Name: Halfords Autocentres
Rating: 1.86

“Another awful experience of Halford autocentre (Watford branch) to add to the list below!! Booked in for a service and asked for a quote on 2 new tyres, was called 2 hours later to say my battery wouldn't hold charge... I had never experienced any issues with my battery in the past, I was also told I needed new brake pads and discs as these were dangerously low and finally 3 new tyres. They said this work was going to come to 1140. I asked them to brake down the quote to me and all of a sudden they got it down to 930. I said I would have to speak with my husband and call them back, within 30 minutes they had called me again and were pressuring me for an answer. I said to go with the battery and brake bits but I would sort the tyres separately. When I asked for a new quote he said 790, I asked how 3 tyres was only going to have cost 140, he then suddenly changed the quote again in seconds to 685. I went ahead with the work only to find after a few hours of having my car home oil had leaked all over the driveway! a technician friend came to look for me and they had broken my oil filter during the service, when I rang them about it they tried to say it was fine when I left them it had been checked. After a small dispute they agreed for me to bring it back the next day and ended up having to replace the whole thing!! now I have no trust in the other work they have done including my brakes and battery and a driveway covered in oil. the man in the shop didn't seem overly bothered and didn't even know customer services email address! useless service. overpriced and useless workers. DO NOT USE THESE MONEYGRABBERS!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I took my car for MOT on Acocks Green center. Car failed on the headlight adjustment. Everything fair till that time. If you take it to a normal garage they would just tighten up the screw on the back of headlight and fix it. But since I was in a rush asked them to fix it. Halfords charged us £15 for a 2 sec job. Almost feels like this failure was done deliberately to make some more money. Avoid at all costs. what a ripoff!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I took my car for MOT on Acocks Green center. Car failed on the headlight adjustment. Everything fair till that time. If you take it to a normal garage they would just tighten up the screw on the back of headlight and fix it. But since I was in a rush asked them to fix it. Halfords charged us £15 for a 2 sec job. Almost feels like this failure was done deliberately to make some more money. Avoid at all costs. what a ripoff!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My daughter booked in her car with Halfords (ref. A216B004642) for a diesel particulate filter deep clean treatment. After this work was completed she was told that it had not been successful. Apparently she was told before paying her 85 pounds that this treatment may not work. Trading Standards have told me that if this was the case then it forms part of the contract and therefore she is not entitled to a refund. Halfords have refused to issue a refund. So if you like gambling then Halfords is the place to go, alternatively if you want to save 85 quid take your car to someone who can guarantee their work. Most unimpressed.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“After good repeated experience in the past a disaster! The branch is under new management, with new, and as it proved, incompetent mechanics at work, additionally grossly overcharging on parts (more than double the price available to 'Joe Public' from the same supplier as they use!), the manager offering the most feeble excuses and generally talking nonsense (though seemingly very politely and never forgetting to add Sir) – all in all an experience which I wish to forget! Highly not recommended and do stay away. The list of grievances would too long to publish! Just an example – they broke off three of three ignition coils to get at the spark-plugs and then charged £162 to put new coils on! (plus £70 for three plugs). Renew the fuel filler cap seal (rubber ring) – £38.28 ... etc etc. A total and complete disaster! And a warning to others!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Went to Halfords Autocentre, Weybridge for a tyre change. Waited 2 hrs before they decided to tell me they couldn't undo the locking nut. Told to come back the next day, where there would be a welder on hand, who could undo anything !! Arrived late afternoon where I waited a further 2hrs before being told the welder had gone home for the day. After this I decided to the leave the car there over night, so they could do it first thing when they open at 8 am. Arrive at 9:30am, where I waited a further half an hour before anyone even acknowledged me. The the guy decided to laugh in my face and say " your never guess what the welder won't be able to do it until midday !!!! " At this point I decided enough was enough and demanded my money back, that I had paid upfront on Sunday. The guy on the counter phoned customer services, where I gave back details to a lady on the phone and she proceed to tell me the money would not be back in my account for 3 to 5 working days and told me it was a company policy. Working in retail myself I explained this was not exceptable and demanded my money back today. She then decided should could process the refund today and the money would be back in my account by the end of the day. WATCH THIS SPACE !!!! Please Never use them. My Wheel nut is ruined and waiting on an expert to sort it out. They are a bunch of COWBOYS”

