We come to you, where the job allows it
Mobile Alloy Wheel Repair
Mobile alloy wheel repair means we come to your home or your work and repair the wheel where the car is standing. It suits kerb scuffs and scratches on painted alloys. It does not suit diamond cut faces, buckles or cracks, because those need machines that do not travel. Wheel Repair Ltd runs out of a workshop on Nursery Lane in Forest Gate, east London. Send a photo and we will tell you which one yours is.
What people say
What a mobile visit actually is
You tell us where the car is. We turn up with the kit in the van, work on the wheel there, and leave when it is done. No booking the car in, no dropping it off, no waiting around for somebody to call you back.
For the damage most people have, that is the whole job. A kerbed rim on a painted alloy is sanded back, filled where it needs it, blended into the colour and sealed under fresh lacquer, with the car sitting where you left it.
What it is not is a workshop on wheels. Some jobs need a lathe bolted to a floor, or a press, or a booth with heat in it. Those come to us. We will always tell you which one you have got before you commit to anything.
The jobs that are genuinely better done at your address
Kerb scuffs. The commonest damage there is. You clip a kerb parking, the outer rim goes silver and rough, and the rest of the wheel is fine. That is a mobile job all day long.
Scratches and light chips on a painted finish, where the damage sits on the face and has not gone through to anything structural.
One wheel, or two. If three of them are fine and you have scraped the nearside front, there is no sense taking the car anywhere.
Lease cars before the inspection. Kerbing is the thing that gets charged for, and it is usually the thing a mobile visit fixes. There is more on that on our lease return page.
How a mobile visit runs
Every wheel goes through the same sequence. It is why the finish lasts.
- Send a photoStraight on, in daylight, with the postcode. That is enough for us to tell whether it is a driveway job and roughly what it will cost.
- You get a written priceIn writing, before anybody books anything. If the photo does not show enough we will say so rather than guess.
- We agree a day and a placeHome, work, wherever the car sits still. You do not need to be there if somebody can let us in.
- The wheel gets checked firstBefore any work starts. Occasionally a wheel looks cosmetic in a photo and turns out to be cracked behind the spoke. If that happens we stop and tell you.
- Prep and repairSanded back, filled where it needs it, feathered out so the repair has no edge to it.
- Colour and lacquerBlended into the existing finish and sealed. The lacquer is the bit that makes it last, so it does not get hurried.
- Checked before we goIn daylight, from the angles you will actually see it from, not just the one we worked at.
The jobs that have to come to the workshop
This is the part most mobile pages leave out, and it is the part that matters.
Diamond cut wheels. That bright machined face is cut on a lathe. There is no portable version of that machine, and anyone telling you otherwise is painting over it with silver. See diamond cut refurbishment for what is actually involved.
Buckled or cracked rims. The tyre has to come off, the rim goes on a press, and it gets checked true on a stand. None of that happens on a driveway. See buckled wheel repair.
A full strip and refinish of all four. If the lacquer is peeling across every wheel, or they are corroded white under the paint, they want taking back to bare metal properly. That is a workshop job. See alloy wheel refurbishment.
If your car is one of those, we can still take it off your hands. Bring it to Forest Gate, or ask about us collecting it.
What we need from you on the day
Somewhere off the road. A driveway, a yard, a private car park, a space at work. We need to be able to get round the car and leave it standing a while without a traffic warden taking an interest.
Reasonable weather. Lacquer does not go off properly in the rain or in the cold, and a finish that has been rushed in bad weather will tell on you within a year. If the day turns, we would rather move you than hand back something that will not last.
The car not going anywhere. The wheel needs to stay put while the finish hardens. We will tell you how long before you drive it when we are there and can see what the conditions are doing.
You do not have to stand over us. Plenty of people leave a key and go back to work.
Where we come out to
The workshop is on Nursery Lane in Forest Gate, E7, and we work out from there across east London and into Essex. Nineteen areas have their own page on this site, from Plaistow at under a mile to Romford at seven.
If you are close in, there is no call-out charge. If you are further out, ask, and we will give you a straight answer rather than quietly building it into the price.
Not sure if we come to you? Send the postcode with the photo.
Common questions
Do you charge a call-out fee?
Not in E7 and the areas immediately around it. Further out, ask when you send the photo and we will tell you straight. What we will not do is fold it into the price and hope you do not notice.
Can you do all four wheels at my house?
Sometimes. Four kerbed rims on painted alloys is a long day but it is doable in the right conditions. Four wheels that need stripping back to bare metal is not, and we would be doing you no favours pretending otherwise.
Can diamond cut wheels be done at my address?
No. The machined face on a diamond cut wheel is cut on a lathe, and a lathe does not fit in a van. Anyone who does a diamond cut wheel on your driveway has painted it silver. It will look right for a few months and then it will not.
What happens if it rains?
We move you. Lacquer needs to cure and it will not do that properly in rain or in the cold. A finish rushed in bad weather peels, and then you have paid twice.
Does the wheel have to come off the car?
It depends what we are doing. A lot of kerb repairs can be done with the wheel on. If it is better off, it comes off. We will tell you which on the day.
Do I need to be there the whole time?
No. As long as the car is somewhere we can get to it and it is not going to be moved, plenty of people leave us to it and get on with their day.
Get a price
Send a photo of the wheel and your postcode. We will tell you whether it is a job for the driveway or one for the workshop, and what it will cost, before anybody gets in the van. Call or WhatsApp 07922 222272, or email info@wheelrepairltd.co.uk. Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 6pm.