Cheap 'Car Servicing' Hunt

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

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?

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

Vini.co.uk wrote:

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.

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