A tyre change is the job of taking a tyre off a wheel and fitting another one, whether that is a tyre you bought online, an off-road set for desert season, or simply swapping a damaged tyre for a spare. It starts from AED 100 per mobile visit and is done wherever your car is parked.
Many drivers in the UAE now buy tyres online or from a dealer and then need someone to fit them. We fit customer-supplied tyres with the same process as our own stock: inspection of the tyre and rim, new or checked valve, balancing, torque to spec and pressure set to the door placard. We check the DOT date and size of supplied tyres before mounting and tell you if anything does not match.
Wheel swaps are also common, for example fitting a set of mud-terrain tyres on spare rims before a weekend in Liwa or the Al Qudra dunes, then going back to road tyres for the week.
Tyre change vs tyre replacement: what is the difference
A tyre change is the fitting labour on its own, while tyre replacement usually means we also supply the new tyres. Both start from AED 100 per visit, and both include balancing, valve check, torque and pressure setting.
In everyday speech in the UAE the two terms are used interchangeably, and some drivers also call wheel swaps or rotation a tyre change. Tell us what you have and what you want on the car, and we price the job accordingly.
How long a tyre change takes
A professional tyre change takes about 10–15 minutes per wheel, so a full set of four is usually finished in 45–60 minutes including balancing. A straight wheel swap, where tyres are already mounted on rims, takes closer to 20 minutes for all four.
Low-profile tyres (40 series and below), run-flats with stiff sidewalls and large 20–22 inch SUV wheels take longer because the bead needs more care to avoid damaging the rim or the TPMS sensor.
Buying tyres online: what to check before fitting
The most common problem with online tyre orders is old stock: a tyre can be sold as new while being three or four years past its DOT date. Check the four-digit code on the sidewall when the delivery arrives; for example 1824 means week 18 of 2024.
Also confirm the load index and speed rating match or exceed the original, and that run-flat tyres are not replaced by standard ones on a car with no spare. If the supplied tyre is wrong, we will tell you before fitting rather than after.
- DOT date ideally within the last 12 months
- Same size as the door placard or an approved alternative
- Load index and speed rating equal or higher
- No storage cracks, flat spots or deformed beads
Desert and road tyre swaps
Keeping a second set of wheels with all-terrain or mud-terrain tyres lets you run quiet, efficient road tyres during the week and switch for dune trips. Aggressive off-road tread is noisy at 120 km/h and adds fuel use, so many 4x4 owners in the UAE prefer a swap rather than one compromise tyre.
We can swap the sets at your villa before a trip and back again after, and check the off-road tyres for sidewall cuts from rocks or wadi beds while they are off the car.
