that time of year again......... halfords ?

[zs&tas]

the C5 needs a MOT, i am not sure where to take it, we had a good garage where we were before but we have moved.
basically im wondering if Halfords auto centers are any good, has anyone used them ?
my previous dealings with halfords company has been good and they stand up to the name so i am leaning towards trying them also the price of £27 for a mot is appealing.
i am in the peterborough area.

[qprdude]

http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www. ... entres.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Always worth a look at other peoples experiences if you're not familiar with the garage.

[qprdude]

There will be a few people who wouldn't go to Halfords for a bulb, never mind an MOT.
I've no personal experience of them, but I heard they tend to find things wrong that other stations pass. Could it be a way of drumming up repair business.
As I say, I've heard poor reports, but not used them myself.
£27 is a good price, as long as it doesn't lead to £200 of repairs.

[Northern_Mike]

Check with your local council. They'll have their own MOT station that only does tests, and is open to the public. Use them. They have no reason to fail your car on anything it shouldn't fail on.

Peterborough City Council Depot
Nursery Lane
Fengate
Peterborough
PE1 5BG

Tel: 01733 425466

Give them a buzz, book it in.

[rory_perrett]

While I'm not going to comment on any particular organisation but there are two things to bear in mind.

1. If a business is offering something at 1/2 price they need to make the profit up elsewhere.
2. Employees in big chains tend to be on some form of bonus scheme based on sales/ profits.

I will leave you to draw your own conclusion.

[markt1]

At the end of the day if your car fails it fails for a reason no matter where you take it, and if you think the test was unfair their is or was an appeals procedure.
I would have no problems taking my vehicles anywhere for a MOT I would rather the test be strict and no stone left unturned especially when I carry kids both in my car and works van.
I have a friend who is a tester and in the past when he used to test my vehicles I would say to him give it a right good going over
Most offers are to get you through the doors so they can freak you out saying tyres are low sir brake pads are getting ready ETC but all you have to say is no thanks cheers I will just take the certificate
Cheers Mark

[Northern_Mike]

At the end of the day if your car fails it fails for a reason no matter where you take it, and if you think the test was unfair their is or was an appeals procedure.
I would have no problems taking my vehicles anywhere for a MOT I would rather the test be strict and no stone left unturned especially when I carry kids both in my car and works van.
I have a friend who is a tester and in the past when he used to test my vehicles I would say to him give it a right good going over
Most offers are to get you through the doors so they can freak you out saying tyres are low sir brake pads are getting ready ETC but all you have to say is no thanks cheers I will just take the certificate
Cheers Mark

I would rather take it somewhere honest, that doesn't do repairs. I've done this for years. The testers where I go are known to be strict. They're also helpful, and because they know me and that I do a lot of my own work, will let me on the ramp if something fails, or more often, to explain why it's not failed on something I thought it should.

The appeals process - well, you have to fill in the form, and send it off within 14 days. You have to pay the full MOT test fee with it, you're not allowed to touch your car until VOSA have inspected it - this could potentially leave a one-car person/family without a car for up to 28 days. Then, you lose your fee if the appeal is unsuccessful. Surely it's better to get a proper test from a proper establishment done in the first place.

From experience - A friend took her 406 to a garage which did repairs in Twyford back in 2011. It failed. Emissions, brake imbalance, and a rear suspension link. They quoted her £550 to fix it. I couldn't see anything wrong with it - certainly no pulling of the brakes, no smoke (diesel) and no rattling from the rear. I took it to Ray Williams Citroen in Burnham, to get a quote for the repairs, he looked at it and couldn't find anything wrong with it, so took it to his MOT tester (tests only) and it passed.

I took my own Rover 416 to a garage in West Wycombe, that also do repairs, a few years ago for an MOT it failed on both rear suspension arm bushes and emissions. The garage quoted me £220 to sort it out. I couldn't see anything wrong with the bushes, neither could the retired mechanic who was married to the childminder we used. He took it to his test-only friend, and it passed..

Kwik-fit once failed my friend's C-reg BX on worn shock absorbers and quoted him for new ones. He told them to go ahead.... cue grovelling apology from the manager , a pass, and a refund of the test fee for goodwill...

Of course, there are many decent garages who also do MOT tests. There are also ones that will stiff you if they can. Taking it to a test-only centre, or a local authority test station is the one guaranteed way of getting a fair test.

[gadgetgricey]

Was a few years back, but I got a free MOT with "Charlie Browns" when I took out a Comet Card for a Cooker or something. (said it was a long time ago). They failed my Scirocco on about £400 worth of stuff. Took it back to my normal MOT centre, who said everything was fine. They actually wanted me to complain to DVLA, but being around 20 at the time, never got round to it.
I'd much rather pay an extra £10 and know the MOT was fair and accurate.

Cheers

- Dave -

[zs&tas]

wow thanks guys, leaning towards taking it to my local garage ive been to on/off over the years there always busy and not looking for work !

[Timmo]

Check with your local council. They'll have their own MOT station that only does tests, and is open to the public. Use them. They have no reason to fail your car on anything it shouldn't fail on.

Peterborough City Council Depot
Nursery Lane
Fengate
Peterborough
PE1 5BG

Tel: 01733 425466

Give them a buzz, book it in.

This!!! the guys have no money to make on repairs, i use my local garage as have done for years and cheekily know i can get it tested and pay on the retest! as NM said, they know i do my own work so happily show me what needs doing etc. but a good honest mot from the council testing station is a good place to go if new to the area!