Halfords Autocentres Reviews

Name: Halfords Autocentres
Rating: 1.86

1.9 Rating 832 Reviews

21 %

of reviewers recommend Halfords Autocentres

Company Reviews

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Metrics

1.9

Based on 832 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver, Courier
Average Delivery Time	Next Day
On-time Delivery	Greater than 9%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 64%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	2.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult

Phone:

0800 037 0800

Location:

Halfords Autocentres Ltd. 7/9 Richmond Road, Olton Wharf Olton,
Solihull

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Halfords Autocentres 1 star review on 23rd April 2025

Ardrie Kleyn

Halfords Autocentres 1 star review on 26th July 2024

Andrew

Halfords Autocentres 1 star review on 29th June 2024

Mrs Helen Dehkordy

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Took my car in for the free safty check having just brought the car cat D. They basically told me my car was a death trap... said I had a major oil leak, brake disks and pads needing replacing. And a few other stuff. Quoted me £1250 to fully repair. Went to a local garage for second opinion who said that halfords had exaggerated with the extent of the work that needed doing. There was no oil leak either and quoted me £480 to repair which is nothing comparied to what halfords said. Will never use them again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Booked online with Weymouth branch to have tyres replaced, turned up to be advised by assistant that they did not have tyres and have no idea if they would arrive as the “system” doesn’t give them any way to find out what is happening but may arrive later. No tyres appeared, had to chase head office myself to get refund. Complete waste of time. Went to ProTyre/Bathwick instead and they could not have been more helpful. Will not book anything with Halfords again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I had a dash cam supplied & fitted. Got home, downloaded the CD ROM & found a fault re: G Sensor. Rang branch, spoke to a manager who asked me to bring dashcam back into store so they could plug in diagnostics, but not until following Tuesday. Rang Tuesday a.m. - named manager not in. Went to branch. Fitter told shop assistant (via their ubiquitous headset) just to change settings. I knew that changing settings would not cure the fault and anyway I could have done that at home - what about plug in diagnostics? No such thing in store, he said. Why then was I asked to come in to do that? No suitable explanation. As I was being dealt with by assistant he suddenly started talking into his headset to someone else about a totally different matter. I was not a happy camper and asked to speak to a manager. I can't speak highly enough of the manager who dealt with me in a professional and efficient manner; unlike the fitter who was just trying to fob me off and the assistant who was clearly not focussed on my problem. Talking to the manufacturers Tech. Support it turned out the issue was a known software fault - nothing to do with the actual dashcam! So, I've got a brand new item which has a known fault. Halfords appear to be not aware of this and the branch staff were inept. I need another dashcam for a second car. Will I be buying that model? Will I be going to Halfords for it? What do you think..............”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Free Mot offer. Bury St Edmunds Brilliant. Took up the offer of a free MOT and the car PASSED with no advisory. ( I was half expecting them to find something they could charge me over the odds for... total cost was... £0.00”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my car to Halfords in Huddersfield for a free mot. Got a call saying they abandoned the mot as the break cylinder had popped and was leaking break fluid. The breaks were totally fine when i took the car in. They quoted my £1055 for works needing to be done. Knowing the car was undrivable with no breaks they expected me to pay up. I refused to pay this and got the car recovered to my local trusted garage. Upon inspection they agreed that it is very rare for this to happen. Clips were missing from breaks both sides of the car. Which resulted in me having to buy a fitting kit and new break shoes due to contamination. Why they even had the wheels off i dont know and there was also noticeable damage to the cylinder. I will never use Halfords again. Load of con artists.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“We use the Autocenter and find the advice and help really good and at a reasonable rate compared to dealer service prices.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I use Halford's Auto-centre Hartlepool simply because the service here is second to none. I've a BMW 4 series average yearly mileage 30K and rely on Halfords to maintain and keep my car on the road. Hope i'm not tempting fate here but over the last 10 years of using this garage and always owning a BMW have never been let down. We own other cars in the family who have also switched to Halford's and also experience the same level of service, which is slightly disappointing as i thought i was special. Obviously everyone gets the same level of exceptional service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“My Bmw 3 series goes into get the flywheel replaced 4 weeks later still no car back service is appalling and they changed my recent clutch without my permission they want a further £260 steer well clear outrageous company and staff. The worst in Britain j”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“partner had his car in for the free MOT they’ve been offering, told one of the headlights needed completely replacing and to save hassle he had that done there and then. next day there’s a huge leak from under the car that wasn’t there prior to the MOT. there’s so much mention of coolant pouring out on here, and i’m sure they’ve tampered with all these cars to get the money back from ‘free’ MOTs. wouldn’t recommend halfords to anybody, better off forking out somewhere you know isn’t going to screw you over.