Halfords Autocentre Fareham Reviews Summary

Customer Service

Pros:

• "Fantastic service!"
• "Excellent service, polite staff, value for money, superb communication and fantastic dedication."
• "I can't praise them enough."
• "Even with the social distancing it was very quick, as was the MOT itself, and the service was great."
• "They were so friendly and professional I’ve booked in for a full service next week!"
• "Great service, use them for my yearly MOT everything is always quick! They fitted a light for me at no extra cost which I didn't expect!"
• "Efficient service. Helpful staff. Good competitive price on four new tyres."

Cons:

• "All they had to do was call!!!"
• "Had to make several follow up calls mid and late afternoon to be sure I was going to have my car for that evening."
• "The assistant manager was frankly rude when I said that he triggered the fault saying 'did you expect us to roll it in'."
• "Rubbish service on my car would not touch with a barge pole."
• "Customer service is shocking."
• "The customer service that I get from Halfords is usually ok but this time I was disappointed."
• "Very polite staff.but service given was poor, Information was wrong, assured a call back would be given on price and availability. Did not happen."

Booking and Scheduling

Pros:

• "Instead of making an appointment they could fit me in immediately while I waited and completed the work well within the estimated time."
• "They booked my Mercedes in very quickly."
• "Called several autocentres but only Halfords offered an immediate appointment to replace my car battery."
• "Very easy booking in procedure and subsequent drop-off, a telephone call came when the car was ready for collection."
• "I was given an appointment for an MOT the next day."
• "Being able to book my car in on-line is also an advantage as is the SMS and email reminder."
• "Turned up 10 minutes early for car MOT, was given very warm welcome and car was got in early and done very promptly."

Cons:

• "Booked Car in for tyres and paid in advance online. Booking time was 1230 when I dropped car off he told me in such a blasé manner that they MIGHT get around to it in about 1 hour."
• "The job was to swap wheels over. Maybe I was naive to think they could do it without damage."
• "The vehicle had not even moved, I asked at reception They had not even started it so I decided to cancel the booking."
• "I now have to wait to after the weekend to receive my Money back the excuse was the Bank Holiday."
• "Disappointed. When you book a vehicle in first thing in the morning at the 1st slot it doesn't mean they will work on it then."
• "No curtesy call was made to inform me there was any problems and the car would be late coming out of the work shop."
• "The next day during my company's time I took the vehicle to the workshop first thing at opening time to inform the condition I found the previous evening."

Quality of Work

Pros:

• "This time they saved me from a wheel refurbishment job by simply reattaching my tyre and, surprisingly, at no cost."
• "Technician send me the video with commenting on the problems he found. Clearly explained and I could see the defects clearly in the video."
• "The car is now sporting four new tyres which should see us safely through the winter and beyond."
• "If you have a blocked DPF filter then take your car here. Trust me they will fix it at a fraction of the cost of rivals and not try to sell you something you don't need."
• "New AGM battery fitted while I waited."
• "Job done quickly plus after the job you get a written report on the state of your other tyres, wiper blades and brakes."
• "The technician even cleaned the CV grease that was inside the wheel."

Cons:

• "After my wife took my Merc in for coolant change... Halfords never changed coolant and could have caused serious damage to my car."
• "So far had good experience with them but the latest visit, the garage broke my car's engine while running a DPF regen and made me pay for the work. Car is scrapped and had no offer to take on the repair."
• "It's almost like they wanted me back for a flat that they would have caused by over pressurising the tyres they'd just fitted!"
• "Don't take your car here! I work nearby and was desperate to get my new car serviced and they majorly tried to rip me off!"
• "Also charged to inspect and clean rear brake shoes and cylinders due to poor parking brake efficiency but again it's still showing as an advisory."
• "Totally incompetent. Took my car there to have some tyres changed and they mentioned that my brake light wasn't working so they changed the bulb. However they replaced a dual filament bulb with a single filament one so the brake light worked but the tail light didn't."
• "Car went in halfords. Which the EML which was on. And the coolant light on. Drove 1 mile down the road both lights on again."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Prices very competitive especially online."
• "Very impressed will use them again."
• "Great service, use them for my yearly MOT everything is always quick! They fitted a light for me at no extra cost which I didn't expect!"
• "Took a friend with a dead car battery to Halfords where they tested it & found it to be rechargeable - didn't try to sell a new battery."
• "Way cheaper than main dealer who quoted a lot more for a lower spec. battery."
• "The price I paid was the price I was quoted, and that price was very competitive, I was kept informed of progress by a very friendly, helpful guy."
• "I find that Halfords offer a very competitive price on tyres these days."

Cons:

• "Wife had mot done here but never again. Charged for a few bits but when I looked at bill £54 for front left parking bulb?"
• "Front discs and pads £227.09 for a VW polo. A local garage has just quoted £145."
• "All in all, the add ons they tried to get me to have totalled over £600."
• "Was quoted £2000 by Halfords Fareham."
• "They tell me it is policy to 'recommend' to replace both. In other words policy to do work that is not needed!"
• "I note the price for tyres has increased by £60 since last year!"
• "Came in with my car knowing there was an engine fault! Paid for a engine diagnostic and came back that I needed a new timing chain (fair enough) however the bill was over £600 and I picked my car up after the weekend and the problem still remained."

Professionalism

Pros:

• "Used this garage for MOT and servicing for the last 5 years and they have always been polite, professional and never pushy."
• "Knowledgeable and competent staff, polite and friendly garage with great staff."
• "Fantastic service, friendly and professional mechanics and very well priced."
• "Great service from a very polite and professional team of technicians."
• "Every time they have proved to be honest, reliable and fairly priced."
• "Competitive pricing; repairs/servicing good quality and great customer service."
• "Faultless service. I was very well treated, kept abreast of developments, given enough information to make informed decisions."