Puncture repair costs 2017

bertiewhite

Doc_N wrote: »

£20 - which is probably the going rate for a reputable tyre company. About 20 minutes work in total.

Seems reasonable enough to me - is anyone still doing these for free, as Kwikfit once did?

I experienced a nail in my tyre back in May and tried Kwikfit to see if they could repair it as the tread was still good. I only tried Kwikfit as it was the first place I came across and I didn't know the area.

The fitter took one look at the tire, took the customary sharp intake of breath and told me it was too far gone to be repaired which made me wonder why they would even try to repair them when they can just flog new each time?

cb1979

One thing to bear in mind is some performance tyres lose their speed rating once repaired i believe

Doc_N

DoaM wrote: »

Source please or I'll class this as an old wife's tale ... I have never heard of this being illegal at all.

As long as the repair is done properly and is applied to the relevant portion of the tyre (within the tread width) then it's fine.

Probably not technically illegal, but there's a very detailed British Standard (AU 159) that reputable companies comply with:

http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Minor-repairs-to-passenger-car-and-light-van-tyres.pdf

Home repairs won't comply, and my guess is (insurers being insurers) that in the event of a serious accident the loss adjuster would find a way to repudiate the claim. Not a risk I'd care to take.

ess0two

Doc_N wrote: »

Probably not technically illegal, but there's a very detailed British Standard (AU 159) that reputable companies comply with:

http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Minor-repairs-to-passenger-car-and-light-van-tyres.pdf

Home repairs won't comply, and my guess is (insurers being insurers) that in the event of a serious accident the loss adjuster would find a way to repudiate the claim. Not a risk I'd care to take.

So not illegal then, how about a source for insurance not paying out then?

wgl2014

Insurance may have T&C's to the effect of your car needs to be roadworthy. If they were to discover a homemade tyre repair contributed to the accident they could potentially refuse to pay out for your car, AIUI though they would still be liable for third party claims.

This is but my understanding, happy to be proven wrong.

Joe_Horner

DoaM wrote: »

Source please or I'll class this as an old wife's tale ... I have never heard of this being illegal at all.

As long as the repair is done properly and is applied to the relevant portion of the tyre (within the tread width) then it's fine.

The "not legal" bit would fall under Construction & Use regs 27(h):

the tyre is not maintained in such condition as to be fit for the use to which the vehicle or trailer is being put or has a defect which might in any way cause damage to the surface of the road or damage to persons on or in the vehicle or to other persons using the road.

Repairing a puncture obviously comes under "maintaining" a tyre. BS AU159 is definitive regarding what constitutes an acceptable repair for road use and specifically excludes plug type repairs.

But it wouldn't invalidate your insurance because almost nothing does that despite the scare stories