Formula One Autocentres - Doncaster Anmeldelser 62

Where I have been let down by numerous garages across Doncaster and Thorne and briefly Cornwall before my move back here, this garage was more a curiosity at first when I was collecting a load of parts from GSF Parts next door, went in and had a word with their team and even though it wasn't exactly cheap the work my car needed, I knew it needed to be done and knew it'd be a big one, but this garage absolutely smashed it out the park for me, Being a late 90s, early 2000s car, parts are scarce new, even through all that, its like a new car honestly and they found everything, even the bits that are discontinued.

This garage helped me where nobody else did, or my other experiences they'd simply lie and string you along and keep you waiting for weeks, driving around dailying your car to work with fatal flaws that would be dangerous, seems a common trend with Donny garages, a lot only care about the money, (Or doing the small, easy jobs to maintain a quick, easy, steady stream of cashflow) Not the case here, the level of expertise among F1 Autocentre the entire team is unmatched, the kindness and care they provide is also unmatched and for that, this garage to me is the most trusted garage I've ever known across 3 different counties and my entire 8 years of driving, networking to try and find a reputable garage. Even when Audi themselves mugged me off rather than help me find parts for my "future classic"

I ever need work on my car, these are my go-to recommendation. best garage ever.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Avoid – Massive Price Hike & No Transparency
Took my car in after failing its MOT on a suspension issue. I was quoted £250 for the repair. They mentioned it might be difficult to remove parts, but never warned costs could spiral out of control.
My wife dropped the car off, and later that day we got the call: they’d broken the steering knuckle during the repair and needed more parts. Suddenly the bill jumped to £1500 – SIX times the original quote.
At that point, the car was already in pieces, leaving us with no real choice but to agree. It feels like you’re backed into a corner – and they know it.
If we’d been properly warned upfront about the potential risks and costs, we would have walked away immediately, especially as the car is only worth around £4000.
Polite staff, yes – but completely unacceptable lack of transparency and unfair pricing practices.
Be very careful using this garage. Get everything in writing and don’t rely on verbal estimates.
I have escalated this to the Motor Ombudsman and am now awaiting their response.

1 star as no option for zero, absolutely diabolical, ripe of and take no responsibility.

Doncaster branch - Rip off merchants avoid at all costs. They said my car was an MOT failure and needed £800 worth of works to brakes. This didn’t seem right so I took it elsewhere and it passed without any advisories. Don’t use this garage they are absolute cowboys!!

Performed a service on my car, within a week engine light for "oil contamination" - had to be replaced via the RAC who informed me the incorrect oil has been used for the car.

Today, refused to book in a job for my partners car claiming that a clutch replacement is "not something they get involved in"..

I would recommend avoiding this garage - literally use any other garage for car work.

I went to Formula one auto centres ltd Doncaster to have my MOT DONE thought they would have been quite reasonable being as the MOT WAS ONLY £44 … to find out they had to order a caliper for my car rear disk & pads on the vehicle told me it was going to be £725 but it could be less as they didn’t know until they stripped the vehicle down !!! I’ve had no receipt to say what exactly they have charged me i e labour parts etc … customer service is not as it should be i said it’s quite expensive £725 he said well it needs doing in your vehicle … had to wait a couple of hours to get my vehicle done and when i got there he just put the card machine in front of me not even told me exactly what they had done or how much it was !!! Not happy at all … made me feel like i had to get the MOT done there and then … I haven’t been told if I have any guarantee or anything with the parts nothing !!! Not happy !!! I’ve now got to go in and get the break down of exactly what they have charged me for as I only got a card machine receipt !!!!

Absolutely shocking service. Sat for two hours to have two tyres changed. Watched them try to force the tyres on by packing out the tyres with rags as they wouldn’t inflate. Then after two hours told they can’t inflate them due to storage of the tyre which they knew after 15 minutes. Told them to put my old tyres back on a refund me the money. Should have checked the new tyres prior to wasting two hours of my time. Amateur workmanship. Stick to KwikFit where I usually go.

I purchased a couple of new wiper blades from another store that I was struggling to fit. Ken the manager at Doncaster F1 took time out of his busy day to fit these for me at no extra cost. Brilliant customer service. Would definitely return. The staff were friendly and approachable. 10/10

Made a booking received a confirmation of booking and time arrived for booking to be told they didn't have it! Had to rebook for 2 days later - sorry but feel they were over worked so should have never took my booking in the first place.

Booked car in for mot for the agreed time of 10am,got there & i was told that I hadn't made a booking (which obviously I had),they said they could fit me in for 12:15pm ,took the car back to them for 12pm,at 1:15pm went back to the garage and guess what they hadn't even done the mot,all that he could say was I don't know why it's not been done if you want to come back later we'll try and get it done for you...TRY AND GET IT DONE!!!!!,I've wasted nearly a full day just to try and get an mot ,never ever will I go back there total waste of time,if I could give them no stars then I would have.

