The law is fairly blunt about it. A tyre is unroadworthy if the tread drops below 1.6mm anywhere across the central three quarters of its width, if the ply or cord is exposed, if there is a cut long or deep enough to reach the body of the tyre, or if there is a bulge or lump caused by separation inside the structure. Any one of those is an MOT failure and a fine, and none of them care how new the tyre looks from a distance.
What the law does not tell you is which of those you actually have, and that is the part worth getting right. Owners frequently condemn a tyre that is perfectly sound because the alloy behind it got kerbed, and just as frequently ignore a small swelling on a sidewall that means the casing has already come apart internally. So we come out and look at it properly: pressures, tread depths right across the face, the inner edge that you cannot see from the pavement, and the bead area where kerb strikes land. Then you get a straight verdict, up to and including the answer that the tyre is fine.
You will get a straight driveable-or-not answer before anything else happens. A broken tyre is usually a slow discovery rather than a bang: a kerb strike, a pothole on a road like the A406, a cut picked up who knows where, a bulge spotted while it sat parked up in Colney Hatch. Christmas Day in Friary Park, any day in New Southgate: the line is open. Ring at 3am from Colney Hatch and someone answers; Whetstone at noon is no different. From North Middlesex Golf Club through Friary Park to New Southgate, it is one round.
Broken tyre replacement in Friern Barnet is part of our wider mobile 24-hour emergency callout cover. For broken tyre replacement in Friern Barnet, call 07717 389637 or ask us for a quote.
Potholes on the commuter routes and tight kerbs on the residential streets around Friern Barnet Road do most of the damage we get called to. We inspect it where the car is parked, explain what the damage actually means and only fit a new tyre when the old one is genuinely beyond use.
A nasty scrape to the wheel lip and an owner assuming the worst. The bead was undamaged, the sidewall was clean and the pressure was holding. Nothing was replaced and nothing needed to be.
Six months old and a lump the size of a walnut on the outer sidewall. A pothole had done it in a moment. Tread depth was irrelevant, because the cords underneath had already parted.
The tread looked reasonable from the kerb, but the inside shoulder had worn through to the belt. That is an instant failure and usually points at the alignment being out, which is worth having checked.
Depth decides it. If it has not reached the cords it can often be left, and if it has, the tyre is finished. That takes a proper look rather than a photograph.
In effect, yes. Rubber hardens and crazes with age whether the car moves or not, and a perished sidewall grips badly however much tread is left on it.
We will tell you plainly that it is fine first. If you still want it changed after that, it is your car and your call.
Usually tracking or worn suspension bushes. It is worth investigating, because otherwise the new tyre wears out exactly the same way.
Not by any legitimate method. The internal structure has failed and the only correct answer is a new tyre.
★★★★★ 4.9 from 151 verified Google reviews.
Read all 151 reviews on Google →Prefer a callback? Send your details for a broken tyre replacement price in Friern Barnet.