Halfords Autocentres Reviews 

This review is about a sales person not store.

Big thank you to Sam at Hillsborough if you want someone who gives a dam ask for him.

I’m 71 and he’s a young guy who from the onset when I asked for his help and advice he was there. No prompting or asking he just came out looked at my car advised where he could and sought advice when he couldn’t.

He was courteous, respectful, good mannered and cared. Asked open questions, showed interest and engaged. We don’t all know what we need or what’s best. He talked interacted and showed options.

Having worked in sales many years Halfords he is a credit to your store. His customer service was exemplary being a major store recruiter I know a good sales person when I see one. So thank you Sam, you left a lasting impression 👏🏻 👏🏻

Given one star as I'm a pensioner and bought carrerra vengeance ebike and was told I had to update software at a cost of 25 pound every 2 months or pay 55 pounds and still go back to shop they didn't tell me about until I paid for bike and was leaving shop

I visited the Trowbridge shop on Saturday last and a young man was extremely helpful with my windscreen wiper and fitted and replaced with such wonderful service abc when paying for some other goods the other guys at the till were so polite it made an amazing experience. incredible team well done all 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Halfords also own National Tyres, from whom I had a replacement tyre.
Due to an admitted fitting error (the inner wall got pinched), I had a blow-out 70 miles into France!
Over a year later I'm still trying to get my refund and some recompense for the cost of hotel I needed due to being stranded in France!
WILL NEVER BUY FROM HALFORDS / NATIONAL TYRES AGAIN !

NOTE: Neither Halford nor National Tyres respond to emails, they are as evasive as can be.

Absolutely disgusted with Halfords and National Tyres.

Hope this saves someone else from lots of trouble buying from un-caring companies.

I had to pop to Halfords Autocentre in SIDCUP as my coolant light came on whilst driving on the A20. I was a bit panicked but a kind young man on reception was very helpful and filled the coolant up for me and gave me some good advice on what to do next if there were any other problems with the car.

Visited Durham autocentre today Saturday 22 August. I'd bought windscreen wipers off the Internet, called in to see if they could fit them. Found manager Mark more than helpful and pleasant along with it. He advised the wipers were wrong size he said he could order some and gave me a price have mark the go ahead, called back wipers in and had them fitted. Job well done. 10 out of 10 from Jean Hall

It was shock when I purchased another product Yusas battery via your apps and when I fit it in the shop I was told that the model offered in the apps was NOT fit and I was asked to pay another 4X pounds for HALFORDS brand battery that I was not intended. Later I was told by my friend it was a Halfords selling tactic!

I've used Halfords Finchley Central for MOTs and servicing for a few years now and have always found them to be reliable, transparent and with an excellent level of customer service. Very pleased.

Auto protect tyre insurance use Halfords as there go to service centre, I went to Cuxton Rd Strood and Merrick sent all the details off to AP insurance then waited for 2 1/2 hours for them to approve the work. Merrick kept me informed at all times of the delay. He chased them up and finally got sorted! Thanks.

An exceptional staff member, J.C. was extremely friendly, helpful and professional. Even though they were already very busy, he still managed to fit me in and dealt with everything quickly and efficiently. His customer service was outstanding and he genuinely went above and beyond to help. It is always a pleasure to come across someone who takes such pride in looking after customers. A real credit to Halfords – highly recommended!

Outstanding MOT service from Jimmy and the team at Surbiton!This was absolutely a 5-star service. I left happy and they really took care of me. I highly recommend the Halfords on Hook Road, Surbiton. The team spirit here is fantastic, and a huge credit goes to the manager, Jimmy, who goes above and beyond to ensure the branch runs smoothly and that customers are genuinely looked after. They looked after me through both my MOT and the retest, which included an oil change and a clean. Every single staff member I spoke with was professional, incredibly welcoming, and showed a genuine willingness to help, creating a brilliant and reassuring atmosphere from the moment I walked in. The whole process was smooth and stress-free, and my car ran beautifully afterwards. I definitely wouldn't hesitate returning - in fact, I will be back for my next service and anything else for that matter. I would certainly without hesitation recommend others to go and see for themselves. They really set the standard for excellent customer care. Keep up the great work!

