written by IBollas on 16/08/2023
We agreed to bring my car in on Sunday at 10.00h By the end of the day i was called and told what the problem was which would be dealt within next 24 hours I left my car on site. I was not contacted on Monday, although i had told the receptionist that i need the car by tuesday pm I called on tuesday just to be told that they had not started working on my car yet I picked up the keys and left Very frustrating
written by Dougdrum on 20/02/2023
I always receive an excellent service at the Canterbury centre. The guys at reception are friendly, most professional and go out of their way to sort out any problems. I have no hesitation in taking my car for servicing and would certainly recommend them.
written by Gordontthegofer on 13/04/2019
Booked online for 2 tyres and an MOT arrived at Canterbury branch and sat and waited whilst my car was taken into workshop 3 hours later the manager came in and said we have changed your tyres but cannot complete your MOT as the emissions machine is faulty. They re booked MOT for following week. 2 days later whilst driving on Motorway ABS light flashed up I pulled off Motorway and went to Ford garage the mechanic had a look and said ABS sensor had marks on and it looks like it has been tampered with, he also feels the reason they did not perform the MOT was so that when I took it back it would fail because ABS light was on and then they could charge a fortune to repair. They have also damaged my Locking wheel nut key, luckily I have a spare one. I would never trust this garage again.
written by Geani on 17/01/2018
I take my car there to change all 4 tyres and they scratch my alloy wheels , I make a complain to customer services and area manager get in touch with me and he says that the scratches isn’t from their machine... so it’s my fold ? I will continue to contact the citizens advice to see if anything can happen to repair my alloy at their cost,,, don’t use them read all the reviews before go there !!!
Written on: 19/05/2018
HAVING BEEN IN MOTOR TRADE NEARLY 40 YEARS AND THE CLASSIC "YOU SCRATCHED MY WHEELS " OLD CHEST NUT,IVE HEARD MANY TIMES. TRUTH IS IF A MACHINE SCRATCHES A WHEEL THE DAMAGE IS VERY DISTINCTIVE AND CANNOT BE DENIED AND A COMPANY THAT SIZE WOULD NOT QUIBBLE IF THAT WAS THE CASE SO CLEARLY YOURE JUST TRYING YOUR LUCK. ANSWER, IMPROVE YOU DRIVING AND AVOID KERBS
written by on 29/02/2016
Do not use this garage as they charge extortionate prices for products that cost a fraction of the price they are asking. They will also lie and use the same schemes that bad garages are notorious for in conning people out of their money. In short avoid at all costs if you don't want to be ripped off.
written by 471O'Keefe on 10/04/2015
went to the canterbury store and was warned by people that there is a big bloke who works there and hasnt got a clue what he is doing , i have been there before and got a great service i sent a friend over last week for a tyre and came out with a bill of over a grand . i had another friend ring up for a tyre and the bloke said we will beat any price so looked on line and took 10 pounds off and told him that i could get it cheaper down the road i then got the tyre at the price i wanted . now me and my friends just make up prices and get tyres below cost price , you got to laugh . we will tell the world how to get tyres at below cost prices, ring them up get the price and ring back and take off 5 to 30 pounds easy . happy shopping at f1 canteerbury help us get my friends money back by buy tyres below cost price its easy trust me .
written by on 16/01/2014
A little late on the review as I had my car serviced with these in March last year. Starting with the failed attempt to extort money from me for some rear bushes the were 'Extremely deteriorated' (they hadn't long been replaced and the quote was astronomical), then upon driving a few miles my engine management light came on, phoned these lot and was told that it could be a dodgy sensor or a side effect from having the service done. Now for the fun part I couldn't clear the apparent fault as they had pushed the OBD II connector back so far that I had to remove the bottom of the centre console. Yes they may be offering a cheap service but they try to sting you for made up problems and create more work for you to sort, my advice would be, to go somewhere else and have a proper job done.
written by on 22/11/2013
**CAMBRIDGE BARNWELL ROAD F1** Booked an MOT today on my citroen c4 and it failed. I wasn't bothered that my car had failed but when i got an estimate of £166.00 for one FRONT FOG LIGHT bulb. (Front fog lights are not part of the MOT)!!!. Two other bulbs and securing a steering rack gator. I got my car fixed and MOT'd for £63.00 at another garage. I wouldn't trust these so called mechanics to walk my dog.
