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. Potters Bar is about 9 miles in a straight line from our only base at Brent Cross, NW2. We give you an arrival time when you call.
EN6: Little Heath, Oakmere, Furzefield, Bentley Heath
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. 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. Through the town that means the A1000 and the A111.
| Postcode districts | EN6 |
|---|---|
| Areas | Little Heath, Oakmere, Furzefield, Bentley Heath, Cuffley, Northaw, South Mimms, Cranborne Road industrial estate |
| Landmarks | Darkes Lane, South Mimms services (M25 J23), Oakmere Park |
| Distance from our base | About 9 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.
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.
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.
The M25 and the A1(M) meet just outside the town at South Mimms. 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. If the car is unsafe where it is, your breakdown cover may reach you sooner.
Once the car is off the motorway, we can meet you on a side road or in a car park whose owner allows the work. South Mimms services at M25 junction 23 is only possible if the operator allows it, so we check that with you on the call.
Some of the roads out towards Northaw and Cuffley are narrow country lanes. If there is no safe space beside the car, tell us exactly where it is and we will say whether the work can be done there.
In Cuffley the B156 runs as Station Road and climbs Plough Hill. A car on a steep slope cannot be jacked safely, so if it is on the hill, say so; a level side road or a drive nearby is better. The Sopers Road industrial estate is private ground, like the Cranborne Road estate.
“Had two tyres replaced and was really impressed. Friendly and efficient, job completed quickly. Highly recommend!”
“Arrived and was very kind and polite. Reassured me about changing the tyres and was quick and attentive straight away.”
“Good and reliable service in all conditions.”
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.
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:
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:
The whole town is covered, including Little Heath, Oakmere, Furzefield and Bentley Heath, along with the villages around it such as South Mimms, Northaw, Cuffley and Brookmans Park. In Brookmans Park and Welham Green the station car parks belong to the railway, so the same permission rule applies there.
Rescue Tyres is a mobile service run from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The map shows the Potters Bar area so you can check where your car is: it is not an address of ours.
Why tyres fail the MOT, and how to avoid it
Tyres are one of the most common MOT failures. Here are the exact tyre checks an MOT covers, the faults that catch people out, and how to pass first time.
How to check your tyre tread with the 20p test
The 20p test is the quickest free way to check if your tyres are road-legal. Here's how to do it in 30 seconds, why it works, and what to do if they fail.
How to make your tyres last longer
Tyres are a big running cost. These six habits stretch their life and save you money without compromising safety, from correct pressures to smooth driving.
Tell us where the car is, the tyre size and what has happened, and the options are explained on the call.
