Follow these simple tips and you can change your own wheel in a jiffy without having to wait for the breakdown truck to arrive. To do this you must be prepared with all the necessary equipment. Apart from a working jack, and an inflated spare wheel with the legal amount of tread on the tyre, you’ll need some gloves, a bit of old carpet to kneel on, a couple of small blocks of wood –   50mm square, a flat bed screwdriver, a pair of cutters or a sharp penknife and a wheelbrace.

Before you start, make sure the car is parked safely away from traffic. If you are on the edge of a busy road and the car cannot be moved, it is safer to get the breakdown services to repair it. Stop the car, switch on the hazard warning lights and set up your warning triangle, if you have one.It’s straightforward enough to change a wheel, but there are many different types of jacks, and chances are if you have a relatively new car you won’t have used it before. Get the manufacturers handbook ready in case you need to refer to it.

Step 1 – Turn off the engine, and locate the spare wheel.

Step 2 – Apply the handbrake, put the car in first gear if a manual transmission, or P if automatic, then use your blocks of wood to chock the wheel diagonally opposite the one being changed.

Step 3 – Put on your gloves, get out the spare wheel, vehicle jack and wheelbrace. They are generally found in or under the luggage area, but check your handbook if in doubt.

Step 4 – Lay your piece of carpet down next to the flat tyre. If you have one, remove the wheel trim. You may need to get your 15 blade swiss army knife out to cut the tie cables, or use a pair of cutters if you have them. Prise off the trim with a flat bed screwdriver. Using your wheelbrace, loosen each nut on the relevant wheel by about half a turn – you may need a special socket for any anti-theft bolts or nuts.

Step 5 – Slot or slide the jack head in or under the jacking point nearest the flat. A good tip is to slide the spare wheel under the car, close to the flat but away from the jack, just in case the jack slips. Raise the car jack until the tyre is at least 25 millimetres off the ground.

Step 6 – Remove the bolts and lift off the wheel. Drag out the spare wheel from under the car and put the flat tyre in its place.

Step 7 – Fit the spare wheel. Positioning the wheel can be tricky, as you have to support the weight at the same time. You could rest the wheel on your shoe to help manoeuvre it into position. Refit the nuts and tighten them until they are just holding the wheel firmly. Take the flat out from under the car, lower the jack and remove it.

 Step 8 – Tighten one bolt securely using your wheelbrace, then tighten the one diagonally opposite. Tighten the remaining bolts in a similar way, then re-fit the wheel trim, if you have one.

Step 9 – When you’ve finished, put the spare wheel and any tools in their proper locations. Check the tyre pressure on your replacement, either with your own guage or at the first available garage. You should have the bolts tightened to their correct torque settings, but most people do not have a torque wrench, so a garage or tyre fitting depot can do this for you.

 Step 10 – Finally, get that flat tyre repaired or replaced ASAP. You don’t want to be driving around without a spare for any longer than necessary.