I experienced shocking customer service at the Halfords Isle of Wight store when trying to buy a dashcam, resulting in a completely wasted one-hour round trip. When I complained, they initially offered a measly 10% voucher, which escalated to a £45 cash offer from the Executive Office when I pushed back. I have formally rejected their money. My complaint was about principle and respect, not a cheap payout. Halfords has permanently lost my business, and I will be taking my vehicle to an independent garage that actually values customers. Avoid.

Took car for mot they failed it on a few things including a major fail for number plate, which had a slight crack the mechanic (salesman) quoted nearly £400 to get it road worthy so I decided to take for retest at a different garage and it passed, even with me not rectifying what they told me was wrong, do not trust Halfords auto centres from what I’ve experienced they are salesman on commission. Extremely disappointed will never use again

Review for the Halfords Morden AutoCentre branch. Booked in for a MOT, arrived early was greeted with friendly staff. MOT was done swiftly earlier than i expected. Overall 10/10 service from this branch. Will definitely use again.

The lads at this garage were extremely helpful. They even changed my key’s battery free of charge. Their prices were very reasonable too. Would highly recommend.

Title: Exceptional MOT Service at Finchley Autocentre

I recently booked my MOT at Finchley Autocentre, and the service was exceptional. The MOT was completed in around 30 minutes, making the whole experience quick, efficient, and stress‑free.

What truly stood out was the reception area. Most autocentres smell of oil and feel neglected, but Finchley Autocentre was spotless. The manager, Monire, clearly takes great pride in maintaining a clean and welcoming environment — he even cleaned the restroom himself, which is something you rarely see in this industry.

He was polite and friendly, going the extra mile to ensure customers were comfortable and happy while waiting in a clean environment. That level of care made a genuine difference.

The service was fantastic, fast, and carried out with real attention to detail. This is the nicest autocentre I’ve ever visited, and I highly recommend it. I will gladly return.

Andrea

If i could have left a Zero Star rating i would.
My Company Vehicle was sent to Halfords Autocentre Shirley for a Service & MOT 15/08/26.
The vehicle was returned to me with Black oil smeared across the front of the vehicle, the oil level barely touching the end of the dipstick and on starting the vehicle a flashing red oil light, with a warning stating low oil! There is oil splattered all around the engine bay, exhaust manifold, engine and gearbox. The coolant level is below minimum. I didnt trust that the cabin filter would have been changed so educated myself and removed it for inspection. The white filter assembly is almost as black as the oil all over the paint work.
As a fleet vehicle user over 12 years and numerous experiences across various Halfords Autocentres, this is "situation normal", my experiences have at best, been annoying, and at worst dangerous.
I would never utilise the group for working on my private vehicles, and dont trust them working on my fleet van. I have seen Halfords stamps in car service books when looking to buy, and seen as a red flag and declined to purchase.

Extremely disappointing experience – Wolverhampton Fox’s Lane Halfords Autocentre

I’ve now had a number of visits to the Wolverhampton Fox’s Lane Halfords Autocentre, and unfortunately, on virtually every occasion I’ve come away with another issue. At this point, I genuinely cannot recommend this centre.

On my first visit, I had four tyres replaced. The tyres themselves were fitted correctly and I had no issue with that work. However, upon receiving my car key back from the centre and opening it, the key broke. It was a flick key — the type where you press a button and the key blade springs out — and it had been working perfectly before I handed it over. I appreciate it is difficult to prove a direct connection, but the timing was certainly unfortunate.

The second visit was more frustrating. I had some work carried out which included a wheel alignment, for which I paid £49. I drove approximately half a mile and immediately realised something was seriously wrong. The steering wheel was around half a rotation out, and the alignment was clearly worse than before I had paid to have it corrected.

I returned to the centre and had to ask them to check it. When I asked whether the alignment was actually out, I was told, “Yeah, to be fair, it was out, but it might have settled.” There was no apology or meaningful explanation. I then had to wait around another hour for it to be rectified. If I pay £49 for a wheel alignment, I expect the job to be done correctly first time.

The third visit involved an MOT and around £500 worth of suspension work. The MOT was completed, but I subsequently continued to have suspension-related issues, leaving me with very little confidence that the work had properly resolved the problems.