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Posted 5 years ago

“AVOID AT ALL COSTS. We had £567.44 of work done on our vehicle including timing belt, a "new" battery, coolant pump and a coolant change. Firstly we was originally booked in on the 26/09 but half way through the day of it being in the garage we got a phone call to say 2 guys had phoned in sick so nothing had actually been done on our car, we left the car with them under the impression the work would be done the following day. We called the centre just before closing on the 27/09 to see if we could pick up ourcar up which we was told yes all work is now completed. So off we went. We've since had further problems with the power in our car and one of the headlights has got a fault. So trusting Halfords we returned. To be told by the site manager that when he raised the hood that the car still has an old battery in. IM SORRY WHAT... and that there is no trail of GET THIS.. any of the work being completed on our car?!?!?!?! So we've paid £500+ for work that hasn't been completed and been driving around in an unsafe car?! AVOID AT ALL COSTS. We are in touch with trading standards regarding this.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Never again. We have a very small electric car that we tow behind our American RV and it needs its MOT. Plan was drive 200 miles to Somerset to pick up the RV and car from storage and get the MOT done locally. Booked it into Bath autocentre, no problems. Several days later we got an email saying it had been cancelled, no reason why. Called them up and the sorry excuse was that the 1 guy who did MOTs (!) would no longer be in that day. No offer of an alternative. So we ditched them and rebooked with Yeovil autocentre but we specifically asked on the phone if the car would fit on their ramps, they kept us on hold while someone went and actually measured to see if it would fit because it is so narrow. Yes was the answer, so all good. Got there today and within 10 minutes we’re told it would not be possible to do the MOT because the car would not go over their pit (as it happens it was a pit not a ramp but either way it would not work) To say we have had bad service all along from Halfords is somewhat of an understatement. To be fair, the guys at the centre were nice and polite but that’s not the point... Now we have to find another garage and it won’t be a Halfords”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Terrible company! My car failed it's mot, due to sidelights not working and breaks being damaged. They tried to charge me £377 to complete the repairs. So I took my car to a local garage and ended up paying £80 for the repairs. Please do not use them.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I’ve never used Halfords car centre for donkeys years and after reading these reviews it will be another 20 years before I consider them again Terrible reviews to what was an excellent reputation”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Never take your car for an MOT or Service here. I was booked in for 8.30am and they said the 12pm guy dropped his car off just before me so they were going to do his first...warning sign 1...I said that’s fone as ping as I have my car back by 3.30. I said I needed my car back by 3.30pm as I had work at 4.30pm and they said this was fine. 3.30pm comes around, no contact so I rang them and a woman answered telling me my car was booked into The 4pm a lot so it hasn’t been looked at yet. I demanded to know why nobody had contacted me to tell me this and she said ‘I dunno’ I then explained to her that i was working till 8pm and they close at 6pm so my car would have to stay there over night and she said. Wasn’t allowed to leave my car there over night because they aren’t insured to have cars on the premises over night and I quite literally said ‘well tough because I have had 0 communication from you all day and I told you I needed my car by a certain time and now it’s too late for me to Make arrangements at work which I have had to get a lift from someone else to because you didn’t bother to pick up the phone, great customer service’ She hung the phone up on me. Fantastic. When they eventually rang me at 5.45pm I was told my car had failed due to a light being too dim and my tracking rod deteriorating I asked if It was okay to drive and they said ‘no it’s too dangerous’ to which I responded okay then do the work on it. Now obviously they close at 6 and if I can’t drive y car what happens to it seeing as earlier in the day I was told by someone that I couldn’t leave my car there over night. Well the mechanic said ‘no you can leave it here over night it’s fine’ more messed up communication. I told him I had work at 11am So needed my Car back at 10am latest because I have no other way of getting to work and he said ‘i’ll Try’ WELL. I got a phone call at 8.57am this morning and he said when they took my wheels off they noticed the break pads were essentially none existent and that they needed replacing as a matter of urgency. THEN WHY WAS THIS NOT SAID TO ME ON MY ORIGINAL MOT CERTIFICATE FORM? So they have added a job on which added £200 to my bill which I can’t afford and then they instantly offered me a 0% interest payment plan of £85 for 4 months.’to say I am livid is an understatement. Never in my life have I been so messed about by a garage. It’s absolutely disgusting.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Appealing”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I took my car for Service and MOT at Halfords in Charlton two weeks ago. It failed due to too much movement in the bushes. And there was evidence of an oil leak. I was also given a list of other 'red' or 'amber' issues with the car which would have cost close to £2000 to correct - including worn break pads, replacing spark plugs and changing coolant. As they quoted £700 for the bushes I phoned around for another price and a garage recommended by a friend quoted no more than 500. So I took the car away from Halfords. I gave the garage the list from Halfords and they said they would check everything before carrying out any work. I got a phone call later that day to say that the car had been examined by two different mechanics and they did not think it should have failed on the bushes as they could detect no excessive movement and the 'oil leak' was due to a spill when the filter had been changed (part of my Halford's service). They took it to a different MOT test centre and it passed with no advisories. The other work that Halfords gave me the impression was extremely urgent will need to be done eventually but not for another year or so. That means I can do it gradually and spread the cost. I would love to make a complaint to the DVSA because what Halfords are doing is nothing short of fraud but it looks like you have to pay a substantial fee if you want to appeal against an MOT decision - and you have to wait for the DVSA to re-examine it. This is probably why Halfords behave the way they do. No comeback. I would urge anyone who is thinking about using Halfords for their MOT to be aware of these practises that seemed to be happening across the country. My experiences are echoed by a lot of other reviews on this site.