: : August 2007 Bits, Bobs and the odd Spare Part I always think good service should be recognised, don’t you? When I bought my ZS back in January I wasn’t happy with the mix of tyres on the car, especially as I knew I would put them under a lot of pressure around Goodwood in February. I was told about a company called Haydon Tyres who operate from the back of Crossway Garage, on the Copythorne Road at Cadnam. I rang them to enquire about the cost of four new tyres, they took the size, and promised to ring back with a cross section of prices. True to their word within half an hour they were back to me with prices for budget, mid-range and top end tyres. I thought I would go with mid-range and they quoted £300 for four 205X50WR16 Firestone but just to check I rang Miceldever Tyres to compare, they wanted £20 less, but I thought it wasn’t worth the inconvenience of traveling up to them. I booked into Haydon’s and within 30minutes of arriving I was on my way out with the new rubber fitted including valves and balance for the £300. Just a couple of weeks ago I had a slow puncture, a nail, so I called into my local tyre dealer ,Hythe Tyres, for a repair. Imagine my horror to be told “Sorry mate, you need a new tyre, we can’t repair a puncture that close to the edge” The nail was about an inch in from the edge in the main tread. They quoted me £90 for a replacement and “We’ll do it now for you”. Needless to say I declined their offer, so I threw the wheel into the boot and set off for Cadnam. When I got to Haydon Tyres I showed them the tyre and nail and waited to see what they would say. A couple of minutes later the guy was back, “No problem mate, we’ll fix that for you now”. I then explained what I’d been told by Hythe Tyres, to be told, “Well it is close but it is the right side of the limit, come with me, I’ll show you”. He produced a small tape measure with markings on it and proceeded to measure across the tyre, showing me the limit marks and that the nail, although on the limit, was towards the centre of the tyre and not the outer edge. Within ten minutes the puncture was fixed, the wheel put back on the car and the space saver spare put back in the boot well, all for £10! As I said good service should be recognized, so if you need some tyres why not give Haydon Tyres a ring on 023 8081 2204, they’re good guys. < Return to previous page