written by 328bm on 16/08/2013
Took my car there for it's MOT because of the £30 offer,what a mistake that was!! They apparently checked the car and found that i needed two new rear shock absorbers and rear break discs and pads,total price £695.bargain I knew my breaks where good because i had them changed two years ago plus the car is got sensors to tell you when they getting close to their limit. so i knew their where trying to rip me off,useless little chavs. I took my car to a garage down the road for a new test,didnt say anything about taking it to f1 before for mot,checked the car,total bill,£130 that included the mot test £50. now you tell me why f1 came up with all this problems,i wasted a day and £30 taking my car to them,sorry but thats not the way to treat people,because we not mechanics it doesnt mean that we are stupid. dont waste your time and money taking your car there,is a rip off and the service is terrible,Never again
written by on 20/05/2013
THE ANSWER 2 HOURS! We pre booked our car in to gloucester f1 auto center, making sure they had the right tyres etc, they were too busy to do on the day we arranged, so we went the following day. Car was taken in & put on ramps wheels removed then they downed tools & went to do another car, finished that one, started doing our car again, another car comes in, so they down tools & start that car. We were a bit puzzled as to why our car kept being left, so we asked, their reply people book their cars in on the internet & they are priority! What a joke, our money is as good as anyones, they put us off going on arranged day to keep us waiting 2 hours, my husband asked them to put wheels back on & we would go else where, but they said once they start they will finish the job no matter how long it takes! also they addmitted they take the wheels off straight away so you cant take your car else where! Complete idiots! AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE! Advice spend an extra £10 per tyre just to keep your sanity!
written by PeterCargill on 12/01/2013
Just had head gasket replaced on my freelander. The staff were absolutely brilliant. They kept me informed on the progress. They showed me all parts that had been replaced and they kept to the price they quoted. Will definitely be using them again
written by f1autocentre on 11/12/2012
Only one tire changed... Charged me 550£. The Guy at the desk is very arrogant and shouts at the customers... I would NEVER EVER GO to Formula 1 Autocentres again.. You may think their MOT and Servicing charges are low by looking at their website, but once you take your car there, you are on Barrell... Either get the work done by them or go nowhere..
written by skyblue20 on 30/10/2012
went there after reading add with big claims in harrow paper found out some other faults and made up my bill..and change my CAM but messed up my engine not working proper now and some error lights on now..don't know how much it will cost..
written by on 08/04/2012
After taking my car for an mot, I recieved a phone call saying the work required was going to cost £400, so i stupidly agreed to having the work done. When i arrived to collect the car i found the abs light was on and was told this was because it had new brake components fitted and would go out in time, the car started to have the abs cut in almost everytime i was braking. After taking the car back 3 times, i had the area manager come down and said that the speed sensor was broken and accepted responsablity for this, after this was changed though the problem was still there. After going back to see them a final time the staff were rude, the area manager had his say a then all walked into the workshop. These guys are absolute cowboys i would never take any of my cars there again.
Written on: 10/11/2013
This sounds VERY similar to the problems I had with them ! I took my car there because I was suckered into the whole "We are a family run business" thing. I put my trust in them because after all, they are the experts, aren't they? Anyway, was told that I needed some new brak pads fitting. Had a new set installed (front and rear) but when I left the ABS light kept coming on? I went back a total of 6 times. Wrote to them complaining. Wrote to the area manager and wrote to head office. NOBODY was interested because they had my money now. I ended up taking it to another mechanic, paid out again and had the problem solved.
I would NEVER recommend them to anyone !
written by on 29/03/2012
This place is a joke. Thinking I was being efficient, I tried to book an MOT online. I wish I had read the reviews as I would not have bothered. Blocked a slot and went through to payment, put details in and hit complete order, and got and entire page of HTML coding, tried a second time and the same thing happened. I checked my account online and the money had come out of my bank account twice!! Called their head office and was told there was no IT guy. Well, I didn't IT anyway! I needed finance to refund me my money! So asked for finance, they weren't there either. Clearly a one man band company. I any case they said they were going to take my number and claimed that they are going to call me back and that they are going to refund one of my payments. But they cannot do this until they "receive the paperwork from the IT guy". Which is stupid as all I want is a refund which they could see on the system when I called that the payment had gone through twice!!! Why do they need paperwork to refund what they can clearly see has gone through twice?!?! Sickening. Bad service, wrong attitude, and no one is there to talk to you. Avoid like the plague.
written by katiet on 03/09/2010
I just wanted to say a big thanks to your Canterbury branch. Whenever I've needed help with my car, they've always been able to slot me in and their ability to source parts the same day is amazing. One morning before work I discovered I had a slow puncture, I went to the garage and they fitted a new valve for me straightaway - in the end I wasn't even late! On another evening, I found one of my headlights had gone, and I was only charged for the bulb, not the fitting. I've been there on a number of occasions and I've always been impressed by the speed, the prices and the courtesy. Service like this is very rare these days and I've had no hesitation in recommending you to my friends and colleagues.
