Cheap 'Car Servicing' Hunt

[Vini123]

Find me somewhere, that i can have my car serviced, cheap within Sheffield....

Anyone know of any good offers?

[brinky]

Nationwide Autocentres accept clubcard deals, so clubcard vouchers can be turned into 4 times face value. I got £110 off a £120 service with no problems at all.

[hellofreebies]

Nationwide Autocentres accept clubcard deals, so clubcard vouchers can be turned into 4 times face value. I got £110 off a £120 service with no problems at all.

may i ask which branch quoted £120 as all my local branches are quoting £160 (no mot).... previous years i have had my car serviced with nationwide auto as prices have been around £100 (with mot) but it seems the price has gone up over 50%... i was gonna use my tesco club card deals but has decided pay cash to a local mechanic who charges £110 for full sevice and mot and save my deals for theme park tickets and airport parking this summer.

[penyekz]

Avoid Nationwide like the plague! They failed my MOT and quoted me £420 to fix it. Went to another garage and they said it didn't need changing/fixing but if it did they would charge me £78 all in.

A bunch of cheating muppets!

[deanos]

Just used my Tesco vouchers with Nationwide Autocentre it was £180 for the major service (no MOT) which included changing the brake fluid, drain of radiator and fill with antifreeze and all the other things that you get with a normal service , the normal service was £129 (no MOT) ,they found no faults with the car however last year they quoted about £600 of work took it to my local garage and it cost £150 to rectify i wouldnt trust them for repair work only a service.

[brinky]

I used the newcastle Byker branch. They have always been quite good when i have used them. I do appreciate that service may vary between branches (some did well and some did poorly in a which? survey some time ago ).

The Byker branch were quoting at the time £119.99 for a 12 month service.
The 2 year service (fuel filter, brake fluid, antifreeze) I think was around £160.

[Vini123]

how exactly do you get clubcard vouchers, is it as simple as shopping at Tesco?

i have a clubcard, not used it much, but never had any vouchers/discounts through.

[deanos]

When you shop at Tesco you get 1 point per pound, every 3 months you get them sent to you as Tesco £ vouchers to epend instore however you also get a booket full of "deals" and you convert your Tesco points to "Deal Vouchers" and they are worth 4x as much, say you get £1 in Tesco vouchers they are worth £4 in Deal Vouchers :)

[Vini123]

bumpp, about time i got this done now.


any more ideas/known places doing cheap servicing?

[indiegirl]

Another vote for the Nationwide Autocentres. I used to use the one in Hillsborough when I lived just up the road. Manager there (if it's still the same one, I moved south two and a half years ago) was an honest bloke and although I had a second opinion from a car mechanic mate, I never needed to go anywhere else.

I can't think of any other recommended places off the top of my head, to be honest. Maybe your best bet would be to get a copy of the Star or Telegraph and ring around places to get some quotes before choosing where to go..

[highguyuk]

Another vote for Nationwide Autocentre, in Stafford. £120 full service (no MOT). Was adviced brakes were on the way out, but not to worry, don't bother replacing them yet!

Using Tesco vouchers, so it was down to £99. You can sign upto there online newsletter at www.nationwideautocentres.co.uk and get vouchers emailed to you from the company.

As a suggestion, check out the motoring forum where there are lots of questions regarding servicing. Alternatively, you may find a mod moves this post there anyway.

[JBsplit]

AVOID ANY FAST FIT AUTO CENTRE or what ever they all call themselfs, they know full well your not going to be a repeat customer so they rip you off while theyve got you there.

find a good independant garage and stick with them.
the KEY thing is to find out what you get for the quoted price, some say 50point check or what ever so they check your tyre pressures 5 points then the condititon of the tyres 5 points oil and filter change 2 points and so on......most fast fit centres charge you 150 for nothing more than a 20minute oil change,
always get a main dealer quote and find out what the service intails then go to the locals and try and match it.

[plane_boy2000]

Bristol branch lousey - asked them to MOT my car, but the rear view mirror fell off on the way. They said no problem they would fix it. Went to get the car to be told they couldnt fix it, as their glue was not strong enough so the car had failed the MOT! It used to be a Lex service centre, and they were really good and honest, but when nationwide took over all the old staff left and it was left with a bunch of 12 year old muppets.