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I went to Halfords Newhaven and needed a fuse blown. The person at the fitting desk was so helpful I’m a pensioner now so need all the help I can get. The chap sorted it out for me in no time. This is why I use helfords Newhaven because of the help you get from the experienced staff once again thanks. Frank.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My initial request was for a full service to pre-empt any problems prior to an MOT. This was carried out at Guildford and there was various advisory work including changing all four tyres and front lower wishbones on both sides. My original rims have got tatty and kerbed and I asked if the new tyres could be fitted to new rims and the old wheels scrapped and this was agreed to. On the morning I dropped the car in whoever was meant to be opening up was late making me late for work. The person who did take my keys did not check with me what work I expected to be done. I picked up the car to find the new tyres were on the old wheels and the new ones still visible in the back of my Focus estate... I pointed this out but had already paid and they had no financial incentive to remedy this. Worse still over the next few months it became clear that both front wheels were very badly aligned and there have been problems with the front brakes. I can't prove that Halfords were at fault but it seems strange that the parts of the car that they worked on are the parts that have next cost me money... The car has been taken to a main Ford dealer for remedial work and if anything they are even worse having been pretty much uncontactable and not completing the work within the time that they told me with no explanation of why. I will be asking around for word of mouth recommendations for an independent local mechanic in future!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“First time using the Bell Green Halfords and also last. Booked on line for Major Service appt at 8.30am, MOT and replacement of two tyres. Arrived just before appt time, reception told me the MOT will be done first. Why? claims that it was booked in first. Not true, I chose the service option first. I asked what if my MOT fail, guy says after service get sorted will retest for free. Doesn't seem logical. The guy then sold me two more jobs: wheel balancing £7.99 each and Oil flush/Petrol cleaner £30. At 10.30am received call telling me MOT failed, head lamps cloudy, registration light not working, a nail in rear tyre, not one I wanted replaced. Told me it would cost £650 to replace headlamps. I thought it's ridiculous. Asked them to do the service I booked and I will get a second opinion about the work they suggest. 10 mins later phone rang, guy said person spoke to me was trainee, could clean head lamps £50 each. I said no, just do the service. Asked them when the service would finish, told me it's around 2 to 3pm. I arrived to pick up my car around 4pm. It's still to be serviced. Why? claims that they have a problem with lift. Asked how many car they serviced that day? there were about four before me when I came in the morning. He said it varies. Did not answer my direct question. Told me it would take one to one and half hr to do the service. This is a major service with two tyres to be replaced! Whilst I was there, I heard they failed two other cars' MOT. Came back 5.20pm waited another 10min for car, man said as a gesture of good will they will not charge me for the wheel balancing or the fuel cleaning. Told me brake padswill need changing as close to manufacturer recommendation. Got my car just before 6pm. Drove away, half a mile later, the drumming started from underneath, gets harder and faster as I accelerate. Could not return to them as they would have closed and I had been delayed too long,was supposed to be with sick father at 5pm could not delay any longer. In evening, checked the invoice they gave me. They did not carry out the wheel balancing or the fuel cleaning, these are listed as recommended work. I don't believe they had done the major servicing properly either in that amount of time which included replacing two tyres. Now I don't know what they did but the drumming noise was not there before. I'm too stressed to go back to them so will take my car elsewhere to check and will raise a formal complaint. It was appalling service. I think they deliberately put my car till last because I refused the works they recommended. The guy admitted my car was in for servicing last that day. Wish I had read reviews on Halfords first, some people call them Halfrauds. That explains it all.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Avoid Croydon Stafford Road centre There was a MOT done and the reason for failure given was Headlamp aim not tested Front(both) [4.1.2(b)] The headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced NEarside and Offside Front[4.1.2(b)] They quoted for £120 for cleaning the Headlamps. The Headlamps with that coating had passed last 2 years .How can they fail without testing them and giving the reason for output severly reduced .Why not let the MOT test parameters decide that ? Avoid as they offer cheaper MOT for £35 but are fail it with reasons as NOT testing it !”

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Posted 5 years ago

“booked mot [ i had a free one ] plus a small service for £144, this saved me £35 on the service i would have had at the cars dealership”

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Posted 5 years ago

“took car for an MOT in May at tigers way,leicester, told cv boot was not preventing dirt, major fault,could not drive the car, charged £192 to fix, receipt said replace cv boot ,not secure but preventing ingress of dirt,, Then had a service last week, told same cv boot was not secure ,needs replacing at £162,asked if they knew why it was now cheaper and told computer gives the price, but 2 days later the manager said it was because his stockist was out of stock and he had to pay extra, strange when cv boots are freely available for £5 that i was charged £30 extra,certainly think i was ripped off big time, AVOID THIS REPAIR CENTRE”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Watford branch - Expensive and rude - they make a big mark-up on parts when buying from Euro-parts. There’s an old man there who behaves like a thug gives mechanics a bad name...Don’t get your car fixed there they will pull the wool over your eyes had a bad experience won’t be going back there again!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver, Courier
Average Delivery Time	Next Day
On-time Delivery	Greater than 10%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 68%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	2.2 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult

Halfords Autocentres Reviews