UK Garage Repairs

Like it or not, your car needs regular servicing at least once a year unless you carry out more than average miles, when more regular servicing is required. It needn't be such a drain on your resources as you may think. Ignoring regular servicing is not cost effective, a vehicle that constantly misses its regular services will use more fuel, run less efficiently, emit more emissions, be more likely to breakdown and cost you more in repair bills in the long run. Modern cars require less attention that vehicles built in the past twenty to thirty years. Many will require only one service per year ... more

With over twenty million cars now on our roads, it is small wonder that we are spending billions of pounds on repairs and servicing. With all that money floating around it stands to reason that there will more than a few unscrupulous service and repair centres around the country. A point to ponder, before you decide on a garage for your repair or servicing work, is that anyone can open up a repair business! You do not need qualifications or formal training before opening up a repair shop; would you trust just anyone to fix your car? A lot of people stick with the larger, franchised shops, this ... more

Several years ago we had an Austin Metro, not the best of cars, but it got us around. The exhaust was blowing, so to have it repaired we shopped around and Budget came out as being the cheapest. It was a well known name in the tyre and exhaust business, so we felt pretty confident. We booked the car in and had a complete exhaust fitted. We paid for the service and set off for home. Two days later, whilst driving, my husband suspected that something was wrong when his braking system failed! We took the car into a local garage, who informed us that the exhaust that had been fitted was swinging ... more

I've been driving for almost eight years now, during which time I've spent far more money that I would have liked on car repairs. This also means I've wised up to the number of rip-off merchants out there, preying on the unsuspecting motorist. Take one instance. Brake pads. Not a big deal, are they? I mean, it doesn't matter of you drive a top-specification Mercedes or a 1981 Mini, brake pads are an issue we all have to deal with sooner or later. I took my car, a Rover 414Si (see my opinion of this 'car') to Motosave at Mexbrough, South Yorkshire. The mechanic removed my old pads, and then ... more

I was going to suggest a category for motor repairs, but felt that this one would suffice! I've been a bit stuck for words recently and haven't written any opinions, so excuse me if I go on! This opinion relates to National Tyres and Autocentres. They are in essence another Quik-fit type outfit, although they always seem to be cheaper. Firstly, you don't expect dealer service standards (although I'd doubt them sometimes!) or quality when you go to one of these cheap and cheerful repair centres......and that is just what they are not! Most of them advertise their primary business as tyres and ... more