[mr_accountant]

This is what ive just done for a full service:

Take car to national tyres, they change oil and filter using 10w 40 Duckhams (others available) £15

Go to GSF and buy genuine fuel, air and pollen filters and NGK twin electrode spark plugs and fit myself (very easy using a Haynes manual and a forum if required) £35

Buy some genuine LHM fluid and change (very easy again) this LHM fluid is power steering and brake fluid in one. £20 for 4 litres

Buy some genuine glycol antifreeze, whilst im changing this also change the thermostat £20

So for £90 the car has been give a full service, brake fluid change, power steering fluid change, new thermostat, new antifreeze and air bleed correctly, full inside valet (i.e. a Hoover!) and clean and polish outside. Beat that fat fit garage!:rotfl: _party_

i know the all the jobs have been done correctly, im not being ripped off, and no parts are missing. I certainly would not trust these fast fit garages for 'servicing', especially as so many parts are safety related. I let them change the oil (and watch them) and that’s it.

[mr_accountant]

Helpfully, Nationwide autocentre do give a guide as to what they do using the link (pdf file)

http://www.nationwideautocentres.co.uk/pdf/menu_service_schedule.pdf (http://www.nationwideautocentres.co.uk/pdf/menu_service_schedule.pdf)

So an interim service is an oil and filter change, check and adjust handbrake, take off wheels and have a look (do they really do this?), and err check steering wheel is round, check the car has four wheels, check, check.... lots of checks...most of which i doubt they do

A full service is as above plus replace air and fuel filter (diesel only) and change sparks.

A major service is as full service plus change petrol fuel filter, change brake fluid, and anti freeze. they don’t even change the pollen filter, only advise you if it need doing, why not just change it whilst they’ve got the thing out?:confused:

So i look like the major service is actually the full service, the full service is not a full service. :eek: Its important to know what your getting for you money.

[Sheel]

Find me somewhere, that i can have my car serviced, cheap within Sheffield....

Anyone know of any good offers?

We have had our car serviced at WYMAS (ambulance service) in the past , so it may be worth trying your local ambulance service , which I think will be SYAS (http://www.syas.nhs.uk/).

Not totally sure if they do it as I can't find any mention of it , although it says on the WYMAS site that the facilities of WYMAS fleetcare (servicing and MOT's) are available to staff and their relatives and friends , so it would be worth enquiring , that's if you or someone you know works in the NHS.

[simongregson]

My brother is a self-employed mechanic, working in the london area. From experience, most chain garages do charge a fortune. As I don't live anywhere near my brother any more, I have had to fork out a couple of times for breakdowns.

I don't know if part of the reason is that a lot of these garages tend to fit parts that aren't really needed. e.g. if your brake drums need replacing a big chain garage will charge you a price for the new ones that will presumably include a large element of profit. However, a small garage will only get a small discount from the motor factor, so may well offer to re-skim the old ones. This will be a lot less expensive than the new part, but will probably make the garage more money as the charge is basically for labour.

It is almost always cheaper to buy 'pattern' car parts - most non-dealer garages will fit these but the mark-up they charge can be outrageous, during one of my enforced visits to a quick fit centre I was charged £43 each for 2 brake pads - pattern ones at that - you can pick them up for about £15 or so.

If you want to get your own stuff, try euro car parts (search google), they do cheap parts for most european cars and will deliver privately for £5. They have a few shops where you can pick the stuff up too. Halfords tend to be considerably more expensive.

In general I would try to avoid taking your own stuff to a garage to fit, they are likely just to charge you more labour (as they are perfectly entitled to!)

A personal recommendation is the best bet - many cheaper servicing options do not bother to advertise as they have a good supply of customers who provide regular business simply because they are cheaper. Ask around at work.

[JBsplit]

as a mechanic my idea of a FULL service is as follows.

oil and filter
air filter
fuel filter
spark plugs(if fitted)
pollen filter
key batterys
FULL BRAKE CHECK.
brake fluid/steering fluid

brakes are rarely looked at by fast fit centres because it costs to much of there time to bother doing it properly.
If you pay for a FULL SERVICE make sure you brakes are looked at.

[macgyver]

Hi there,
My Honda Civic is due for the annual service and MOT. It is a 2000 model and I live in South-east London, Catford (Lewisham) to be precise.

Any personal recommendation will be highly appreciated.