Keep up the good work
written by on 13/08/2010
Had cat replaced a couple of months later the engine management light came on test indicated that there may be a problem with cat returned to centre to be informed it could be Lambda sensor. Decided to have the sensor changed but this took almost two days because they had a problem with fitting to manifold. Almost immediately there was a noise from the exhaust returned to centre to be told that the manifold was cracked they were adamant that the crack was coincidence and not there fault I have no way of proving that they damaged the manifold. Needed the car back urgently but still had to wait two days for repair. Tried complaining but this was pointless as the area manager was uninterested and the centre manager was a waste of time. During the two days the centre only contacted me twice I had to contact them. They are very clever becasue they pushed me to a point were I just wanted the car back so I agreed to pay the costs and take this as a lesson KEEP AWAY FROM THIS CENTTE IF YOU WANT A SATSFACTORY SERVICE
Written on: 24/08/2010
Thank you for your feedback.
<br/>
<br/>As a family run business it's very important to us that we maintain the highest level of customer care. That's why we take your review of our services very seriously.
<br/>
<br/>We'd really appreciate an opportunity to talk with you so we can identify any areas in which we can make improvements.
<br/>
<br/>Please call our careline on 01438 746633 or email us on [email protected]
<br/>
<br/>We look forward to hearing from you.
<br/>Leon Glencross
<br/>Managing Director
<br/>Formula One Autocentres Ltd.
<br/>
written by on 17/07/2010
I took my car to this garage for an mot which passed with an advisory on my front bushes which is fine. I got the car looked at to see how bad they were and how much. I was then informned that the bush on the driver side was so bad it was an immediate fail and I should not drive the car until the work was done. But according to the manager and mechanic at formula one I was being made a mug of and they were right and The other garage were looking at it from a repair point of view not an mot point of view even though they are perfectly qualified to do an mot. I have taken the matter to head office and am waiting to hear from them. I doubt I will get anywhere and will avoid this garage in future.
written by on 21/03/2010
AVOID THIS GARAGE!! TOOK CAR IN FOR NEW PADS AND DISCS AND THEY DAMAGED THE ROTARY SWITCH AND NOW THE AIRBAG LIGHTS ON. TRIED COMPLAINING AND GOT NO WHERE. ENDED UP SPENDING OVER £500 TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AT THE DEALER.
THESE GUYS ARE COWBOYS!
HEAD OFFICE ARE A JOKE WON'T PAY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED. WISH WE'D GONE TO THE DEALER IN THE FIRST PLACE, FOUND OUT THEY WOULD HAVE DONE THE PADS AND DISCS CHEAPER ANYWAYS!!!
WISH I'D ASKED ABOUT FIRST, AS FOUND OUT THIS GARAGE ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR POOR WORK HIGH COSTS.
written by on 09/02/2010
Having had a quote of £270.00 for a replacement clutch the bill actually came to over £400.00, with no phone call to say extra work needed to be done. I was quite emphatic on my query that this quote covered ALL costs, to which the answer was yes. They had trouble refitting the clutch, it took nearly two days, the breather pipe was left off, the rocker cover was completely loose and the repair lasted just over 500 miles. The breakdown people told me it was the cam that was gone. I took it back to the Ford dealers who rang to say that the actual fitting was incorrect and that the drive shaft that had been refitted to my car was not only rusty but was not an original part. I dread to think where it may have come from and who had my cam fitted. The upshot was the repair cost me over £700.00, the dealer was emphatic the drive shaft was not the correct part. Formula 1 refused to take any responsibility as I did not take the car back to them after the breakdown.Once bitten twice shy. Their attitude left a lot to be desired, no apology, no acceptance that their initial quote had been incorrect.
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers
Spiritualocean's Response to Dougdrum's Review
Written on: 17/11/2023
How long did you wait for the service to complete