How can this be allowed?

An emergency repair is fair enough. Someone might be stranded!

You may not be a driver yourself, but surely you understand that a car cannot be safely/functionally used with a defective tyre? The tyres aren't there just as a pretty accessory.

And whilst some people do keep vehicles purely for leisurely jaunts in their spare time, most people have them because they need them for work or other essential purposes.

Honestly, considering how much the driver must have been charged for the service to come out at that time of the night, they must have had a genuine need for a usable car early in the morning; otherwise they would surely have waited until 'standard' daytime hours and paid a lot less for it.

The owner of the car using rhe service could even have been one of these magic taxi drivers who are supposedly always available - even they can't operate without four properly functional tyres!

Paddington is now a proud MNetter.
🐻👀

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest, it wasn't really late and didn't go on for very long. They needed the tyre replacing and you could be in the same situation one day. There could be a reason they needed it doing straight away. As for the suggestion someone made to call a cab, you are assuming they are travelling locally, what if they are the other end of the country!

Most cars don’t come with spare types now (with the exception of yours I’m sure). What if he/she was on their way to the airport and it was too far/expensive for a taxi for instance? I’m sure the neighbour didn’t do it on purpose and not everything can wait until the morning.

I’ve been dropped off by a massive recovery lorry before. Reversed down the street, spent 10 minutes clanking about getting the car off. Chat about the paperwork and what needs to happen. It was after 11pm on a Saturday.

If anyone had come out to have a go I’d have told them to sod off. I was well aware it wasn’t ideal having spent 6 hours waiting in a car park for him.

A lot of cars don’t come with a spare anymore.

i have had to call out an emergency tyre replacement thing once.

it is the sort of thing that happens (although only once in my three decades of driving).

I do think you were a bit unreasonable. It’s not like it’s going to be regular.

As pointed out - not every car has a spare.

Furthermore, wait till the morning?

You do realise people have jobs outside of the bullshit 9-5 office world?

Some of the comments here are unreal.

@JMSA "It’s absolutely unacceptable but I’d have said something, rather than just standing around staring."

If I was having a tyre fitted at home as in this scenario - if you'd have said something to me, I'd have given you some verbal right back!

JFC.

I can see why this situation could end up happening, whilst not ideal, I'd just let it go.

I've finished work very late (nurse) and been in areas a long way from home and needed my car...if I'd have been in this situation, I'd have possibly used this service to avoid being stuck there . At that time I lived with non drivers and couldn't have afforded taxis home and back again.

Its clearly a one off emergency and not an everyday occurrence

I certainly wouldn't stand there giving the man a "very hard stare" for 10 minutes. And what would the point of going over to say something be? He's just doing his job!

If i was night shift and discovered I had a flat tyre id be calling someone out to replace it and hope my neighbours would know it was a one off

I certainly wouldnt be paying £40 each way for a taxi to & from work.

It was clearly an emergency, I doubt this is something happening on the regular.

I'm not sure how going out with the stare helped the situation.

I hope your neighbours are less judgemental if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation and need assistance after hours

Fucking hell

I don’t see how anything that is a one off and is helping someone out could be seen as unacceptable. Yes you really are turning into that neighbour. Would you not want the same help if it had been you or one of your family?

Since you were awake anyway, it’s hardly worth getting worked up about.

One day that might be you that needs an emergency tire repair or replacement late at night and you need to get to work/get to the hospital to visit a dying family member, etc.

Presumably they could get a taxi, which would be the more polite thing to do.

Presumably you can both easily get a taxi and easily afford a taxi... not always the case.

Pretty annoying yes, but if someone has broken down and he needs that equipment to help then so be it. It’s a one off, not like he’s out there every night. He probably thought it was a bit odd you were staring at him, why not just ask him how long he would be, or just stay inside. It was clear he was doing something to help someone who had broken down.

Yes that's annoying and technically it probably isn't allowed. There are quite strict limits to how much noise can be made after 11pm if I recall rightly.
However, as a one off and only for 15 mins I don't think I would say or do anything. I don't suppose the neighbour wants to be in this position any more than you do and if they need their car in the morning it's going to need to be done either late at night or early in the morning. Personally I'd rather be disturbed at 11.15pm than say 6am.
If it was a recurrent problem you could complain to the council but it's not likely to be a frequent occurrence is it? I'd probably have made myself a hot drink and gone back to bed muttering to myself about the noise but in reality have forgotten about it by morning. Yes, it's a bit of nuisance and I'd have been annoyed about being woken up too. In fact I'm a bit annoyed about being awake right now as next door's car alarm went off, but that's life and I certainly wouldn't want to fall out with my neighbours over it.

Hardly any cars come with a spare tyre nowadays. So it doesnt matter if it's a surgeon, a bricklayer, a retail worker, healthcare worker, nursery nurse or supermarket worker.
If they need to get to work in the morning, they need that repair service.

👏

Presumably they could get a taxi, which would be the more polite thing to do.

It’s not an ambulance. It doesn’t need to be fixed right away.

A one-off emergency tyre repair. Call the police. I’m sure the would love a laugh. What utter drama over a one-off incident where I’d just be relieved I wasn’t the poor driver vs being annoyed.

Hmm… I can see how this would be annoying, but I don’t think that it would be classed as antisocial behaviour, and it isn’t a regular occurrence, so you wouldn’t have any formal right to complaint. I mean, you could have gone out and shouted at the bloke if you wanted, but he may well have simply told you piss off and mind your own business.

They should have been doing whatever they could to minimise the noise, but a flat when you have no spare - as many many cars now don't - is a something that needs fixed right away or they can't get home.

It’s absolutely unacceptable but I’d have said something, rather than just standing around staring.