What is mobile tyre fitting, and how does it work?

The short answer Mobile tyre fitting brings the tyre and the fitting machinery to the car, instead of the car being driven to a garage. A van carries the tyres, a tyre changer, a wheel balancer and a generator, so the whole job is done on your driveway, in a car park or on the verge. A single tyre normally takes 20 to 30 minutes once the fitter arrives.

Most people find mobile fitting for the first time on a bad morning: a flat tyre on the drive, a car that cannot safely be driven to a garage, and a day that was already full. The question is usually some version of can someone just come and sort it here?

This guide covers what the service actually is, what happens from the phone call to driving away, what the van carries, and — the part most pages leave out — the jobs a mobile fitter genuinely cannot do.

What mobile tyre fitting actually is

A mobile tyre fitting van is a workshop that drives to you. The equipment is the same equipment a garage uses, powered from the van rather than from the mains:

• A tyre changer to break the bead, lever the old tyre off the rim and fit the new one.
• A wheel balancer to spin the wheel and work out where the counterweights go. This is the piece people are most surprised to find in a van, and it is the reason a proper mobile fit is not a compromise.
• A generator or heavy-duty battery system to run both.
• A torque wrench so the wheel bolts go back to the manufacturer's figure rather than "tight".
• Stock — the common sizes carried on board, with anything unusual collected before the visit.

The work is the same work. What changes is that the car does not move, which matters a great deal when the reason you need a tyre is that the car should not be driven.

What happens, step by step

1. The call. We need the vehicle, the tyre size and where you are. The size is on the sidewall — something like 205/55 R16 91V. If you cannot get to the tyre safely, the registration and model will usually get us close, and we will confirm on arrival. Reading a tyre sidewall covers what those numbers mean.
2. The quote. You should be told the price of the tyre, the fitting and any call-out before anyone sets off. If a price is vague on the phone, ask again — see what mobile tyre fitting costs.
3. Arrival and check. The fitter confirms the size against the tyre on the car, not just against what was said on the phone, and looks at the other tyres while there.
4. The fit. Wheel off, old tyre off the rim, new tyre on, new valve where appropriate, balanced, refitted, torqued to specification.
5. Pressures and the old tyre. Pressures set to the plate figure for your car, and the old tyre taken away for recycling.

Where we can work

The requirement is space and a firm, level surface — enough room to get the van alongside and to work safely at the corner of the car.

When mobile fitting is not the right answer

An honest version of this page has to include the limits. There are jobs where the correct advice is not "we will come out".

The motorway is the clear one We do not fit tyres on a motorway hard shoulder, and neither should anyone else. It is one of the most dangerous places on the road network to stand still. On a motorway or a smart motorway, get behind the barrier and call for recovery to a safe place first — what to do with a flat tyre on the motorway covers the sequence.

Other cases where a garage or recovery is the better route:

• Suspected damage beyond the tyre. A hard pothole strike that has bent a rim or knocked the alignment out needs equipment that does not travel — see balancing vs alignment.
• Alignment. Balancing we do at your kerbside. Four-wheel alignment needs a fixed rig and a level floor.
• A wheel that will not come off. Severely corroded or seized wheels sometimes need more than roadside tools.
• No safe working space at all. A car wedged in a tight bay with no room alongside cannot be worked on safely.

Is it as good as a garage fit?

For fitting and balancing, yes — provided the van carries a balancer and the fitter uses a torque wrench. Those two things are what separate a proper mobile fit from a wheel swap. A tyre that is fitted but not balanced will vibrate at speed, and wheel bolts done up by feel are either loose or over-stressed.

It is worth asking. Any mobile fitter should be able to answer "do you balance on site?" without hesitating.

Common questions

Do I need to be with the car?

Not always. If the car is on a driveway and the keys are accessible, plenty of jobs are done while people are at work or asleep. It needs arranging on the phone first so nobody is standing next to a locked car.

Can you fit tyres I have bought elsewhere?

Usually yes, as a fitting-only job. Check the tyre is the correct size and load rating for the vehicle before it arrives — load index and speed rating explains why that matters more than most people expect.

What if the tyre can be repaired instead?

Then it should be repaired — it is cheaper and it keeps a good tyre in service. Whether that is possible depends on where the damage is, and the repairable area is smaller than most people assume. Can a puncture be repaired? covers the rules a fitter actually applies.

Do you take the old tyre away?

Yes. Used tyres are controlled waste and have to go to a licensed facility, not in a bin.

What about locking wheel nuts?

We need the key. It is usually in the glovebox, the boot well or with the jack. Without it the wheel cannot come off — see lost or damaged locking wheel nuts.

Getting it done

We fit and repair tyres at homes, workplaces and the roadside across England and Wales, 24 hours a day. If you are not sure whether your situation is a fit, a repair or a recovery job, describe it on the phone and we will tell you honestly — including when the answer is that you do not need us.

More on the service: mobile tyre fitting, mobile tyre repair and commercial and van tyres.