Most of the quote calls we take in Glasgow start the same way. Someone is standing beside a car in the dark with the torch app on, reading numbers off a tyre and hoping they are the right ones. They are not sure what we need, so they tell us everything except the thing that matters.
Here is the truth from our side of the phone. To quote for tyres we need five things. That is it. Have them ready and the call takes about two minutes, and you get one total before the van moves.
A photo makes it even quicker, and we will come to that. The line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all weather, so this works the same at 2pm and at 2am. Let us start with the list.
The Short Answer: What We Need to Quote for Tyres
To quote for tyres we need five things: your registration or the size on the tyre sidewall, your postcode and exact location, what has happened to the tyre, your vehicle type and wheel size, and when you need it. With those, you get one total on the call.
In order:
- Your registration, or the size printed on the tyre sidewall
- Your postcode and exact location
- What has happened to the tyre
- Your vehicle type and wheel size
- When you need it
Give us those five and the figure you hear on the phone is the figure you pay. One total on the call, before the van moves, and nothing added after it.
The Five Things in Detail
Each item on that list exists for one reason. It removes a variable that could otherwise move the price later.
1. Your Registration or the Size on the Sidewall
Your registration starts the conversation. The sidewall settles it.
Every tyre carries a code like 205/55 R16 91V. The 205 is the width in millimetres. The 55 is the profile, meaning the sidewall height as a percentage of that width. R means radial construction, which nearly every modern tyre uses. The 16 is the rim diameter in inches. The 91 is the load index, in this case 615kg per tyre. The V is the speed rating, good for 149mph. If you want the full breakdown of every letter and number on the wall, we have written one here: decoding tyre sidewall markings, and the international standard behind those codes is set out in the tyre code specification.
You do not need to understand any of that. You only need to read it out, or better still, photograph it. We do the decoding.
2. Your Postcode or Exact Location
A postcode gets the van to the right street. In Glasgow, that is often not enough.
We fit tyres in tenement back courts you can only reach through a close. We work beside permit bays in the West End. We take calls from multi storey car parks a fitting van cannot enter because of the height barrier. So give us the street, a landmark, and which side of the road the car sits on.
Across Glasgow and the Central Belt our average arrival is 30 to 45 minutes, and most drivers are back on the road within 20 to 40 minutes of the van arriving. Arrival times outside the Central Belt are given on the call for your exact location, and we explain how those timings work in how quickly we can reach you with a flat tyre.
3. What Has Actually Happened to the Tyre
Four situations cover almost every call we take. The tyre went flat overnight. It blew out while driving. There is a bulge in the sidewall. Or it is worn low and due for replacement.
This matters because a repair and a replacement are different jobs at different prices. A roadside puncture repair runs £25 to £50. Whether a tyre can be repaired is decided by inspection on arrival, so describe what you see and we will tell you the likely options.
A bulge, for the record, is never repairable. That one is always a replacement.
4. Vehicle Type and Wheel Size
A car, a van, a 4×4 and a commercial vehicle carry different tyres at different prices. The van is loaded with your stock before it leaves our Polmadie base, so we need to know what we are loading for.
Van tyres catch people out. A commercial casing carries a C after the size, such as 225/75 R16C, and it is not interchangeable with a car tyre of the same dimensions.
Two size-related items also shape the quote: run-flat tyres and rims over 18 inches. Both are covered further down, and unusual sizes are confirmed on the call before the van sets off.
5. When You Need It
Only three answers matter here. Now. Later today. Or a booked slot that suits you.
Your answer changes the arrival time we give you. It does not change the total we quote. We run through the night and in all weather, so tonight is a real option rather than a favour, and there is no extra charge for a night time callout.
Why a Photo of the Sidewall on WhatsApp Is the Fastest Route
We ask for photos because phones and wind do not mix. A 5 misheard as a 9 on a noisy street means the van arrives carrying the wrong tyre, and everyone loses an hour. A photo cannot be misheard.
Taking a useful one takes ten seconds. If the numbers face inwards, turn the steering to full lock so the sidewall swings out. Wipe the rubber clean. Then shoot square on, close enough that the whole code and any letters after it are legible.