Many thanks

[3tree]

Have a look at Formula 1 Autocentres - they look very competitive.

I just had my tyres replaced on my BMW & was quoted the cheapest price £55 fully fitted for a 205/55/R16 W Dunlop SP2000E.

Check the site for special offers offers, at the moment they are doing an offer for full service for £59.95 & MOT at 50% off for vehicles upto 1300cc

http://www.f1autocentres.co.uk/special_offers/Harrow.pdf

[macgyver]

Many thanks 3tree. But are they reliable in the sense that they will not find faults un-necessarily to pass the MOT.
Thanks again

[3tree]

I cannot comment on F1 Autocentre as to how reliable they are in servicing.

However what I can say is my experience in changing tyres & the advice I got has been very good.
They explained the cause of my tyre wear in laymens terms & looked at my brakes - adviced as well as showed me that they would need replacing soon (but were not pushy to get me to change them - infact I was given a quote and told to look around, if I found a cheaper quote they will match & give me 10% extra discount).

[macgyver]

Thanks once more. I thik I will give them a ring and have a word with them regarding service and what all they include in the major service coz 69.99 is pretty cheap for a mojor service!!!

[lil_me]

Look into Car Maintainence courses at your local college, my friend did one for about £40 and has saved her a fortune so far. Me and DP do ours ourselves aswell, couldn't afford to run two cars if we didn't.

[peddy]

Thanks once more. I thik I will give them a ring and have a word with them regarding service and what all they include in the major service coz 69.99 is pretty cheap for a mojor service!!!


Did you find out what is included?

[macgyver]

Did you find out what is included?

Hi Peddy,

I gave the Harrow cetre a call and they advertise at £69.95 for my car (1400 cc) but was Quoted £83 as they would put GTX casyrol oil for extra charge and the MOT would be £35. All included £118.90

A major service will include:
Oil flush
Oil change
Air filter change
Oil filter change
Spark plugs change
Coolent level
Clean the back
Brake fluid top up
34 point check.

Although Harrow is farther to me than the Mitcham center but the latter has its service at 104 so I will go to harrow.

Hope it helps

[peddy]

Hi Peddy,

I gave the Harrow cetre a call and they advertise at £69.95 for my car (1400 cc) but was Quoted £83 as they would put GTX casyrol oil for extra charge and the MOT would be £35. All included £118.90

A major service will include:
Oil flush
Oil change
Air filter change
Oil filter change
Spark plugs change
Coolent level
Clean the back
Brake fluid top up
34 point check.

Although Harrow is farther to me than the Mitcham center but the latter has its service at 104 so I will go to harrow.

Hope it helps


Thanks for that. I think I'll give it a miss and try a local garage.

A good service here for anyone to find a reputable garage in your area

http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk

[3tree]

I just checked the Harrow F1 Autocentre ad in my local paper & online they have a special offer on MOT at 50% off if taken together with the service.

[macgyver]

I just checked the Harrow F1 Autocentre ad in my local paper & online they have a special offer on MOT at 50% off if taken together with the service.

Thats what is advertised on the net as well but they are charging 35 for MOT with the service saying that the MOT prices have risen

[3tree]

Challenge them - especially if you have seen it advertised elsewhere for a reduced price. Their ad states they will beat any price by 10%.

I have tried & challenged them already & they have beaten my cheapest quote by 10%.

Remind them of local trading standards if they refuse to do what they have advertised. I'm sure the manager will quickly change their mind.

[macgyver]

Hi Folks,

I finally got my service and MOT done from F1 Autocetre at Harrow and it went very well!!!... all done in £123 (1400 cc V reg Honda civic) £35 for MOT and rest service n parts.
I cann0t recommend them more, they were supererb!!!!
I was a bit scared going to them as I thought that they might find unnecassary faults.
Fisrt thing they said that they would d the MOT before the service as if car fails the MOT, they can repair it during service or I can take the car and get it repaired but then they will charge fr the re-test (which is otherwise free)
When I insisted that I wanted the MOT after the service, they agreed but didnt have MOT slot today.... So I went in with the MOT first...
Three side light bulbs not working... failed> replaced 3 bulbs (£8 total) and retested immediately and passed.
The tester was very nice, explained everything to me step by step and even adjusted my head-lights.

So very happy in the end.