Immediately after this suspension work, I also developed a screeching/whining noise whenever I put the car into reverse. This had never happened before the work. I returned to the centre, but was told there was no issue and that they couldn’t hear anything. I accept it may have been difficult to prove a direct connection, and the garage maintained it was nothing to do with the suspension. However, given that the noise appeared immediately after the work, and that I had already experienced two other issues immediately following visits, I find the timing coincidental at best. The noise then continued for around another 12 months.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that I have been more than reasonable throughout. I haven’t shouted, caused a scene or demanded compensation. I have simply expected work I have paid for to be carried out properly and problems to be acknowledged and put right.

The attitude I’ve encountered hasn’t helped either. On several visits, the general atmosphere among staff has been one of moaning and complaining, rather than giving the impression that customers are valued or that people take pride in their work.

One isolated problem can happen at any garage. Repeated issues across multiple visits, poor communication and a lack of acknowledgement when things go wrong becomes a pattern.

Overall, an extremely poor experience. I have lost confidence in this centre and would not recommend Wolverhampton Fox’s Lane Halfords Autocentre.

I would genuinely appreciate an actual response to the issues raised in this review. I have taken the time to explain what happened, so I hope the response acknowledges the specific concerns and explains that they will be investigated. A generic, automated-sounding response telling me to “contact us via the help page” would completely miss the point of leaving a detailed review.

I’m not looking for an argument or unreasonable compensation. I simply want the issues raised to be taken seriously.

One final point regarding the wheel alignment: the person I raised this with was the manager. I had returned because I had paid £49 for an alignment which had left my steering wheel around half a rotation out. While I was waiting for the issue to be dealt with, the manager appeared more interested in talking to another customer about Formula One and then spent around an hour taking down the Christmas tree.

From a customer’s perspective, it was incredibly frustrating to be waiting for a problem with work I had paid for to be rectified while the manager was occupied with other matters.

Taken together, the repeated issues, poor communication, lack of urgency and overall attitude have left me with one overriding impression: really shoddy workmanship and a disappointing approach to customer service.

I took my car in for an air conditioning diagnostic as my air con had stopped blowing cold. I had it re-gassed a week or so before at another garage (not Halfords) and they said it was full with no leaks. When I returned to collect my car, I was handed the report and told by the employee that it needed a new compressor and it would be over £1000. I went and got a second opinion and got it confirmed that it was not the compressor but a relay switch, which I had replaced for £180 as I also needed a full regas as the system had been emptied by I can only assume Halfords. This is absolutely disgraceful that Halfords can quote for a repair, which if I would have accepted would not have fixed the problem. After contacting their customer services, and raising a complaint, they kept closing the complaint down before it was resolved and agreed by myself, i was promised phone calls from managers which never happened. If you do go to halfords i would certainly get a second opinion as I wonder how many have taken their quotes on face value and paid for a service they didnt need. I Will never return to Halfords for repairs, and I will be taking this further externally with the Ombudsman.

Avoid Halfords at all costs. I have now given them four separate opportunities to complete a standard tire fitting and wheel alignment, and every single visit has been an absolute disaster due to sheer incompetence and broken systems.
​Fail 1: Booked and paid online, only to be told they didn't actually have the tires in stock. It then took five days to receive my refund.
​Fail 2: Rebooked at a national branch, paying another £430 upfront. I arrived in my van only to find out the vehicle physically couldn't fit through their entrance gate. Why their system allows van bookings at branches that can't physically accommodate them is baffling. Halfords was now sitting on over £800 of my money across pending refunds, leaving me without the funds to take my business elsewhere.
​Fail 3: Once my money finally returned, I booked a Halfords Autocentre. They managed to fit the tires, but then informed me their wheel alignment gauge was broken with no backup available. I was forced to drive away with unaligned wheels, actively risking uneven wear and damage to brand-new tires.
​Fail 4: Booked the alignment again a week later for a 10:30 AM appointment. I arrived on time only to be told they couldn't even start the job for another hour, let alone finish it, and that I'd need to leave my vehicle with them for the entire day. None of this was communicated at booking or payment.
​Four appointments, hundreds of pounds tied up in refund delays, zero respect for customer time, and a job that is still not properly completed. Completely unfit for purpose.