Halfords Service Centre - has anyone used them? Options

[Biker1]

Biker1, Newbury Motors and Newbury Instant Motors are the same. I think they must have been called Newbury Instant Motors previously as a few people call them this.

Doh!!

[Andy Capp]

Doh!!

Amazing what they teach at uni these days!

[Baffers100]

Amazing what they teach at uni these days!

ha ha ha!

[Strafin]

http://www.halfordsautocentres.com/discoun...hjt0Zf9AyDLm4Yn

There is a 50% off voucher available if you did choose to go there

[Exhausted]

http://www.halfordsautocentres.com/discoun...hjt0Zf9AyDLm4Yn

There is a 50% off voucher available if you did choose to go there

Gives one a warm feeling.

Actually, no it doesn't, my view is that the saving will be made up in other ways, upselling springs to mind.

Cheap filters, cheap parts, cheap oil.

[Sherlock]

In case anyone's interested I used Newbury Motors in the end and was very pleased that I did. I have no connection with them whatsoever and whoever it was who said that threads like this are pointless - you're wrong.

[Strafin]

I had my car MOT'd at Halfords this week, it passed (and is 13 years old), they were really friendly, it was done in an hour AND only cost £25.

[Biker1]

Quote from Halfords Auto Centre for replacement of suspension bush - £245.14
Job done a Newbury Motors - £99.77

[Penelope]

Quote from Halfords Auto Centre for replacement of suspension bush - £245.14
Job done a Newbury Motors - £99.77

Result.

[motormad]

I had my car MOT'd at Halfords this week, it passed (and is 13 years old), they were really friendly, it was done in an hour AND only cost £25.

Isn't that more to do with the fact there wasn't anything wrong with your car, than the garage?

[Andy Capp]

How can garages afford to do MOTs for prices like £25 or £35?

[Strafin]

The point I made with mine was that it passed (I hope because there was nothing wrong), but if they had charged a few more little jobs I probably wouldn't have questioned it. They were honest enough to make almost nothing instead, and have a happy potentially returning customer. And £25 for an hours work doesn't seem so low that it would break the bank for them, but probably they wont have much of a Christmas knees up either. That's why I tip a little sometimes.

[Timbo]

How can garages afford to do MOTs for prices like £25 or £35?

The price of £54.95 or whatever is the maximum price a garage can charge. Many people take this to be the actual price that an MOT is supposed to be - Where as it takes around 20-30 minutes and even at £30, garages still make a profit on this.

[Exhausted]

- Where as it takes around 20-30 minutes and even at £30, garages still make a profit on this.

If the garage is doing an MoT in that time then they are not doing the job correctly. I would suggest that it takes, with all the paperwork, closer to an hour. The MoT regulatory guys would be more than interested in MoT centres doing speed testing, they lay down the testing guidelines and what a test on a car must cover.

[Andy Capp]

If the garage is doing an MoT in that time then they are not doing the job correctly. I would suggest that it takes, with all the paperwork, closer to an hour. The MoT regulatory guys would be more than interested in MoT centres doing speed testing, they lay down the testing guidelines and what a test on a car must cover.

It seems the average is 45 minutes, then there's paperwork. For MOTs, all I'd ever wish is that the observations are genuine; I wouldn't want a failure to 'pass'.

[motormad]

It seems the average is 45 minutes, then there's paperwork. For MOTs, all I'd ever wish is that the observations are genuine; I wouldn't want a failure to 'pass'.

That's true. To be fair, an MOT does only take about 25 minutes especially if the technician works on the car rather than dossing around with their mates.
45 minutes to account for getting the car in and out and the paperwork is about right.
But the actual "work" is half an hour at most.

I am with you on the need for correct testing but some times they fail you on things that aren't actually affecting anything. A buddy of mine had a failure for "seized shock/lack of movement" or something like that - Basically that the shock wouldn't compress.
His shock was actually absolutely fine, he had fully adjustable coilovers on the hardest setting!

Needless to say another MOT garage passed it cleanly..

[On the edge]

I don't know why we never had self assessments for MOTs - it works for Government Departments.

[Biker1]

I don't know why we never had self assessments for MOTs - it works for Government Departments.

Think they should be on a sliding scale eg

up to 3 years - not required
up to 6 years - every 2 years
over 6 years - yearly

or similar

But then it is a money making operation isn't it?

[On the edge]

Think they should be on a sliding scale eg

up to 3 years - not required
up to 6 years - every 2 years
over 6 years - yearly

or similar

But then it is a money making operation isn't it?

Yep!

[Exhausted]

That's true. To be fair, an MOT does only take about 25 minutes especially if the technician works on the car rather than dossing around with their mates.
45 minutes to account for getting the car in and out and the paperwork is about right.
But the actual "work" is half an hour at most.

I am with you on the need for correct testing but some times they fail you on things that aren't actually affecting anything. A buddy of mine had a failure for "seized shock/lack of movement" or something like that - Basically that the shock wouldn't compress.
His shock was actually absolutely fine, he had fully adjustable coilovers on the hardest setting!

Needless to say another MOT garage passed it cleanly..

Here is an excerpt from the Vosa testers manual.Section 2.7. regarding shock absorbers. It's all here if you want confirmation.

http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/doit...lsandguides.htm

At each corner of the vehicle, where practicable, push down (or pull down from beneath) and note the rebound of the body to determine if each shock absorber is producing a damping effect on the suspension.

Reason for rejection

A shock absorber which has negligible damping effect.

If your 'buddy' thought the test station was in error, then he should have reported it. For my money, if the tester couldn't push down the suspension he was correct to fail but the second garage should at least have passed and advised.
Are you sure that this isn't an urban myth and your buddy may have been feeding you duff stuff so that he could boast about his modifed and possibly dangerous Saxo.
By the way, just out of interest, what was the actual wording on the failure certificate.