Mobile Puncture Repairs in London

A puncture does not always mean a new tyre

Most punctures come from a nail, screw or sharp bit of debris picked up on the road. If the damage is small and in the right part of the tread, a proper repair can put the tyre back into service, which saves you the cost of a replacement. If it is not repairable, we will tell you straight and fit a new tyre there and then.

We work across London 24 hours a day, at your home, your workplace or the roadside, and usually reach you within 30 to 40 minutes. Call or WhatsApp 07396 700 900 with your location and, if you can, a photo of the tyre.

Is my punctured tyre repairable?

In the UK, puncture repairs on car tyres should follow British Standard BS AU 159. It sets out where on a tyre a repair is allowed and how large the damage can be. A proper repair follows it, so the answer depends on what the fitter finds rather than on what is quickest.

The main points we check are:

• Where the damage is. Repairs are only allowed in the minor repair area, which is the central three quarters of the tread width. Damage nearer the edge, in the shoulder, is outside that zone.
• How big it is. For car tyres, an injury larger than 6mm in diameter should not be repaired.
• What kind of damage it is. A clean hole from a nail or screw can often be repaired. Cuts, splits, tears and gouges cannot.
• The sidewall. The sidewall flexes and carries a lot of load, so any damage there rules out a repair.
• The inside of the tyre. We take the tyre off the rim and look inside, because driving on a flat or very soft tyre can crush and damage the inner wall even when the outside looks fine.

We also look at the tread depth and general condition. If the tyre is close to the legal limit of 1.6mm, repairing it rarely makes sense, and we will say so.

What happens when you call us

When you ring or message 07396 700 900, we ask where you are, what car you drive and the tyre size printed on the sidewall (for example 205/55 R16). A photo of the puncture and the sidewall helps us judge whether a repair is likely and which replacement tyres to bring in case it is not.

Once we arrive, usually within 30 to 40 minutes, we jack the car up safely, remove the wheel and find the source of the leak. If there is no obvious nail or screw, we check the valve and the edge of the rim, because slow leaks often come from there rather than from the tread. The tyre is then taken off the wheel so the inside can be inspected properly.

If it can be repaired, we prepare the area and carry out the repair from the inside of the tyre, refit it, inflate it to your vehicle’s recommended pressure and check for leaks. If your car has a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), we take care around the sensor and let you know if the warning light needs resetting. If the tyre cannot be repaired, we explain why, show you the damage and offer budget, mid-range or premium replacements that suit your car.

Signs you have a puncture

Not every puncture leaves you with a flat tyre. Many are slow leaks that take days to show. It is worth calling us if you notice any of the following:

You keep having to top one tyre up with air. Your TPMS warning light comes on, or one tyre looks lower than the others. The car pulls to one side, or the steering feels heavy or vague. You can hear a regular ticking from a wheel at low speed, which often means a nail or screw in the tread. Or you can simply see something sharp sticking out of the tyre.

If you find a nail or screw, leave it where it is. Pulling it out usually turns a slow leak into a fast one. If the tyre is already flat, try not to drive on it. Even a short distance can damage the sidewall beyond repair, when a repair might otherwise have been possible.

Run-flat and performance tyres

Run-flat tyres are designed to keep you moving for a limited distance after losing pressure. That is useful, but it also means the inside of the tyre may have been worked hard without you noticing. Tyre manufacturers have different policies on whether their run-flat tyres can be repaired at all, and some do not allow it. We check the manufacturer’s position for your tyre before doing anything, and if a repair is not allowed we will fit a replacement run-flat instead.

Performance and high speed-rated tyres can also carry restrictions from the manufacturer. Again, we check before we repair, and we will not repair a tyre that should not be repaired.

Why we repair at your location

A puncture rarely happens at a convenient time. Rather than fitting a space-saver, finding a garage and waiting, you can stay where you are. That might be your driveway at seven in the morning before the school run, a work car park in the middle of the day or the side of the road late at night. Our vans carry what we need to repair or replace the tyre on the spot, and we work across London around the clock, every day of the year.

If a repair is not suitable, having replacement tyres on the van means you do not have to make a second trip. For fleets and vans, it also means less time off the road.