FAQ
The questions that come in
Anything not answered below goes to 020 4634 0997.
Which ground does the van actually drive?
Fifty-one district codes, out of EN4. Hadley Wood is the base, with Barnet on one side and Potters Bar on the other. From there it runs through Enfield, Cheshunt and Borehamwood, up the A1(M) to Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City, along the A10 to Hertford, Ware and Buntingford, and south into Haringey and Islington. Each code has a page of its own naming the places inside it. A street that is not on one of those pages gets a no while you are still on the phone.
Is the number answered at three in the morning?
Yes, and that is what the night is for: a casing that has gone on the motorway, a battery that will not turn in an unlit car park, a car that has to come off the road before the morning traffic arrives. A swap you can plan is better booked into daylight, when the light is on your side and so is the parking.
How is a figure worked out?
Read the size off the sidewall if the tyre is still there — the string like 225/45 R17 94W — or give the make, model and year if it is not. Say where the vehicle is standing and what went wrong. What comes back is one number covering the tyre, the fitting, the balance, a new valve and the old casing taken away, and it is given before the van leaves rather than after the wheel is off.
Can you get a particular make of tyre?
Often, and if it is not on the van today it can usually be brought. Where it cannot, you are told which pattern is being offered instead and why, with the wet grip and noise figures off the EU label so the swap is judged on numbers. Nothing is sold as something it is not.
The car is on the M25 hard shoulder. What now?
Get everyone out through the passenger doors and up the bank, past the barrier where there is one, then ring. Say the direction of travel and the nearest marker post or junction — J23 and J24 and the South Mimms slips are familiar ground. On a quiet street in EN4 or EN6 it is usually fine to sit in the car, and a landmark beats a dropped pin that will not load on one bar of signal.
When does the money change hands?
At the vehicle, once the wheel is back on and torqued. Card is the usual method. Mention a fleet account or an insurance claim at the booking and the paperwork is written to suit it rather than reissued later.
Is a kerbside fit as good as a bay?
The same machine does the same work: bead broken, tyre off the rim, the inside of the casing inspected, the new one fitted, the wheel balanced and the nuts torqued to the maker's figure. What the kerb cannot give is a ramp, so a cracked rim, seized hub or a spot with no room to work means the car goes on the truck rather than being bodged where it sits.
Is this a call centre with a van somewhere?
No. The phone is answered by someone who drives EN4, EN6 and the M25 slip roads, and who will know the road you name. There is no queue, no reference number and no script.