Halfords Autocentres Reviews

Name: Halfords Autocentres
Rating: 1.86

1.9 Rating 822 Reviews

21 %

of reviewers recommend Halfords Autocentres

Company Reviews

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Metrics

1.9

Based on 822 reviews

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

Phone:

0800 037 0800

Location:

Halfords Autocentres Ltd. 7/9 Richmond Road, Olton Wharf Olton,
Solihull

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Halfords Autocentres 1 star review on 26th July 2024

Andrew

Halfords Autocentres 1 star review on 29th June 2024

Mrs Helen Dehkordy

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Do not even think to go to this car service centre, it is awful. Three times there & every time something is broken, just waisting your money! If you have any policy with them it will not cover everything thath it's promised! If you have done any service there be prepared to come back and spend more money and to do repairs, lots of repairs! And it is going to be expensive. Don't even consider Halfords as car service it is only about sales and money not the quality!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I took my car into Kingsteignton Halfords for a free MOT. The car which is 5 years old and has only 37,000 miles on the clock was in perfect working order prior to my doing so and exhibited no evidence to suggest the cooling system may in anyway be compromised, being described as “clean as a whistle” by one of the Halfords mechanic’s. Upon returning to the garage I was told the car had failed its MOT due to a “catastrophic failure of the cooling system”. Coolant could be seen pouring from the underside of the car. This certainly hadn’t been the case prior to my leaving the car in Halfords care. When asked what may be the cause of the problem it was suggested “the thermostat casing may have cracked”. I was also told the car could not be driven any distance due to the extent of the leak. Shocked and understandably anxious to have the car repaired I was advised labour costs were £70 per hour. Fortunately, my own trusted and affordable garage is located, not far away, on the Brunel Trading Estate. Upon investigation they found the radiator hose had been sliced, suggesting this appeared to have been done with a knife. Sadly, I have no means of proving this and Halfords refuse to admit liability or pay the modest bill incurred for the work required to repair the hose which was otherwise in excellent condition with no sign of ware or tear. Would that I could uploaded a photograph of the damaged radiator hose in order that you, the reader, were able to formulate your own opinion and conclusion.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Ordered a new battery for fitting at Sutton auto centre for Sat 29 Sept 10.30 on arrival told battery wasn't in stock, manager was aware of this situation on Fri 28 Sept but didn't contact me and he would not be in until Sunday when he would get in touch with me as yet no contact has been made”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“We went in with a brake problem and the guys checked it over straight away. Very friendly, fortunately nothing wrong with the car. No charge and peace of mind - happiness”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Shocking Costs!! Staff not exactly Friendly when informing you about the price. And when you Ask why the Hell it is so expensive they really dont give a S**t. I booked my car in for an MOT as they are offering it for Free if you purchase something from there main stores. This is clearly a money making scheme. Had the MOT and it Failed on brake Discs and Pads and a faulty rear light bulb. The quote they gave me was Shocking. £176 + VAT for Discs and £76 for Pads!! This is a Peugeot 208. The brakes are small... They would not reduce the price at all. My exact words where..... SHOVE IT... Purchased Discs and Pads from BMF in Bridgend (Highly recomend them) The discs and pads all came to £59 inc VAT... COME ON Halfords. explain the high cost. It took my just over 1 hour to fit them too and this was my first time doing it. Will never use them for Servicing again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my car, VW Golf, to Halfords, Downend, Bristol for MOT & full servicing (£250), following the MOT deal advertisements. After taking it to the centre, I got a call from them, saying that the car failed MOT due to the faulty at the rear light unit and charged an additional £500 for the replacement. The invoice does not contain any cost breakdown like the costs for parts and labour so I did a bit of research on my own about the parts and then realised that the price for the parts could have been in the range of £140 which is the retail price from VW dealer but VW told me that the part could have been purchased much chiefly by the garages. Although it is unknown to me regarding whether they use the genuine parts or how long the labour took to replace them, £500 is still ridiculous and I feel ripped off. Moreover, my complaints to Halfords Auto regarding this seems ignored and gets no response from them. Only regret I have now is that I should have considered the negative reviews about this company. Would I recommend this service? No...Please avoid this centre and consider the negative reviews on the internet inc. mine! Big no no!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my work van into halfords with an oil leak. They diagnosed oil filter. Went to collect the van and the next day back on the road my engine blew. The damage was so bad I needed to replace the entire engine. They impounded my van for 2 days. Knowing I was recording. The staff admitted negligence. When realising they had caught themselves out they then called the police on me. There was no adequatly trained member of staff in the centre. I had to wait 3 hours for another manager from another branch to come. Only to say we are not getting involved and we never had your van come and get your keys! They then PUSHED my van onto the main road and dumped it on double yellows. When asked for paperwork as they had verbally diagnosed they said they didn't know where the paperwork was. Now there is no paperwork. They hired me a curtesy van which never turned up. Then an investigation from head office was carried out. Only to find it was the person who did the original work who was investigation. Complete conflict of interest and highly inappropate. £6500 later plus an entire month's loss of earnings. There reasons for not being responsible were for fairy tale reasons which only showed their incompetence.