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Short version - paid for MOT and Major service £274 on line. failed MOT £400 worth of work ,that was ok. Picked up car ,arrived home ,had quick look over car no details in service book, noticed oil was still black, oil filter had not been changed. Took car back next day, the person on desk checked car and agreed the service had not been done, Was told to return car next day when Major service would be done. Received call car was ready for collection and was assured by mechanic on phone he personally monitored the service. Picked up car for a second time ,checked service book , only oil and filter and air filter marked as done. Back on phone to Halfords, same mechanic told me he personally checked all the fluid levels etc. When I told him fluids such as brake fluid should have been changed he said he could not answer that and would get the manager. The manager assured me all the service items had been done and that I could mark the other items in the service myself. Just for my own peace of mind I checked the brake fluid with a moisture content gauge, it showed the fluid had 4% moisture and should be changed. It is possible the gauge gave a false reading but the resovoir did not look like it had been disturbed (cap still dusty) The reason I am writing this is because I contacted Halfords complaints dept on 20th Sept ( 3 weeks ago) and despite sending a second e mail I have had no response The car is my wife's and it occurred to me if she had taken the car in for the service and collected it , she would have come away thinking she was doing what was required to keep her car in good working order, in reality she paid £230 for a service and we still do not know what we got for our money. This was at the Barker St Norwich branch”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Do not even think to go to this car service centre, it is awful. Three times there & every time something is broken, just waisting your money! If you have any policy with them it will not cover everything thath it's promised! If you have done any service there be prepared to come back and spend more money and to do repairs, lots of repairs! And it is going to be expensive. Don't even consider Halfords as car service it is only about sales and money not the quality!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I took my car into Kingsteignton Halfords for a free MOT. The car which is 5 years old and has only 37,000 miles on the clock was in perfect working order prior to my doing so and exhibited no evidence to suggest the cooling system may in anyway be compromised, being described as “clean as a whistle” by one of the Halfords mechanic’s. Upon returning to the garage I was told the car had failed its MOT due to a “catastrophic failure of the cooling system”. Coolant could be seen pouring from the underside of the car. This certainly hadn’t been the case prior to my leaving the car in Halfords care. When asked what may be the cause of the problem it was suggested “the thermostat casing may have cracked”. I was also told the car could not be driven any distance due to the extent of the leak. Shocked and understandably anxious to have the car repaired I was advised labour costs were £70 per hour. Fortunately, my own trusted and affordable garage is located, not far away, on the Brunel Trading Estate. Upon investigation they found the radiator hose had been sliced, suggesting this appeared to have been done with a knife. Sadly, I have no means of proving this and Halfords refuse to admit liability or pay the modest bill incurred for the work required to repair the hose which was otherwise in excellent condition with no sign of ware or tear. Would that I could uploaded a photograph of the damaged radiator hose in order that you, the reader, were able to formulate your own opinion and conclusion.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Ordered a new battery for fitting at Sutton auto centre for Sat 29 Sept 10.30 on arrival told battery wasn't in stock, manager was aware of this situation on Fri 28 Sept but didn't contact me and he would not be in until Sunday when he would get in touch with me as yet no contact has been made”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“We went in with a brake problem and the guys checked it over straight away. Very friendly, fortunately nothing wrong with the car. No charge and peace of mind - happiness”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Shocking Costs!! Staff not exactly Friendly when informing you about the price. And when you Ask why the Hell it is so expensive they really dont give a S**t. I booked my car in for an MOT as they are offering it for Free if you purchase something from there main stores. This is clearly a money making scheme. Had the MOT and it Failed on brake Discs and Pads and a faulty rear light bulb. The quote they gave me was Shocking. £176 + VAT for Discs and £76 for Pads!! This is a Peugeot 208. The brakes are small... They would not reduce the price at all. My exact words where..... SHOVE IT... Purchased Discs and Pads from BMF in Bridgend (Highly recomend them) The discs and pads all came to £59 inc VAT... COME ON Halfords. explain the high cost. It took my just over 1 hour to fit them too and this was my first time doing it. Will never use them for Servicing again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my car, VW Golf, to Halfords, Downend, Bristol for MOT & full servicing (£250), following the MOT deal advertisements. After taking it to the centre, I got a call from them, saying that the car failed MOT due to the faulty at the rear light unit and charged an additional £500 for the replacement. The invoice does not contain any cost breakdown like the costs for parts and labour so I did a bit of research on my own about the parts and then realised that the price for the parts could have been in the range of £140 which is the retail price from VW dealer but VW told me that the part could have been purchased much chiefly by the garages. Although it is unknown to me regarding whether they use the genuine parts or how long the labour took to replace them, £500 is still ridiculous and I feel ripped off. Moreover, my complaints to Halfords Auto regarding this seems ignored and gets no response from them. Only regret I have now is that I should have considered the negative reviews about this company. Would I recommend this service? No...Please avoid this centre and consider the negative reviews on the internet inc. mine! Big no no!