I would strongly advise caution when using this company. My partner took his car in for repairs and since then we’ve had nothing but problems. When we returned the vehicle to have the issue corrected, the garage failed to fix it — the car still makes a noise while driving.
It was obvious that much of the work was carried out by trainee staff, which may explain the repeated issues. While training is important, customers should not be left with unresolved faults because of poor supervision. A professional garage should have qualified mechanics checking and coaching throughout the process, ensuring repairs are completed properly before handing the car back.
Unfortunately, that did not happen here. The lack of oversight and quality control has left us frustrated and out of pocket. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend this garage.

So after I took my car into the test centre to have an interim service and the MOT. The car failed its MOT because of brake issues. To be told that my new brake disks that were put on the vehicle on the 1/10/2025 had warped after doing only 10 miles. I completely understand that the callipers needed doing which is fine if they needed doing. But then as the job went on there were just more and more things added. Keeping in mind my car passed its last MOT no issues. I work from home so the car spends most of its time on my drive. I did a grand total of 3500 miles from my last MOT so that confirms the car is hardly used. I then had to source a part for my vehicle from Vauxhall myself at £180!! The Vauxhall garage is les than a 5 minute walk from the Doncaster Formula one site! Then more additional costs were added. The manager was relaying second hand information to me that he had been told by staff. It was just miss communication after miss communication. When calling the site for updates the technician in the background was just rude and quite blunt. I am guessing that most of the £1500 plus I paid to get my car back wasn’t actually needed. To then go and collect my car yesterday 10/10/2025. To find a massive dent in the passenger front wing! I messaged the manager to which he read the message and didn’t reply. Now trying to get hold of the head office to try and resolve but can’t get through. DO NOT USE THESE!

I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the very poor service I recently experienced at Formula One Auto Centre during a Pre-MOT test. I entrusted my car for inspection and was advised to carry out several repairs amounting to approximately £900, which I immediately approved and paid for. I was told the car would be ready the following day at 5:00 pm, but it was not delivered until 6:30 pm. Shockingly, I discovered that one of the bolts on the left front tyre had not been fitted properly, leaving the wheel unsafe. Only after I pointed it out did the staff fix it. Upon driving home, I noticed a loud noise and immediately took the car back. Despite explaining that I had urgent travel plans to London, the problem was not resolved, forcing me to use my friend’s car instead. Over the next several days, I had to repeatedly return the vehicle, as the issues—including problems with the brake plate—remained unresolved. In total, my car was kept for four days before the repairs were finally completed. This entire experience caused me great inconvenience, stress, and loss of time. I request that serious action be taken to prevent such negligence in the future.

Needed replacement back tyres asap and this place could not have been more helpful and accommodating. Shout out for Kayden who saved my day

Doncaster Wheatley Hall Rd branch. Ben managed to fit me in for an AC re-gas when most other garages were quoting that they were booked up for several days. Unfortunately re-gassing did not cure my AC problem so they declined to charge me for the time and materials that they had used. It is nice to know that there are still honest reasonable garages out there. Thanks guy and a big shout to Ben who has excellent customer service skills.

Travelling home from Doncaster to Liverpool and our tire split. There was me, my wife a 9 year old and a new born in the car. We got advised by our friends to use f1 autos and they didn’t disappoint. Fantastic customer service. Put my wife and eldest child at ease straight away.
Helped us choose the perfect tire for safety and price range.
Thanks again lads.

Appalling service and experience.

If I could give this review 0 stars I would.

Took my vehicle to the Doncaster branch as I noticed a significant coolant leak. Took my vehicle in for 11:30 on 10th May expecting this to be a weekend job. I was advised my vehicle would be looked at and I would receive a call. No call received on the 10th. I then called 11th and was advised the vehicle had not been looked at and they would try to get to it, if not, it would be the 12th. No call received on the 12th. I had to make two calls that day to see if my vehicle had been looked at, and was only just being looked at at 17:00. I was told the coolant leak was the water pump, but they had also checked the rest of the car and the rear spring was broken, wishbone would need replacing and so would the breaks. This was not asked for. I asked for all of this to be sent in an email so I can discuss this with my fiancé and was told 'just say it is broken' and no email was received.

We then advised the next day for the repairs to go ahead and I would be receiving a call that evening or the next day that the vehicle was ready. My fiancé called 14th to ask for an update and was told by Ben that they were awaiting the go ahead to fix it. Ben then advised he would find out who my Fiancé spoke to and get the repairs sorted.

