Our fleet: Audi A3 Sportback 1.6 TDI Sport - October 2013

I seem to have had more than my fair share of punctures in the past few years.

I average about one a year, so when the rear of the Audi A3 Sportback began to feel a little loose at 70mph and was then accompanied by a rumbling at the offside rear corner, I knew what was coming.

Luckily, I was a short distance from an exit on the Peterborough ring road (which has no hard shoulder), so rather than ruin everyone’s morning, I coasted off the road and turned into a nearby cul-de-sac.

A spacesaver spare meant I was able to get on my way again within 30 minutes and after contacting Audi to check preferences for a replacement I was told any outlet would be fine, as long as it was a like-for-like match.

The Audi is running Pirelli Cinturato tyres.

They are optimised for low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions.

A call to Halfords Autocentres in Peterborough started well when I was told the size was in stock.

But when I pointed out that I needed a like-for-like replacement, the Halfords representative said the P6000 tyres he had in stock would be fine. “A Pirelli is a Pirelli,” he said.

He also warned that the Cinturato may not be in stock anywhere (yes, I know some tyres are made in batches and stock sometimes runs out), but I knew this would be unlikely with such a popular model.

Unfortunately, I seemed to know more about tyres than this ‘expert’, and went elsewhere.One of Peterborough’s Kwik Fit centres had the Cinturato tyres in stock and fitted one that afternoon.