Send it on WhatsApp to 07955 533000 along with your postcode. That is the exact pair of things our office asks for, and it is usually all we need to give you a total.
Reg Lookup Versus the Sidewall: What Each One Tells You
Three sources can tell you a tyre size, and they do not always agree.
| Registration lookup | Tyre sidewall | Door shut placard | |
| What it tells you | The size the car left the factory with | The size the car is wearing right now | The sizes the manufacturer approves |
| How current it is | Frozen at the factory | Live, today | Fixed for the car’s life |
| What it misses | Wheel changes, staggered sets, past mistakes | Whether that size is actually the correct one | What a previous owner chose to fit |
| When to trust it | As a starting point | For the quote | As the final check |
The short version: the lookup tells you what the car left the factory with, the sidewall tells you what it is wearing today, and the placard tells you what it should be wearing.
Why Your Registration Alone Is Not Always Enough
A registration lookup is right most of the time. It is wrong often enough that we always check, because a wrong guess costs you a second visit. Three cases cause nearly all the trouble.
Staggered Fitments
Some cars, particularly performance saloons and rear wheel drive models, leave the factory with wider tyres on the back than the front. A lookup that returns a single size can be half right and half wrong at the same time. Never assume all four corners match. Check the wheel that actually needs the tyre.
Aftermarket Wheels and Plus Sizing
Change the wheels and you usually change the tyre size. Plus sizing means fitting a larger rim with a lower profile tyre so the overall rolling diameter stays close to standard. The car may drive perfectly well like that. The lookup, meanwhile, still returns the factory answer while the car wears something else entirely.
A Previous Owner Fitting the Wrong Size
Used cars regularly arrive wearing a size that was never approved for them, and the current owner is usually the last to know. We see it on wheels week in, week out, on mobile tyre fitting jobs across Glasgow. Reading the sidewall against the placard in the driver’s door shut settles it, and that check takes under a minute.
What If You Cannot Get to the Car?
This comes up more than you might think. The car is at your work while you are at home. It sits in a locked car park. The keys are with your partner. Or you are arranging the whole thing for a parent.
Here is what to do. Give us the registration. If the handbook is to hand, the placard size is printed in it. If someone is with the car, ask them to send the sidewall photo, because it does not need to come from your phone.
Where nothing can be confirmed, we quote a range and confirm the exact figure before any work begins. What happens when you are not with the car is agreed on the call before the van sets off.
Locking Wheel Nuts, Run-Flats and What Else to Mention
A few items turn one quote into a different quote. None of them is a problem. All of them belong on the call rather than at the kerb.
Locking Wheel Nuts
If your wheels have locking nuts, find the key before we arrive. It is usually in the boot, under the boot floor with the spare, in the glovebox or in the driver’s door pocket. If it has vanished, say so. Removal without the key is a service we carry out at £45 to £60, and raising it on the phone is what keeps your total fixed.
Run-Flats
Run-flat tyres carry a marking such as RSC, ROF, RFT, DSST, ZP or SSR depending on the brand. If your car came on run-flats it probably has no spare, which is exactly why it came on run-flats. Replacement runs £130 to £280 depending on size and brand, and it is confirmed on the call, not discovered at the kerb.
TPMS
Most cars first used on or after 1 January 2012 carry tyre pressure monitoring sensors in the wheels. A valve service kit at £5.99 to £25 per wheel sits inside our fitted price and keeps the sensor sealed and healthy. A failed sensor is a separate item, handled by our TPMS sensor replacement service, and you hear about it before anyone touches it.
A Two Minute Call, Start to Finish
Here is how it goes when the five things are ready, because this is the shape of most calls we take.
A driver on the Southside sends two things on WhatsApp: a photo of the sidewall and a postcode. The office reads the size straight off the photo, so nothing needs spelling out over traffic noise.
Then four quick questions. What happened to it? Is the car locked or accessible? Where exactly is it parked? Is there a locking wheel nut key in the car?
Then one total and one arrival time. That is the whole call. It stays short because nothing was left to guess, which is the entire point of the list you have just read.