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Rubbish customer service although work is to a reasonable standard they do not take care of customer's car's and will never admit to fault, customer service's never respond to e-mails and are utterly incompetent, all in all a horrible experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my car to Halfords in Newhaven for its MOT test simply because it was conveniently close to another location I was visiting. Big mistake! It had recently been fully serviced by my local independent garage that I have used, and trusted for years, for servicing and repairs. I was confident that the vehicle would pass the test without any problems. However when I returned to pick up the vehicle I was informed that it had failed on several points, including items that had recently been replaced by my local garage. More alarming was that I was permitted to drive the car away without it being brought to my attention that one of the apparent defects passed off as a minor problem by the receptionist and which I could fix myself, had in fact been recorded by the mot tester as a dangerous (do not drive) defect on the fail notice. Having driven half a mile down the road from Halfords it became very apparent that something on the underside of the car was impacting on the road at every pothole, and occasionally rubbing on the front wheel. On stopping the vehicle to ascertain the cause of the problem and then reading the fail notice, in particular that the car should not be driven until this fault was rectified, I immediately returned to Halfords to remonstrate with them for allowing the car out of the workshop with this defect, listed by the tester as dangerous! They agreed to fix the offending underside inspection panel in place using a plastic cable tie until my local garage could fix it with the proper fixing clip. They didn't charge for doing this which made me puzzle about why they didn't do this simple remedial action in the first place, rather than risking me driving a vehicle the tester deemed to be dangerous! The car is now in the hands of my local garage to fix properly the inspection panel and perform the MOT test - They were not able to find any faults with the previous items that they had recently replaced and which had been identified as fail items by the MOT tester at Halfords. Furthermore, they suggested that the damage to the underside inspection panel could very plausibly have been caused as the car was being driven onto the ramps at Halfords, since the car was not delivered to Halfords in that condition.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I took my car to Perry Barr for a service and to check a rubbing noise coming from the front wheels. When I picked the car up I was given a list of work they said needed doing, but could not hear the noise from the wheels because they thought one of the tyres was rubbing (could that have been the noise). The dirty wheel locking nut had just been thrown onto the front seat and there was grease under the door handles. They had also disconnected the dash cam. I contacted customer services and was told they were sorry and I could have a free MOT in the future, (don't want it). I was told that Halfords have a "prerogative" to disconnect a dash cam if they wish. A prerogative gives one person a right over another and has to be granted. They have no such right. If permission is not asked for, the default position is it has not been granted. The dash cam would have shown me if the car had been road tested. They are just looking to make money for work that does not cause too much of a challenge. The email I received was no reply so that was the end of that. Case number 07948552.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Whatever you do, don't take your car to Halfords Autocentre in Charlton to have them look at your brakes. I needed front brake pads replacing they convinced me I needed pads + discs on front and rear. Can't believe I was foolish enough to believe them or that I paid approx £400 more than a local indy garage. Total rip off. They won't honour their Price Promise because they have given me a Brakes4Life policy which I don't want as I will never be taking my car to a Halfords centre again. Plus that policy ties you in to having work done by them and you have to pay for all parts and labour not covered by the Brakes4Life policy.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“2nd bad experience with Halfords Autocentre in 2 months. Car 'failed' MOT on 3 'Major' points. Halfords advising i was looking at £250-£350 to replace the parts in order for my car to pass. I guess paying for a cheap MOT they then find faults which aren't really there. I took it to another place to be tested again to be sure and it PASSED first time. They did not even mention any of the 'major' points Halfords had told me. Complete money grabbers. Avoid !!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Booked in my Car as a rattling noise started up when I started the car. Halfords advised they could fix the problem and replaced a 'pipe' costing me £150. I left the garage and the noise started up again. I took it back to Halfords who told me they did not have access to look inside the engine to find the still rattling noise. So I took to another garage and found the rattling noise was that it needed a new timing chain fitted. Pretty standard to replace at most mechanics!! So I am unsure what I actually paid Halfords Autocentre to replace for £150. Money grabbers!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“DO NOT SIGN UP FOR SERVICE PLAN!!! OR BRAKES FOR LIFE (fix once and every excuse to avoid replacing them again)!! NOT WORTH IT! Service plan, Its not right to arrange a 3 year contract and make demands to pay up the difference on 1st mot and not re-adjust the plan to accomodate that extra cost. but harlfords will continue to take money off you after 2nd or 3rd year upto very end leaving you out of pocket by double the amount you paid to make up difference. Your then stuck with the usual customer service people pushing you between departments looking to get the excess payment you are forced to make back. SO AGAIN THIS IS NOT WORTH IT THE HASSLE OR INCONVENIENCE! 