budget, mid-range or premium
The work: a repair, one new tyre or several, and any locking nut removal
The location of the car
Tyres and the law
Tread depth, tyre age and the law
The legal tread limit
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.
The 20p test
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.
Other defects that make a tyre illegal
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.
How old is your tyre?
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.
Staying safe
Staying safe until the job is done
While you wait for the fitter
Stop somewhere off the main flow of traffic, switch on the hazard lights and, if you have one, put on a high-visibility vest.
Get everyone out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind a barrier, on a pavement or well back from the road.
If the tyre may still be repairable, say so before using a sealant can, and leave any nail or screw where it is.
Keep your phone on and charged, and tell us about anything that makes the spot hard to find.
Tyre failure on a motorway
If the car can still be driven safely, carry on to the next exit or services and stop away from traffic before you call.
If you cannot leave, use an emergency area or the hard shoulder, stop well to the left and, if it is safe to, get out on the side away from the traffic.
Wait behind the barrier, not in the car. Rule 277 of the Highway Code says not to attempt any repairs on your vehicle on a motorway.
Call 999 if you are in danger or stuck in a live lane. Otherwise National Highways can be reached on 0300 123 5000.
Jewellery Quarter FAQs
Questions drivers ask
Can you fit a tyre in a works yard off Vyse Street?
Yes, if the owner of the yard agrees and there is room for the fitter to work beside the wheel. Tell us on the call how the van gets in and whether there is a gate or a height limit.
Is my street inside the Clean Air Zone?
The zone covers the roads inside the A4540 Middleway, which runs as Icknield Street along this side of the centre, so it depends which side of the ring road the street is on. The charge is for driving, not for a parked car, so it does not stop a tyre being fitted where the car stands.
Can the fitter work in a hospital, station or retail park car park?
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:
Jewellery Quarter station and Metro stop
Snow Hill station
Which main roads near here can the fitter not work on?
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:
A41 Great Hampton Street and Hockley Hill
A4540 Icknield Street
Constitution Hill
A457 Sand Pits and Summer Hill
Can I bring the car to you instead?
No. Our base at Brent Cross holds tyres only and is not a walk-in garage. Every fitting and repair is done at the car.
Can you fit tyres at my workplace?
Yes, if the car is parked legally on the street, or in a car park where the owner or site manager allows the work. Tell us where the car is. If the car has locking wheel nuts, have the key ready.
How do I find my tyre size?
Look on the side of the tyre for a code like 205/55 R16 91V. The handbook has it too, and many cars show it on a sticker inside the driver's door or the fuel flap.
My tyre keeps losing air slowly. Is it a puncture?
It may be, or it may be the valve or the seal between the tyre and the rim; the tyre has to come off to tell which.
Can I claim for pothole damage?
You may be able to claim from the council or the authority that looks after the road. Note the location, photograph the pothole and the tyre, and keep the receipt.
Will locking nut removal damage my alloy wheels?
The method is chosen to avoid that. If an earlier attempt has already marked the wheel, the fitter points it out before starting.
Areas around the Jewellery Quarter
St Paul's Square
Key Hill
Newhall Hill
Area map
See the area on a map.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Jewellery Quarter area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
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Call to check we can take the job
Need a tyre fitter in Jewellery Quarter? Call now.
Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.