Is this a foolish decision? (Halfrauds Autocentre)

FinglisHobbit

FinglisHobbit

FinglisHobbit

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My Mondeo 2.0tdci has now clocked about 103k and its due a Full/Major service.

I phoned my local garage who have been pretty reasonable for work in the past and they quoted me £187 with work to be done next Tuesday. I had a look on Halfords Autocentre out of curiousity. Their price was £189.

I then read their "Major Service" which replaces coolant and replaces brake fluid. With a voucher code and some cashback this worked out £204.

Figured I would give them a chance so booked up for the "Major" with a convenient timeslot of tomorrow morning.

When looking online they get mixed reviews but I guess some of this down to the fact that they operate Nationwide. Small independent firms are never going to get the mass of online criticism a company like Halfords would.

Wish me luck lol :D
 
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My old Mazda 3 was an ex company car and had been serviced by Halfords autocentres for almost it's entire life. I bought it on around 140k, took it to around 170k with no problems whatsoever, so I guess they must have done something right. I never took it back to Halfords in my ownership though just in case :p
 
My friend takes his car to a Halfrauds autocentre often. They have been pretty genuine- no made up jobs, happy to fit wheels he bought elsewhere for 'beer money' etc.

He now gets on quite well with the manager so he'll often have issues looked at for nothing.

As has been said, it's very much down to your local branch though.
 
When my local VW dealer closed up shop most of the staff got funded by Halfords to open up an Autocentre just out of town and it gets very good reviews.
No harm in walking in and asking to speak to the person who will be doing the work just to see what he is like. Front of house will normally always be very nice and easy to talk to, but what goes on behind closed doors!!!!!!
 
I use the one in Worksop for MOT's and I'd recommend them to be honest, my car sailed through last year but failed this year on the exhaust & two drop links.

Having taken the exhaust off it was indeed in a bit of a state and the drop links also definitely needed changing.

Mine is also a Mondeo TDCi.
 
Halfords Autocentre are a rip off. These kind of companies started to under cut the very expensive main dealer servicing prices, now they're significantly more expensive.

Just looked at their website, and they're charging £250 for an oil service. BMW main dealer charges £160.

For a major service on my Dads Volvo they wanted £350 yet the main dealer only wanted £350 and were chucking in 1 years free breakdown service with that too.
 
Used the one near me many years back for a new clutch on my mg zr, They tried to fleece me for a new flywheel and gear selector fork. I was a new driver back then so had no idea what was going on, it's only when my step dad strolled into their workshop to have a look that it was revealed there was nothing wrong with either. Cue a rather heated discussion and my car being put back together with just a new clutch. Surprise surprise worked perfectly after. Naturally they were added to the list of "no gos" along with kwik fit.
 
Used them for there cheap MOT deal . I had recently replaced the droplinks and had not full done up one bolt . Instead of sticking a spanner on it .. they failed it and i had to go home .. do nut up then get a retest :(

While i was there a lady with a corsa type car required new tack rod ends.. Bill was over £300 . Parts for me to buy were under £20 so not sure how the bill came to £300 .

If you know yer stuff then i guess there ok but i would not go back there again
 
WELL.....

First impressions are in!.

I dropped the car off as requested at 8.30am today. After hearing nothing since I decide to walk to Sainsburys at 2pm. I pass Halfords to see my car is still parked exactly where I left it.

So I pop inside to ask them when I can expect it. He tells me "its gotta have coolant etc drained so it takes a while, you will be looking at end of day". "So when is end of day?". About 4.30pm it turns out.

So I continue on to Sainsbury and get my shopping. I walk back past Halfords 10 mins later to find my car is now miraculously on the ramps. What a coincidence that I timed my visit just before the work began.

As I strolled past I noticed the *Mechanic (hope so!) spinning my front wheel and looking through the spokes with a lamp.

He better be taking all my wheels off for this "Major" service because I will be seriously fuming if hes just rushing through it.

Lets hope the end result is better!. They have under 2 hours to finish work now. How can I confirm that coolant and brakefluid has been changed so I know I havent been done.
 
Well I just had to take my own Mondeo TDCi in for a re-test after it failed on Exhaust and two droplinks, all replaced and they were blatantly shot.

Took it in somewhere else as Halfords couldn't get me in, it now fails on the brakes being imbalanced at both the front & rear (car drives perfect) & a split bottom ball joint cover.

Got it booked in on Monday afternoon at Halfords now & they are going to do the brake test for free in advance of the MOT so if there is anything wrong I can take it away & sort it without wasting £29.
 
Had a call from them. Service report says my rear disks need doing. Quoted £167.

I said I couldn't afford that work right now so just told em to continue with the rest. Not sure how good or bad that price is tbh.
 
I'd be surprised if they can be bothered to change all of the fluids, probably just bleed the brakes (if the bleed screws aren't seized) and change the oil. Easy money!
 
FinglisHobbit said:
Had a call from them. Service report says my rear disks need doing. Quoted £167.

I said I couldn't afford that work right now so just told em to continue with the rest. Not sure how good or bad that price is tbh.
Click to expand...

Rear discs are about £40 for a pair of Pagids or £50 for a pair of Bosch. Pads again about £25 for a set either Pagid or Bosch.
 
Well Ive picked the car up.

It drives exactly as it did before. Brakes feel no different. (should they?)

From what I can tell the wheels havent been removed at all. My wheel adapter is in exact same place I left it and the wheels themselves show no sign of being touched. They are still covered completely in road dirt. I would expect to see signs of handling/marks on the wheelnuts.

Invoice says a brake Fluid flush has been done and Anti freeze has been done. Other than that it mentions no filters or anything which I would have thought might have been added.

Im gonna get a look at things tomorrow in daylight to try and confirm they have actually changed items that should be.

Maybe Im being picky but it just seemed a bit rushed by them in the end.
 
Could have connected hoses to the brake calipers without removing the wheel although might be tricky, depending on space/positioning.

Not quite sure how you're going to check if the fluids have been changed? Unless really old I doubt they'll look any different. Can't say I've ever seen marks on wheel nuts after servicing.

If the brakes weren't spongy before the car went in then you shouldn't really feel any difference. Only filter would be the oil filter, possibly an air filter if it was due to be changed.
 
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