Halfords Autocentre Sidcup

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Reviews

1. Julia Wickham ★★★★☆

   Good service, but didn't appreciate having to listen to staff banter with loads of swearing. I'm not offended by it, but some people would be made uncomfortable by it. The waiting area could be a lot more comfortable and welcoming. I walked to the local Tesco, but had it been raining or snowing or had a disability there are only 2 hard chairs and no refreshments.

   almost 3 months ago
2. Amol Kulthe ★★★★☆

   Went for MOT and service for my car. Polite and honest staff. MOT Passed. Clear information about the issues and precautions. Would recommend to friends and families.

   almost 3 months ago
3. Ceyda Or ★☆☆☆☆

   Deceitful money grabbers, luckily I knew enough to not fall for it. They try to get as much work out of you as possible, my MOT failed for a front brake pad, they tried to pressure me on multiple occasions (two different people) to have my discs done also, even though my discs were fine. The first “advisor” told me (after agreeing my discs didn't NEED doing & we were just doing my pads) “we’ve had a look, your discs are REAALLYY BAD too”, but I had already taken a look at my failed MOT cert online & knew my discs were “worn but not excessive” so I explained that to him, to which he literally responded “oh you looked already” before then getting flustered & angry & passing me on to the “technician”, who I repeated myself to, explaining I understand that its recommended to change both at the same time but if its not necessary then I can not afford to. She then told me “well we don’t do that, we don’t just change the pads”, which, after working in a main car dealership for years, I know is a HUGE LIE. I instructed her to cancel all of the work instead as I will not be forced into having work done that is not required (£400+ when I can fit them myself for under £100), she was shocked of course, I think they’re used to being able to scam people. On the first call, the first advisor also tried his best to convince me that I HAD to also have my brake fluid changed (£49) because I am having my brake pads changed, I questioned “is my brake fluid low” to which he responded “no, but you HAVE to change it when changing brake pads”, I asked again “I HAVE to?” He confirmed yes, another LIE! They talk to you like you were born yesterday, I’m guessing especially if you’re a woman, but this woman sold cars for years so they failed. I’m happy to say they made not a penny out of me. Ladies, if you know nothing about cars, and you can’t avoid this place completely, then take somebody with you who does, because they will try you as best as they can! They forget though, calls are reordered, so are their lies. Trading standards would have a field day in this place if they listened to calls & I’m sure MOT licences would be revoked if they watched the practices. They’ll be dammed if those new MOT requirements roll out, requiring photographic evidence. They’re already very quiet despite the advisor telling me how busy they are. I was able to book my MOT with little notice, change it to another day with days & times to choose from. My usual garage I have to book well in advance to get a slot because they really are busy, likely because they’re HONEST!!

   almost 3 months ago

1. Graham Gibson ★☆☆☆☆

   I’ve only given one star because you can’t give a zero. I booked my car in for a check because of rumble noise going over bumps. Left the car after explaining the issue. Got a call at lunchtime to say it was a top mount on the suspension and would be £324 to replace. I subsequently booked the car for another date so they could order the part, all was good so far. On the day of the repair I got a call from the manager to ask if I’d looked at the photos he had sent which I hadn’t. He explained that due to corrosion both sides of the front suspension’s needed replacing at a cost of just over £3k. I did ask as to why this wasn’t picked up when I first dropped off the car to be checked? He said the technician was just looking for the problem I had identified and didn’t do a full inspection that I’d paid for! Anyway I went ahead with the repairs and got a call at 5pm on Friday to say the car was ready. I arrived at 5:30 but it wasn’t until 6:30 that I was handed the keys. Driving home the car didn’t feel right but I just put it down to paranoia or the suspension bedding in. I didn’t use the car until Sunday morning when I took my son and his friend to a football tournament down the A2 in Faversham. Again the car didn’t feel right and I stuck to 70mph. It started raining hard and then when I went over a bump the car drifted about a foot to the left and then did it a second time. I reduced my speed to 40 and didn’t have any more problems and returned home at the same speed. I took the car back to the centre on Monday morning, unfortunately the manager was off so I explained my experience to the technician on reception who said they would have a look and call me. Again around lunchtime Monday I had a call to say one of the bolts on the suspension had been cross threaded and the manager would be calling me. Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon and the manager calls to say the car was fixed, I asked if it had been test driven and he said 3 people had tested it. I found that odd. When I arrived to pick the car up I was advised by the manager to take the car to Kwik fit because “their tracking equipment is better than ours” and he would refund me the £70 I’d paid for tracking (no refund has been received). So Wednesday afternoon I took the car straight to kwik fit and paid another £70 to have the tracking done with all the RED readings turning to GREEN. Car was now driving perfectly so Wednesday evening i took my son to his weekly swimming club. As soon as I left home I was being flashed by oncoming drivers because my dipped headlights were blinding them. I checked with google as to why this might happen on my car, one of the possibilities is caused by suspension work be being undertaken. I wasn’t about to take my car back to Sidcup so I booked it in at Charlton Halfords garage and explained the history and the lights. A couple of hours later I picked the car up and was told one of the technicians wanted to speak to me. He showed me two pictures of the suspension, one showed a disconnected pipe and the second a clip that was loose because it was in the wrong place. To cap it all both my front car mats are impregnated with oily boot prints!! I’ve raised my concerns with the Halfords customer service department.

   almost 4 months ago
2. Jeneen Clarke ★★★★★

   I never do reviews, but I had to for this place. They saved me an absolute fortune! I really want to shout out Jo (on front desk) and Farrel (in the workshop) I was turned away from numerous garages for a “tricky” light bulb change. However these ladies sorted this out for me in less then 20 mins! They were efficient, friendly, knowledgeable and most importantly persistent! They did not give up! Their persistence saved me nearly £500. Just what a young mum needed during this difficult time. Thank you ladies! I will be back!

   almost 3 years ago
3. Imran Chishti ★★★★☆

   Booked change of four tyres online , got 10% discount, appointment was available the next day ,very efficient and professional service .Job done within the suggested timeframe.

   almost 3 years ago

1. James Housago ★☆☆☆☆

   Booked in here for mot engineer waited for me to leave building then phoned to tell me wouldn’t do work because the seats were too dirty. The man works with oil drivers seat was clean anyway. Wouldn’t come out to explain himself to me. Absolute joke of a shop never use them!!!

   almost 3 years ago
2. Sam Kinsville ★☆☆☆☆

   Took my car for an MOT and was failed. The reasons given were that my headlight aim was too low and excessive play in wheel bearing. After being told about the fail I was told there was a mechanic who worked here and also done private work and that he could fix these. I booked my car into another MOT centre who advised me that the wheel bearing had a very slight play and the headlights were perfect. I booked Halfords because I didn’t want to get ripped off and thought as they were only doing the MoT then I wouldn’t be able to. £40 down the drain. Avoid at all costs. Speaking to the other MoT centres mechanics and 2 of the customers, everyone seems to have had bad experiences here

   almost 3 years ago
3. Gowri Shankar ★☆☆☆☆

   AVOID this Sidcup Centre at all costs…they just couldn’t accommodate me turning up 5 minutes late for MOT appointment despite me being the last customer for the day..the lady at the reception kept lying to me that my 5 minutes delay has knock on effect on other customers and when I reminded her that I am the last customer and she changed her excuse saying she and the technician (who was doing nothing other than waiting for my car to perform MOT) cannot finish late!!! I have never seen such a poor service offered by any company like this. Wish I could choose negative rating. AVOID AVOID AVOID

   almost 3 years ago

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