Halfords Autocentre Ilford (High Road)

I would rather give 3 and a half stars for some part. But four stars overall.
Booking my MOT was quick and efficient as I did this online.

I dropped the car off and it was seen to right away. I left and came back and they told me work that needed doing so would need to order in parts for tomorrow morning.
The agreed time to come in the next day, the parts weren’t collected yet so had to go back home and wait....I then had to call them in the afternoon to find out whether it had been collected yet as the day was going by 😔

Then on returning it was a very long wait for them to try and fix the back light as they didn’t want to take the bumper completely off due to a crack I already had.
Because of this it got to closing time and they couldn’t fix it so I had to come back the next day.

However I was ill. The fact I wasn’t well for the next two days they were brilliant at allowing me to come in once I was better.
I called the morning I was to come back and They saw to me right away. I waited there and the fixed the car very quickly and prompt (even though there were a lot of cars there that day).

The team members were very helpful and apologetic to me having to wait the second time coming back. And the fact I left a two day gap they were very happy to see to my car as soon as I got better.
Even the days I called to say I couldn’t bring it in the reception staff said “get better and bring it in when you’re ready” which made me feel at ease as I had failed my MOT and wanted it to get sorted but was concerned that if I leave it they will get over booked and I would have to reschedule another day of availability.

Would definitely go back there again. This has been my second time and although I was partly inconvenienced they were very helpful.

The customer service is excellent here. It is very clear that they are passionate about what they do. The service they provided definitely reflects this. My problem was very small but very inconvenient. My door on the drivers side would not open from the outside. After landing in London only a few hours earlier I went to various mechanics hoping it would be a quick fix. Every other mechanic we’re too busy and did not really care about my issue. Finally I spotted Halfords where I met Adam who understood the urgency of my issue. He was swamped with work but fitted me in first thing the next day. I dropped my car off the following morning where I met another Adam who was just as friendly and professional as Adam I had met the day before. He reassured me he will try to fix my handle as soon as possible. With a few hours I recieved the call that my handle was fixed and it didn’t cost and arm and leg. I am very happy with the service received here and I will definitely be back if I have any other mechanical issues. The 2 Adams that work here are brilliant.

I booked in for an MoT and full service. The work was completed to my satisfaction without any extras. A report was provided with some advisory items but as my car is quite old and nearing the end of its life it did not seem worthwhile proceeding with them. My contact there was Sean who provided very good feedback without pressuring me to have work done that was not really necessary. I was very happy with him and the centre in general where I've been coming for a number of years now without any problems.

I don't normally leave reviews unless something exceptionally good or bad takes place. This is the second time I took my car for service and MOT. They have some great people who communicate so well on the phone and it helps to hear people who talk like people.

I always take a quick glance on the car for visible dents as you cannot really complain about such damage after you leave a garage and I did not notice anything immediately. However, after 2-3 days, I noticed quite a visible dent on the passenger side body frame below the rear door. I was considering for a few days how I got that dent and I could not see that it was another car, bike or something else as I hardly drive the car and stays parked opposite my house. Parking is only on one side of the road and nothing could hit that low without damaging the door too. Eventually it hit me that the car had been fully serviced and that they were required to check the brakes etc. and that it is very likely that they used a trolley jack. The guys could easily have pushed the jack too fast and hit the frame of the car. The dent is a roundish shape on the bottom edge.

I could not go back to them to say anything as how can I prove what caused the damage. This does work against trust, which is so important if you leave your car with someone. It takes a while before you can trust people to take care of your car and when something goes wrong, they would tell you about it. I doubt anyone would own up even if I did go back. Meanwhile I am left with a dent I did not have nor can explain any other way.

Hopefully this review will at least act as a way of asking those good guys in the garage to have a word with the mechanics to watch out for such things as pushing heavy objects towards the car too fast as any loss of control can cause damage.

Took my mother's car in for it's annual inspection/MOT, unfortunately on inspection there were several faults. The staff quickly advised me of these and the cost to rectify them as well as a timeframe for the works to be completed. Once i gave them the go ahead they quickly got to work and the works were completed within budget and time scale, very pleased.

booked the car in for a full comprehensive service. they had the car in for the whole day - but didn't manage to even the start the service despite booking it in a 'slot' online so that was an utter waste of time. the service was completed the following day. however I then discovered some of the items on the service were not completed. so complained to head office, who then arranged for the service to be done again at an alternative centre. overall a very poor experience - wouldn't recommend at all.

Using the web booking service was quick & easy & I was surprised to be able book in for a service the very next day.
On arrival, I noticed that the staff were following their Covid-19 secure procedures.
One of the staff had to contact me about the service type I’d booked; he was informative, professional & friendly which instilled confidence in me.
I used Halfords on the recommendation of my partner particularly as his van is always cleaned inside & out as part of the service but this didn’t happen for me.
After my experience when dropping the car off, I was quite surprised that the Covid-19 procedures weren’t quite followed; one of the staff go into my car without wearing gloves or a mask (despite the procedures dictating that they would wear gloves) so this was a little disconcerting.
All in all, I would recommend Halfords Autocentre at Ilford.

Took my car in on Saturday. Turned out I had ordered the wrong tyres! Adam was a thorough professional and handled the refund claim for me and ordered the correct ones. Job was completed as stated. No issues whatsoever.