The Tyre Lady: 50 Cars a Day, 2,000 Tyres in Their Biggest Month

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-... Sophie Lyden works alongside her dad at Westgate Tyres in Morecambe. Three depots on one street, 40 to 50 cars a day, and no booking system for tyres. She's also better known across the trade as The Tyre Lady, and became the person the BBC called when they wanted a tyre expert. She joins us to talk about how both of those things happened. If you run a garage or sell tyres, this one's full of practical insight, and a decent argument that safety messaging is the best marketing you're not doing. In this episode: Why Westgate doesn't take bookings for tyres, and how they cope with 40 to 50 cars a day The stock strategy behind their biggest tyre month TPMS, valve service kits, and the conversation most garages skip Why she checks dot codes on every car and advises at 3mm The crash outside the garage that started The Tyre Lady What road safety conferences never talk about How a LinkedIn post about a bad tyre reached 200,000 people Getting a tyre onto the BBC Breakfast sofa What she'd change about the MOT and the legal tread limit ADHD, postnatal depression, and running a business through both Timestamps: 00:00 - intro 01:04 - how sophie ended up back in the family tyre business 09:11 - inside westgate tyres and their biggest month 18:31 - punctures, stock and what makes a tyre shop busy 24:51 - tyres or servicing, and which one she would keep 29:26 - castrol | the race group partnership 35:55 - the crash outside the garage that started the tyre lady 43:04 - road safety conferences, dot codes and the education gap 52:38 - testing tyres and keeping the tyre lady separate from westgate 60:37 - bbc breakfast and the families behind the campaign 66:46 - what she would change about the mot and the tread limit 75:07 - adhd, postnatal depression and understanding her own brain 83:40 - taking over the business and what comes next 88:05 - outro Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector. #ontheramp #tyres #tyresafety #garageowners #independentgarage #ukgarages #automotiveindustry #roadsafety #mechaniclife #castrol