Anyone take their car to France to be serviced|??

[London luke]

I read that some mechanics in Calais etc speak English and offer great service. Also farcheaper than Uk???

[micitroen]

Luke, whilst I can't claim to have literally taken my car to France for servicing, I have however availed myself of their services as i have a ruin of a house in Britanny. My BX was getting a bit long in the tooth for the frequent and long journey(I go there via the Chunnel so its 400 miles) but it was much too nice (still is) to sell for peanuts especially as its LHD. I decided that I would keep it there.
Last year I noticed that the rear was groaning very slightly and the front was a bit hard and reluctant to rise except when put at 'high' and then to 'norm' .....took it into a 'toutes marques' (all makes) garage.[ sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here]. The guy there was very good and replaced the two front spheres and the rear arm bearing also greased up the height control as it was seizing up. Good general look round and car was returned washed and hoovered ( more than I get at home). All this for the princely sum of 210 euros that works out to less than 150 quid! He also replaced (sourced and fitted) the headlamps (LHD)at a later date for 30 euros this was to pass the french MOT ' Controle Technique'. Next summer I'm going to let him have a look at my CX and see what he thinks. I think it very much depends on; 1. your level of french and 2. the empathy of the guy you are dealing with.....having said that I have only had good experiences over the many years of travelling in France....although I am sure that there are a few horror stories out there. The one thing I have noticed is that unlike here, the oleopneumatic Citroen doesn't have the mechanics 'running for cover' as you drive in, and that helps!