Servicing costs.

consumers_revenge

Hi,


Looking for peoples opinions here please?


Having a look at a heavy service for my focus petrol and saw whats on offer at Halfords http://www.halfordsautocentres.com/advice/servicing-advice/car-servicing-whats-included . It looks a decent amount for a 24 month service.


Now the fact its Halfords already put me off due to the likely upselling but is the non sale price about right for the amount of work done/checked/replaced for the cost?


Would a trusted independent be about the same price?


No I don't have it serviced all the time other than things like cambelt or oil change. Whats required when needed and anything I see.


Cheers.

gardner1

find a decent independent and the price will be bit less or the same but they will do a far better job

EssexExile

As above, those prices seem a tad high in my experience & I've never had any complaints about the garage at the end of my road.

consumers_revenge

that's what I'm aiming for. Unfortunatly my garage who does the MOT and odd bit of work doesn't have a service schedule. Wont be using Halfords but does the amount done ( eg brake fluid change / rad fluid change included ) seem about right for a major service? at that cost?

spira9

I don't know why everyone hates Halfords. My local one has always been good and with quick service.

At least with Halfords you know it's the same price for everyone. Where's at other garages they can quote silly numbers when they need the work. What you can do is just call a bunch of them and ask for quotes. I bet they will quote you something similar to Halfords.

parking_question_chap

Would never touch a large chain for car work as all they care about is your money. Find a local indi from word of mouth.

Ilona

I use Halfords. Just had an MOT for £30, passed. Had a service, seemed reasonable. They are near town so I can leave my car there for a couple of hours. The staff are helpful that they explain things to me, and I feel that if I do have any complaints which don't get resolved at the branch, I can complain to head office. Up to now they have been ok.
Ilona
PS. I did use an indi before, got no explanation about the work they did, got no receipt, no itemized bill for the servicing.

BeenThroughItAll

Ilona wrote: »

I use Halfords. Just had an MOT for £30, passed. Had a service, seemed reasonable. They are near town so I can leave my car there for a couple of hours. The staff are helpful that they explain things to me, and I feel that if I do have any complaints which don't get resolved at the branch, I can complain to head office. Up to now they have been ok.
Ilona
PS. I did use an indi before, got no explanation about the work they did, got no receipt, no itemized bill for the servicing.

So, you used a crap independent.

parking_question_chap

Ilona wrote: »

PS. I did use an indi before, got no explanation about the work they did, got no receipt, no itemized bill for the servicing.

Clearly not a good indi.

System

Go to your Ford dealer and have a Motorcraft 4 plus service which is £125 for a minor and £195 for a major (cheaper than Halfords by £20 or more) You get a proper service from Ford with Ford parts, a dealers stamp in the service book and you also get free 12 months/next service interval PAN EUROPEAN breakdown recovery which Halfords won't give you.

Not servicing a car properly and just doing oil changes and cambelt changes is a false economy. A decent service will highlight issues before they get more expensive such as warning you your brake pads are low before they get to a point they shaft the discs and you have to have those replaced as well. Getting the pollen filter changed when it should do will prevent the heater blower motor resistor pack from overheating and burning out. Whenever you see a car with just the full speed working its because the resistor pack has burnt out and that is usually caused by a blocked pollen filter.

BeenThroughItAll

Tarambor wrote: »

Go to your Ford dealer and have a Motorcraft 4 plus service which is £125 for a minor and £195 for a major (cheaper than Halfords by £20 or more) You get a proper service from Ford with Ford parts, a dealers stamp in the service book and you also get free 12 months/next service interval PAN EUROPEAN breakdown recovery which Halfords won't give you.

Not servicing a car properly and just doing oil changes and cambelt changes is a false economy. A decent service will highlight issues before they get more expensive such as warning you your brake pads are low before they get to a point they shaft the discs and you have to have those replaced as well. Getting the pollen filter changed when it should do will prevent the heater blower motor resistor pack from overheating and burning out. Whenever you see a car with just the full speed working its because the resistor pack has burnt out and that is usually caused by a blocked pollen filter.

No. No, No.


'Will' and 'may' have very different meanings and should be used appropriately.