What One Fitted Price Actually Covers
When we quote a fitted price, it covers the lot:
- The tyre itself
- Removal of the old tyre and fitting of the new one
- Wheel balancing on the van’s on-board balancer
- A new valve or TPMS service kit
- Torquing to manufacturer specification
- Taking the old casing away
The genuine extras are exactly four: run-flat tyres, rims over 18 inches, TPMS sensor replacement and locking wheel nut removal. Each one is named on the call if it applies to you, and there is no separate callout fee sitting behind them.
As a guide, a budget tyre fitted runs £60 to £100, mid-range £90 to £150, and premium from £140 to £280, in line with what new tyres fitted at home across Scotland normally cost. We carry stock from budget names like Landsail through mid-range brands such as Falken and Hankook up to Michelin and Continental, and for most drivers mid-range is the sweet spot.
What Happens After the Call
Once the total is agreed, the process runs the same way every time.
- Quick questions confirm the tyre size, your location and the issue
- You get a clear arrival time, not a vague estimate
- A fully equipped van is dispatched carrying new tyre stock
- The tyre is inspected on arrival to confirm repair or replacement
- Fitting, balancing and pressure checks are carried out at the vehicle
- A full safety check with wheel torque verification is completed before the van leaves
Nothing in that list needs anything further from you. Your part of the job ends when the call ends.
The Payoff: One Figure on the Phone
People sometimes ask why we want all of this before quoting. The honest answer is that the checklist is not admin. It is the mechanism that makes a fixed figure possible.
Every question removes something that could otherwise be discovered at the kerb. When nothing is left to discover, nothing is left to add. So you get one total on the call, before the van moves, and nothing is added at the roadside. Any distance element sits inside the figure agreed before the van leaves Glasgow, the same way an emergency tyre callout in Glasgow is priced, and the total agreed on the call is the total you pay. If anything different is found on the wheel, it is discussed with you before any work starts.
That approach is a large part of why this family-run firm, with over 20 years behind it and fully certified technicians, holds a 5.0 rating from 66 Google reviews. Payment is just as plain: card at the vehicle, contactless included, taken after the work is finished.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information do you need to quote for tyres?
Five things: your registration or the size on the tyre sidewall, your postcode and exact location, what has happened to the tyre, your vehicle type and wheel size, and when you need it. With those five, you get one total on the call before the van moves.
Can I get a tyre quote using just my registration number?
Yes, a registration is enough to start a quote, and for most cars it returns the right size. Because wheel changes, staggered sets and previous owners can alter what is actually fitted, we confirm against the sidewall or a photo before the van is loaded.
Can I send a photo of my tyre instead of reading the size out?
Yes, and it is the method we prefer. Send a clear photo of the sidewall with your postcode on WhatsApp to 07955 533000. A photo cannot be misheard on a windy street, so it protects both of us from a wrong tyre and a wasted journey.
Do I need to know my tyre size to get a quote?
No. If you cannot find or read the size, give us your registration, or photograph the sidewall and let us decode it. The size is printed on every tyre, but you never need to understand it. Reading it out or sending a picture is enough.
Why is my registration not always enough?
A lookup shows what the car wore when it left the factory. Staggered fitments, aftermarket wheels, plus sizing and previous owners can all mean the car now wears something different. That is why the sidewall is confirmed before the van sets off.
Does a locking wheel nut change the price?
Only if the key is missing. With the key in the car, locking nuts cost nothing extra. If it cannot be found, removal is £45 to £60, and mentioning it on the call means the figure you agree is still the figure you pay.
How do I get a quote if I cannot get to the car?
Give us the registration, the placard size from the handbook if you have it, or ask whoever is with the car to send a sidewall photo. Where nothing can be confirmed we give a range, and what happens when you are not with the car is agreed on the call before the van sets off.
Will the price change when the fitter arrives?
No. Across Glasgow and the Central Belt the total agreed on the call is the total you pay, and if anything different is found on the wheel it is discussed with you before any work starts. Nothing is added at the roadside.
Get Your Quote
You now know exactly what the office will ask, so you can send it before you even dial.
Copy this into WhatsApp to 07955 533000:
Photo of the tyre sidewall. Your postcode, plus what has happened.
We are 24/7 Mobile Tyre Services, family run, based at 100 Jessie St, Polmadie, Glasgow, and the line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all weather. One figure on the call, before the van moves. That is the whole deal. Get in touch here.
