Halfords Autocentre - honest or not?

Sportacus

good point droopsnoot, good garages can get a bad name spread about them by people with no mechanical knowledge assuming any recommended repairs are unnecessary and are just the garage trying to rip them off.


The best defence is to learn as much about car mechanics and your car as possible, and get second-opinions from other garages.

topdaddy_2

Deleted_User wrote: »

Because you don't expect an MOT from a National based company as big as Halfords to lie to you, do you.

Wouldnt you look so you knew what to replace/expect to recieve fom ebay(even though I wouldnt trust halfrauds as far as I could throw them)

Liam306

Halfords ripped me off alright . I was drawn in by their cheap mot offer I soon payed the price for it. Originally I was going to go to council mot but they didn't have any spaces left that week so I went to halfords. My appointment was 12am and I rang them to see if I could bring it early they said being at 9.30 am , I waited around and never got my car back till after 1.30pm. A young chap there a sub manager with tattoos on his arms was not helpful at all I got a big bill saying it needed £400 to be fixed ranging from tilting a headlight to split gaiter. I was annoyed as I am young and because I don't know about cars they walk all over me. I have defintley learned my lesson and now have found a cheap back garage I will stay with. I do defintley Believe now knowledge is power as if my car fails a mot at the next council garage I will go on euro parts website for parts instead of being ripped off by halfords. I have told my mam if I go in to halfords or even mention there name she has permission to hit me. The overall lesson is people without knowledge of cars are naive and trust these big names like halfords to be profession when they are totally freest monkeys who rip you off and take all of your money. Also there little traffic light system is a joke trying to scare you red and amber for immediate parts which need to be fixed. I hate the guys !!!!!!!! My car was only a ten year corsa sxi 2003

JohnM5206

Liam306 wrote: »

..... A young chap there a sub manager with tattoos on his arms was not helpful at all ...

With respect to a Newbie this is not relevant and a large chunk of some preconceived bias.
Welcome to the forum but do consider your language in future.

keith1950

I got a big bill saying it needed £400 to be fixed ranging from tilting a headlight to split gaiter. I was annoyed as I am young and because I don't know about cars they walk all over me.

You don't get a " bill" without first agreeing to have the work done.

there little traffic light system is a joke trying to scare you red and amber for immediate parts which need to be fixed.

Most large companies are now doing "vehicle health checks" and some use the red/amber/green system. However amber only usually suggests that the work may need doing , possibly , before the next service.

I find that most problems occur because people don't listen to what they are being told .

A young chap there a sub manager with tattoos on his arms was not helpful at all I got a

The reference to the tattoo's is totally irrelevant.

Some punctuation would have made the post easier to read !!

photome

Liam306 wrote: »

Halfords ripped me off alright . I was drawn in by their cheap mot offer I soon payed the price for it. Originally I was going to go to council mot but they didn't have any spaces left that week so I went to halfords. My appointment was 12am and I rang them to see if I could bring it early they said being at 9.30 am , I waited around and never got my car back till after 1.30pm. A young chap there a sub manager with tattoos on his arms was not helpful at all I got a big bill saying it needed £400 to be fixed ranging from tilting a headlight to split gaiter. I was annoyed as I am young and because I don't know about cars they walk all over me. I have defintley learned my lesson and now have found a cheap back garage I will stay with. I do defintley Believe now knowledge is power as if my car fails a mot at the next council garage I will go on euro parts website for parts instead of being ripped off by halfords. I have told my mam if I go in to halfords or even mention there name she has permission to hit me. The overall lesson is people without knowledge of cars are naive and trust these big names like halfords to be profession when they are totally freest monkeys who rip you off and take all of your money. Also there little traffic light system is a joke trying to scare you red and amber for immediate parts which need to be fixed. I hate the guys !!!!!!!! My car was only a ten year corsa sxi 2003

That doesnt say you were ripped off, it says you have a preconception about young people with tatoos

MoneyMate

I had my car MOT'ed two months ago at a Halfords Autocentre failed on Braking imbalance & welding around engine sub-frame, £224 final added cost for welding to pass.

The only thing that was not done was they did not show me the state of areas requiring welding for piece of mind from the customers prospective.

I was present when it was undergoing the the braking test ( sat in the waiting room) from a layman point of view it did look unbalanced.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Good Heavens.

Mugged, Ripped Off, Unecessary Work??

Was the poor chap coshed/kidnapped, trussed up like a chicken for the boiler, then robbed of his wallet and further monies/bank passwords obtained by menaces? No, thought not.

Who knows whether the job was good value or not, presumably the chap was satisfied the work needed doing and authorised it to be done in full knowledge of the likely costs involved.


I don't use a fast fit centre of any sort for my own cars, but they fulfil a requirement as an all make drive in workshops for many people for a variety of reasons, the same buyer beware warning applies as it does at any back street garage charging £25 an hour, or premium brand main dealer charging £150+ an hour, some are no doubt good some maybe not so good.

mettlemickey

Halfords are a mixed bag. Treat each branch individually and on its own reputation. Forget the name / nationwide reputation and find out form others in your area if the one in your town is any good.

There are two in my town, one i've had good experiences with in the past and the other pretty shoddy. The shoddy one failed my MOT and told me i needed approx £800 worth of work to pass. A local independent gave me a second opinion, charged me £65 to fix a couple of essentials and Halfords passed it on the retest.

Also, not sure where I read / saw it but... Beware of the language garages use to trick you, like 'ooh your pads only have a couple of thousand or so miles left in them'... I might have chosen a bad example as Im not knowledgeable on cars but, it may be that your pads are only supposed to last 4000 miles so are far from in need of replacement.

NB: Could be a bad example but you get the point.

droopsnoot

Liam306 wrote: »

I do defintley Believe now knowledge is power

Spot on, unfortunately you've learned the hard way.