Formula One Autocentres Anmeldelser 501

Just been to the Sittingbourne branch to get a new tyre. Wheel was off the van and left with the branch manager. Was told would be done within the journal. Came back 2 1/2hours later and they hadn't even touch it or phoned me to say delay. Manager then runs around saying they can do within 40 mins. Absolute joke, if I had time to sit around I would of done it when I brought the spare in. Just threw tyre done and I had to put back in the van. Would not recommend

I bought 4 tyres online from Formula One Autocentres and found the pricing misleading. Wheel alignment was quoted at £38, but I later discovered this was plus VAT, making it £45.60. If alignment is recommended when changing all 4 tyres, the full cost should be shown upfront online.

I contacted Chris Stanley (Regional Support Manager), but he took no accountability for the lack of transparency. This was my first and will be my last visit.

Just looked at reviews complete agree post by chap called Adrian
Saved me writing post of my experience,
Company only just pray on the gullible& vulnerable.

Camberly branch, I Had 2 tyres fitted, 1 got a new valve & the other 1 didn’t even though I was charged for it, neither tyre was balanced to zero although I was charged for it, if it’s not zero then it’s not balanced, staff were stamping about, swearing about other customers, words I won’t repeat, very shoddy work, disrespectful to customers, I was kept waiting while the tyre fitter was sat on his chair doing nothing or vaping outside, I won’t be using F1 autocentres again, very disorganised, they ignore what you ask & are very unprofessional, not nice, not customer friendly, I’ll have to pay another garage for balancing as F1 are rubbish at it, overall I wish I’d never gone there, avoid Camberly & they might change their attitude & do a better job. Who do these people think they are?

Very disappointed with the service here. The fitter left oily boot marks on the clean carpet which is probably ruined. Also didn't put away the spare as the receptionist told him too but just chucked it in the boot. I was in a rush otherwise would have said something but if you're paying over the odds for tyres then you at least expect some respect for your vehicle and some care and attention to service. I also notice that this company have two review sites. This one gives a higher review standard and the other one is only two stars - more like it!

Do not under any circumstances use Formula 1 Autocentre in Hertford. Our car was towed to the garage by the RAC having broken down at the end of May. We decided to scrap the vehicle based on the garages advice that the repairs would be too costly. We received no paperwork to confirm this and mostly spoke to one member of staff when phoning the garage. Whilst on the phone to formula one, one of their employees said ‘we can scrap it for you’ under the pretence that this was legitimate and through formula one and offered us what he claimed was the scrap value of the vehicle but we didn’t receive the payment. This phone call took place on the formula one number whilst he was working at the garage. I chased payment for this and I was advised that the member of staff I spoke to had since been fired for ‘dodgy dealings’ at the garage and to report our vehicle as stolen to the Police, which I have done.. The vehicle was left in their care and they cannot tell me its whereabouts but they are taking no responsibility. Head office are claiming it’s a ‘civil matter’ and will not return the vehicle or money owed. I have been treated with utter disrespect. When I spoke to the regional director I was completely gaslit and told that my phone calls to the Autocentre never took place. I am disgusted by this organisation and will be pursuing this further.

Booked our car in for service and mot, subsequently we were informed later that morning the car had failed the mot on a few points. We agreed to the repairs at a cost of nearly £1200 only to discover, when I checked the mot history on the gov.uk website, all bar 1 item were only advisories so didn’t actually need repairing at this stage.

After collecting the car there was another fault, as a result of the earlier repairs for which they are refusing to accept responsibility.

Had two front tyres fitted and wheel alignment, left the premises and steering wheel completely off centre, returned to get technician to reassess and was told the equipment they use is crap and they've had loads of problems with it.
Manager then assisted on making further adjustment, and when I left to drive down the road the vehicle now veers violently towards the right. At this point I requested a refund for the wheel alignment but now I have a car which you can't drive safely.......
Thanks formula one Camberley, I wonder how many other cars you've messed up.