2nd Brakes for life, sounds like a good deal at face value, but im stuck with brakes that are making contact with discs causing horrendous vibrations and noise when you drive. I explained to the them at autocentre that the brakes need looked at, but they insist the brakes are like new. I got a second and third opinions and they say they need replaced. So be very wary about agreeing to pay theyre inflated price for cheap discs and pads.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Messy, obscure and overpriced,! Just had my Alfa Mito for a "Major service" +MOT @Chelmsford for total of £260.00, once got there to pick the car up I was given an advisery note of things needing done(Red)/should be done(Amber), with the itemised costs ( I could get much cheaper price by just going next door!!), I was not given any detail breakedone of what actually been done (e.g oil change/oil filter chang, etc), I was not given a MOT certificate, the service book was not filled nor stampt, the plastic protection cover was left for me to remove.and some engine oil was spilled in the engine bay, Was told All spark plags to be renewed @ £129.78( does not include in MAJOR service), next door @53.81, all in all have lost confidence in Halfords,! I would love to talk to the area manager !!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“They are a total scam, i paid for a major service after being talked into it by their staff as I wanted everything done. Out of a listed 76 point check they claim to do i believe they changed the oil, oil filter and air filter and they even messed that up. Currently trying to get my money back. The customer service is atrocious and they left the vehicle in a dangerous condition in my opinion. DO NOT EVER CONSIDER USING HALFORDS AUTOCENTRE OR LET THEM ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR CAR.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Terrible experience at halfords auto center in Leeds. Took my car in to have the AC recharged, got messed about with it resulting in multiple trips, then discovered someone had stolen items out of my car including taking all the pound coins out of my parking money!! Went in to complain, against my better judgment let them fit a new AC filter as an apology, months later there’s still white dust coming out of the vents, assuming they did this intentionally to punish me for complaining about the theft. Also discovered they glued the wheel caps on so I can’t put air in. Take my advice, don’t ever go here, regardless of how basic the task, they don’t even deserve the one star.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Everything and anything, never ever go to halfrauds, completely messed my car up through incorrect battery fitment, they had accepted liability and I was told to go to main dealer for quote for pcm and they accepted, further down the line I was informed by main dealer that more damage was accrued to the engine resulting in an engine failure which was a lot more expensive obviously and now even after 7 months I am Still without car because they have changed their mind and are now disputing liability. Surely with all these complaints on this site alone people should seriously think about going elsewhere. Sorry I cannot put more exact details on here as it looks like we are going down the legal channels to rectify this calamitous event with such an awful,don't care once we have your money company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“SCAMMERS My car was booked in to have tyres fitted in August 2018, when it had four Dunlop Bluresponse tyres fitted. I returned to collect my car - James at reception met me with some “bad news” he stated that the cambelt and the coolant pump on my car had been inspected by Halfords Autocentre staff and that these parts required to be replaced as soon as possible. He further stated that the Air Conditioning and Coolant had also been inspected by Halfords Autocentre staff – the Air Conditioning required a service and the Coolant needed to be changed. I asked him to confirm that these items had been inspected and found to be defective; James repeated that the items had been inspected and the work definitely required to be done. James gave me my Invoice, enclosed in a “YOUR CAR” folder. Stated in my Invoice - “Below is a brief DESCRIPTION OF ITEMS INSPECTED. It is your right and may be beneficial to discuss the report with a member of staff.” The “ITEMS INSPECTED” read: - RENEW THE TIMING BELT KIT, RENEW THE COOLANT PUMP, COOLANT CHANGE, AIR CONDITIONING SERVICE R134A – these were all marked as condition AMBER – amber being defined by Halfords Autocentre as “We’re a little concerned. If you don’t FIX THIS PART STRAIGHTAWAY, you’ll need to keep an eye on it.” I was lied to and misled by James verbally in person and in writing by Halfords Autocentre. A matter of weeks ago my car’s cambelt, coolant pump, auxiliary belt and coolant were all renewed at a Volkswagen Specialist Service Centre – I have the invoice. And on 09 August 2018 my car’s air conditioning was serviced and re-gassed at ATS Euromaster – I have the invoice. I consider that Halfords Dundee Autocentre staff have blatantly attempted to dupe me. And regard this matter with the utmost seriousness. In response the Halfords Customer Service Team had James (of Dundee Halfords Autocentre) telephone me! My complaint involved James and therefore Halfords Customer Service Team response to my complaint is wholly inappropriate. The practices at Halfords Autocentre Dundee are nothing short of a scam. I will be making Trading Standards aware of the full details.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Not to be trusted. Went to Edinburgh Gyle for a simple tyre change and came away with over £800 worth of damage. Fabricated a web of lies to cover up malpractice .”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Halfords Autocentres is rated 1.9 based on 822 reviews