The team at Fareham Formula One Autocentre are great. They are friendly, efficient and pricing is very reasonable. Pete in particular was really helpful. It’s nice that they communicate with you throughout and will always call to let you know when to pick your car up or if there are any queries.
Had all four tyres replaced at the end of September. At the time, I thought the service was fine — quick turnaround on a Sunday. But my MOT today tells a very different story. The car failed because Formula One Autocentres had fitted both passenger‑side tyres backwards. This is a basic, everyday job, and they got it wrong. I now have to pay the MOT station to correct their mistake. This isn’t just sloppy — it’s dangerous, especially now we have a newborn. If they can’t be trusted to fit tyres properly, what else are they getting wrong? My advice: check your tyres before you leave, and think twice before trusting them with your car. After this, my wife and I won’t be going back.
Disappointing!!! I was originally booked into Formula one in hedgend to have x2 tyres fitted and an MOT but they called 2 days before to inform me that their brake roller machine had broken and they cannot carry out the mot ( totally understandable) they suggested that I call fareham and get booked in their and was told to call them to sort it out. When i first called the fareham branch ( Andy ) answered the phone , i explained the situation to him and at first he was accommodating at getting the MOT booked in. But moned at me that hedgend did not sort this out. When I mentioned the tyres are also booked to be changed first he was reluctant to do it but said ok and booked it in conversation ended. 5 Minutes pass and I get a call from Andy asking me to go to the hedgend branch for the tyres and then to him for the MOT i explained this is not very convenient for me as I have children with me and would like to have it all done at the same time. He agreed to do it . Tyres booked for 9.30 then mot at 11.30 so I had 3hrs to keep the kids entertained ( my own decision as dont have child care) . When i arrived at the fareham branch I was met by Andy, left the car with him and said il head back for 12.30 and hopefully all done. I got a call about 12.15 from the branch ( not Andy) and they informed me the car had failed the MOT due to NSR brake excessively binding! (1.2.1(f)) and he quoted me £35 and no MOT recharge would be applied if i went ahead. I said please wait and il head back and have a look. When i got to the branch I asked a few questions to how they come to the conclusion of the Binding Brake. And was told that it had passed the Brake roller Test ( when I asked to see the printout was told the printer is broken so NO) They said when spinning the wheel it was very tight and the tester could not test the wheel bearing and its ( Excessively Binding ). I said ok could you possibly put the car on the ramp and show me ( Andy said no do it in your own time!) Red flags I said ok I will jack it up outside and have a look. So I did just outside the front door of the reception , I had the NSR wheel off the ground released the handbrake and the wheel was very easy to spin no binding at all. I opened the reception door and asked Andy to just have a look , he came out and saw that it was spinning free and he said "Yeah but pump the brake hard first" so I did and surprise it's still spinning free with no binding. He said well on the MOT bay it was Binding we can rest it bit you'll have to leave it with us for the afternoon!. I said could you possibly do a retest now ? No he said ad the tester is going to lunch in 20 minutes. I said il have to wait I have x2 kids it's raining and I'm 30mins away from home So I lowered the jack and hadning the keys back and took a seat in the reception. He did get the car back on the MOT ramp and I was watching and they jacked it up then spun the wheel and it was completely free. Andy passed me the MOT Certificate and said " sorry about that i dont know what happened there" MOT PASSED. Just so you are aware I have over 20yrs experience in the trade and also used to be MOT tester and manager! So i know what im talking about. What worries me is that how many people that dont know about cars just say yes to the repairs and pay the money. Please be careful if you go here
I don't normally do reviews, but I feel I have to comment on my experience with Formula one Gosport, I went there to have 4 tyres on my car changed, the manager explained a wire was damaged on my abs, and they fixed it, checked the tracking and balanced the tyres. They could have not bothered to do more than change the tyres, but the experience and skill of the staff has made me realise that not all garages are the same. A massive thank you to the staff and management. Have no hesitation recommending Formula one Gosport.
I found it easy to book my MOT from the website. On arrival the staff were polite and efficient booking me in. The customer waiting area is clean and tidy and the MOT done on the car seemed to be done proficiently. The only negative would be there was no tea or coffee machine provided in the waiting area.
Pretty straight forward changing of tyres with them keeping me updated throughout. Only downside was time keeping and a delay to them starting the work (maybe 45mins) even though I’d booked in a week before. Still friendly and professional though and I would use again.
Haven't had a bad visit yet. Staff always courteous and friendly and don't talk down to you if you are female. Just got my mot done there tody and very happy with the service. I particularly like the fact the waiting room has a window to the workshop so you can watch what's going on. I'm sure I will be back again in the future.
Service was great, so friendly, kind & efficient, from the receptionist (Clint) to the mechanic ( David) both were lovely guys. I would definitely go there again & recommend them to others too. Thank you!
Booked in for MOT and service. Service couldn’t be done at the time as no specialist oil available. All explained and no problem re booked. I collected the oil for them. It might be worth f1 checking the oil is available prior to accepting a booking in future. All good service (apart from No oil ;) )
Had my car serviced and mot’d here, efficient and friendly. Price paid was agreed with a quote prior to appointment. Did take some time to get a wishbone for my Mazda but apparently they are hard to come by. Would recommend
Formula One Autocentres - Fareham is located at 154 Fareham Rd, Gosport PO13 0AS, UK
You can contact Formula One Autocentres - Fareham at +44 1329 280000
You can find directions to Formula One Autocentres - Fareham by following this map link