Finding a service/mot garage I can trust?

Andrew@Home · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:14

My '05 Clio is getting to that age where things start to go wrong. Last year the fuel pump went. RAC took me straight to one of their 'approved' garages nearby who charged me well over £300 for a new fuel pump plus labour.

Also my service & mot last year set me back £400, again at a different RAC approved garage they had recommended me. It failed on something or other and needed a couple of parts (can't remember what, might have been to do with steering). Thought maybe I'm being taken advantage of because I don't know a huge amount about cars.

Somehow I feel that the parts costs (especially fuel pump, which I later researched the price of), which made up the majority of the bill, weren't worth anything near what they stated.

Service and mot time coming up again next month, so I'm wondering who I can trust so that I don't end up broke. There's a JCT600 literally round the corner offering cheap mot's, so I'm tempted by that as it's close. Just wondering if they will pull the same sort of con as the RAC ones, or if any of you kind chaps happen to know a decent honest garage hidden away in the Leeds/Bradford area?

tnx · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:22

I live in West Yorkshire.
I only use a garage to do my MOT's. He's knows I have a mechanical background and if there is owt wrong I will mend it my self. So all he gets out of me is the MOT money.
I have used many different places over the years and have come to trust this guy and for the last four years at least have been nowhere else.

You mention Bradford area. How far out of Bradford are you willing to travel. keighley ?

I could give you a name of a lad I know who has a garage in Bingley, he does not do MOT's himself but uses "Bingley MOT"
He's a sound lad and not a bad mechanic to boot.

teenwolf · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:25

finding a trust worthy mechanic is hard to find nowadays.
i am sick of shoddy work and mechanics who just don't give a dam.

i even went to kwikfit the other day to get my wheels balanced!!!!

garak112 · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:43

Find a local guy who will do the following:

Allow you to supply parts
Provide a written quote before starting
Has the required tools to work on your particular car

Get your mot done at the council testing station - it will cost full price but they do the test properly and have no incentive to fail you.

teenwolf · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:44

also i would stay clear of cheap mot's.

the council one above is a great suggestion and one that pops up a lot.
i think i will try them on my next mot.

Andrew@Home · 14 Feb 2013 at 21:48

tnx said:
I live in West Yorkshire.
I only use a garage to do my MOT's. He's knows I have a mechanical background and if there is owt wrong I will mend it my self. So all he gets out of me is the MOT money.
I have used many different places over the years and have come to trust this guy and for the last four years at least have been nowhere else.

You mention Bradford area. How far out of Bradford are you willing to travel. keighley ?

I could give you a name of a lad I know who has a garage in Bingley, he does not do MOT's himself but uses "Bingley MOT"
He's a sound lad and not a bad mechanic to boot.

Yeah that's not too far, about 20 mins from me. Sadly wouldn't know where to start for servicing it myself though, would rather let an expert do it.

tnx · 15 Feb 2013 at 06:34

Andrew@Home said:
Yeah that's not too far, about 20 mins from me. Sadly wouldn't know where to start for servicing it myself though, would rather let an expert do it.

If you fancy giving the lad I know a try use the "TRUST" button and send me an email. I will send you his works number.
I know where his garage is in Bingley but I dont know the name of the street. Not far from the train station.

adam cool dude · 15 Feb 2013 at 07:19

It's all about trial and error. I have been using the same guy since I moved to this area five years ago. Plenty of Taxi's go his way plus he does a lot of work for the Mazda Dealerships as well. This was passed onto me by a chap who has lived here for a long time.

First port of call is to ask the local Taxi companies who they use as tbh they have the best experience of all.

If you have a specialist for you car. Try and find someone local through forums or search engines. (For example Fensport is not far away from me and they are GT-Four specialists).

Stumble Bum · 15 Feb 2013 at 07:41

+1 for the council run places for MOTs, they tend to give you the benefit of the doubt more and they even retested me for free.

ganesh · 15 Feb 2013 at 08:42

I just take my car to wherever is cheapest for an mot, why pay the full fee when you don't have to?

Amos91 · 15 Feb 2013 at 09:07

Thankfully I have one of the best cliosport specialists 15 mins from work. Otherwise I wouldn't know where to take it! Shame he only works with his own parts and makes a little mark up on them too...

ste2005 · 15 Feb 2013 at 09:34

http://www.m-and-j-autorepair.co.uk/

I use these guys. My sister has been going to them for years. I had a issue with the abs and they charged my £60 to sort it. The problem was the wires had been rubbed through for one of the sensors had rubbed through,they just changed the wires and charged me labour.

Edit: They are right near costco, so centre of leeds.

dalin80 · 15 Feb 2013 at 10:11

adam cool dude said:
First port of call is to ask the local Taxi companies who they use as tbh they have the best experience of all.

Not always a great idea, good garages often turn away taxi drivers as they are nothing but hassle and time wasters, taxi drivers just go to whoever is cheapest and desperate enough to put up with their ****.