We then had to call again due to receiving no update to be told the vehicle would be ready 15th and we could collect before 5:30.

The keys were handed back, £400 paid and we drove away.

The vehicle then had to be returned 18th May as the coolant was still leaking and was not fixed. As this was a Sunday, we were advised by Ben, that 'they don't do much mechanical work on a Sunday' and would get round to it.

I then had to call at lunch time, again, for an update and spoke with Gavin, who advised it was the hose and they had ordered the part to be fixed. I got a call later that evening that the part they had ordered was the wrong one, as it looked like a turbo engine, even though it is not. We were advised the part would be here Wednesday and would be ready.

I then called lunch time on the wednesday after yet again no update, and Ben was going to speak to Citroen regarding the part and would call me back 5/10 minutes later. An hour later I called back and was advised Ben was going to collect the part on his lunch break.

Whilst sat at work thinking my vehicle was being repaired, my fiance called for an update and we were told the part was actually on back order and there was only one in the country!

We were then given the part number and advised if we found the part, they would reimburse us for it.

We were then told by Ben that the section of the pipe that goes into the water pump was missing which was causing the leak, and that the technician either noticed this and didnt say anything, broke it off or it was missing in the first place.

I had only had this vehicle for 2 weeks at this point and advised if that was the case it was missing, this would have been an issue when I bought the car. Ben then advised they would be covering the costs of this.

The Sunday of that week, we went down to the garage as we had sent an email with what we believed was the part and to make sure they had received it, as yet again, no update. Lewis, then picked up a pipe off of the counter and said he believed this was for my vehicle, and we were stunned! We asked for them to check the email as the pipe and the part number we were given were completely different.

I then called the following Monday and spoke to Gavin who advised that part was for my vehicle and THE WRONG PART NUMBER HAD BEEN GIVEN!

I then had to call AGAIN the next day and was advised my vehicle part had been fitted, but the ESP light had come on and I asked for a call once this was sorted. No call was received.

We then went down to the garage, was handed the keys without anything being said and told the vehicle was now fixed. I asked about the ESP light and this had come on as the car had been taken apart.

To add to this, the front of my vehicle around the badge was scratched an unseen amount, with scratches on top of each other.

An email was sent about this and I received a call the next day to say they were going to fix with no cost to myself, but my vehicle had to go back.

I then received a call from Michael, the area manager who advised he would be overseeing the repairs on the Friday I said I would bring my vehicle back.

That same Friday I dropped the car off in the morning and spoke to Lewis, to which I asked to receive a call once it was done and was told I would.

After yet again not hearing anything ALL day, I went to the garage and saw the scratches had been fixed. I again was handed the keys before anything could be said and I asked when the vehicle was ready. That morning it was ready and they 'were under the impression I was at work'...this was said from Lewis who I spoke to that morning!!

A complaint email has been sent and still awaiting a response.

Appalling.

What a farce,booked my van in for brakes to be replaced then a MOT booked in for 4 hours later,they did the MOT first 3 hours before the booked slot failed the van for the brakes then refused to do the work to get a approved MOT, absolutely mature rated mechanics.Will never use this firm again,very poor service?

Had two tyres replaced and a few days later had an issue with one of these losing pressure rather quickly. Rang up and explained the situation and got me booked in for a couple days later. Turns out it was just a valve that needed doing which took 15 minutes and they didn’t even charge me.

Thanks to Formula One Doncaster!

Ordered 4 tyres over phone, had fitted. Checked whilst there. All wheels covered in dirty tyre soap, 3 valve caps missing. Asked to be rectified. Checked again after cleaning. 3 out of 4 wheels damaged by tyre machine. (Probably hoped the tyre soap would hide it until i got home) Perfect wheels on an expensive vehicle. Wrong tyres as well. Volvo oe tyres on a Tiguan. 2 options on website. Manager either ordered wrong or delivered wrong. Had to take them all off again and refit old tyres.
So i spent all morning, got nothing except 3 damaged wheels, a load of stress and an offer to refurb the damage, which is not acceptable in my view as we all know that a spray refurb is never as good as factory finish.
Note that this is ongoing at the moment, so i'll let you know how it goes and if they are prepared to rectify the issues so the vehicle is back exactly how it was. Watch this space. Just be aware that not all their staff are capable of doing a good job.
Doncaster branch.
Edit 28/04/25.
All 4 wheels now had full refurb by external company paid for by F1. Not factory quality obviously but all look reasonably ok. Also got the correct tyres fitted now. Just would rather not have had all the hassle of another trip to F1, 2 trips to wheel refurb in a different town, 11 days driving on donor wheels and none factory finish on what were almost perfect untouched wheels, all due to incompetence.
The only way i was going to be 100% happy was new wheels and it was clear that wasn't going to happen without a court case.