Great experience from Bolton Road, Stevenage centre. Good price and service. Stuart, the manager went above and beyond. Recommended

Our local auto centre in Hastings is always amazing but in the last couple of days they have changed a clutch that came in on the spur of the moment towed by the RAC, the guys are courageous and explained everything. I can’t thank them enough.

Booked car in for aircon regas only to be told 10 minutes later they hadn't got the gas shocking I've just had a email saying it's my responsibility to ensure they have the gas jokers

I took my car here for it's MOT after a mechanic I trusted recommended them to me.
The whole booking, customer service, mechanic, time keeping and waiting area were all very professional.

I would definitely recommend them.

Cheaper than most and the workmanship was spot on at the Rotherham branch near Parkgate.

Only gave 1-star because I can't give 0! Please avoid this business. They exploit people's lack of mechanics knowledge and try to scare you into having immediate work done and then MASSIVELY overcharge for the privilege. Over twice what other businesses charge. They also offer price-match which they then refuse to honour.

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.

Arrived 20 mins early for a 10 o'clock appointment to have 2 new front tyres and a puncture repair to the spare , vehicle went into work shop at 10-50 . The spare wheel carrier was left loose and was rattling, the tyres were inflated to 42 PSI ,when they should have been 34 PSI and the wheel weights were fitted to the outside edge so the hub caps now do not fit flush .I seriously question their workmanship....

Atrocious company. Booked for an aircon clean and regards and fully paid in good faith. I was given a date but no time. As the date approached I thought it best to call to check what time they wanted me, to be told that they can't do the job and will refund in 3-4 days. Why take the money in the first place if you can't do it and why not be proactive and call me to let me know. I would have been even more pissed if I'd turned up on the day! The only hope is that you go out of business for someone sensible to take you over.

Appalling service
Appalling customer service
Never use these people I certainly never will again
Booked in for four tyres and arrived on time to be told they only had one
Told I’d get a phone call later which I did to be told they now had the other three and to go back in the morning so more time lost from work
Arrived and was told about an hour so I went off for an hour and returned to find nothing had been done because they said the locking wheel nut key was damaged which I know for a fact it wasn’t
Spent the morning sorting it out the other three came off quite easily
I am an engineer and the damage they caused was due to using air tools on the car
Finally got the tyres fitted and complained to customer service
Waste of time completely useless
Never again

The inside track of tyres on a car had just bought were extremely worn. I purchased two tyres online and the Cirencester branch of F1 Autocentres fitted them for me and supposedly carried out a 4 wheel alignment.
Less than 1000 miles and 7 weeks later, the inside track of the new tyres had worn in exactly the same way, just the inside track of both front tyres had worn down to the wear bars. I returned to the branch and talked to the manager who agreed to fit new tyres and re-do the wheel alignment at no cost, if I supplied another set of tyres. Although this arrangement effectively cost me two tyres, I duly bought the tyres, dropped them off and made an appointment to have the work repeated. When I turned up at the allotted date and time, the manager was not on site and his colleague first told me that he didn't know anything about it. I asked him to check his records, and it turned out that the car was booked in but A. Even though it was booked in, they didn't have time to do the work and B. A note on the system said they were only going to fit the tyres at no charge and I would have to pay for the alignment to be "repeated".
Having been ripped off in the first place and then had my time wasted, the manager seemed surprised when I returned the next day and was less than happy about the situation after he completely went back on what had been agreed.
Yes, I did use some strong language at that point and yes, they were budget tyres. However, even the cheapest tyres should last more than 8000 miles (let alone less than1000) and should wear evenly after an alignment and no one’s patience is unlimited.
I can evidence the situation with receipts and photographs.

Had a vibration from rear alloy so booked in to balance at warrington centre
Dan who greeted me was very friendly got straigt on while i waited
He found the wheel was actually slightly buckled causing the vibration so advised get repaired then come back to get both rears balanced
5 ⭐️ service and workshop top notch