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my work van into halfords with an oil leak. They diagnosed oil filter. Went to collect the van and the next day back on the road my engine blew. The damage was so bad I needed to replace the entire engine. They impounded my van for 2 days. Knowing I was recording. The staff admitted negligence. When realising they had caught themselves out they then called the police on me. There was no adequatly trained member of staff in the centre. I had to wait 3 hours for another manager from another branch to come. Only to say we are not getting involved and we never had your van come and get your keys! They then PUSHED my van onto the main road and dumped it on double yellows. When asked for paperwork as they had verbally diagnosed they said they didn't know where the paperwork was. Now there is no paperwork. They hired me a curtesy van which never turned up. Then an investigation from head office was carried out. Only to find it was the person who did the original work who was investigation. Complete conflict of interest and highly inappropate. £6500 later plus an entire month's loss of earnings. There reasons for not being responsible were for fairy tale reasons which only showed their incompetence.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Rubbish customer service although work is to a reasonable standard they do not take care of customer's car's and will never admit to fault, customer service's never respond to e-mails and are utterly incompetent, all in all a horrible experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Took my car to Halfords in Newhaven for its MOT test simply because it was conveniently close to another location I was visiting. Big mistake! It had recently been fully serviced by my local independent garage that I have used, and trusted for years, for servicing and repairs. I was confident that the vehicle would pass the test without any problems. However when I returned to pick up the vehicle I was informed that it had failed on several points, including items that had recently been replaced by my local garage. More alarming was that I was permitted to drive the car away without it being brought to my attention that one of the apparent defects passed off as a minor problem by the receptionist and which I could fix myself, had in fact been recorded by the mot tester as a dangerous (do not drive) defect on the fail notice. Having driven half a mile down the road from Halfords it became very apparent that something on the underside of the car was impacting on the road at every pothole, and occasionally rubbing on the front wheel. On stopping the vehicle to ascertain the cause of the problem and then reading the fail notice, in particular that the car should not be driven until this fault was rectified, I immediately returned to Halfords to remonstrate with them for allowing the car out of the workshop with this defect, listed by the tester as dangerous! They agreed to fix the offending underside inspection panel in place using a plastic cable tie until my local garage could fix it with the proper fixing clip. They didn't charge for doing this which made me puzzle about why they didn't do this simple remedial action in the first place, rather than risking me driving a vehicle the tester deemed to be dangerous! The car is now in the hands of my local garage to fix properly the inspection panel and perform the MOT test - They were not able to find any faults with the previous items that they had recently replaced and which had been identified as fail items by the MOT tester at Halfords. Furthermore, they suggested that the damage to the underside inspection panel could very plausibly have been caused as the car was being driven onto the ramps at Halfords, since the car was not delivered to Halfords in that condition.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I took my car to Perry Barr for a service and to check a rubbing noise coming from the front wheels. When I picked the car up I was given a list of work they said needed doing, but could not hear the noise from the wheels because they thought one of the tyres was rubbing (could that have been the noise). The dirty wheel locking nut had just been thrown onto the front seat and there was grease under the door handles. They had also disconnected the dash cam. I contacted customer services and was told they were sorry and I could have a free MOT in the future, (don't want it). I was told that Halfords have a "prerogative" to disconnect a dash cam if they wish. A prerogative gives one person a right over another and has to be granted. They have no such right. If permission is not asked for, the default position is it has not been granted. The dash cam would have shown me if the car had been road tested. They are just looking to make money for work that does not cause too much of a challenge. The email I received was no reply so that was the end of that. Case number 07948552.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Halfords Autocentres is rated 1.9 based on 832 reviews