Halfords Autocentres Reviews 

Avoid Halfords for servicing – my experience has completely destroyed my confidence in them.

I booked my Mercedes in for a Major Service and MOT in May 2026 at 65,926 miles. Since then, I've barely driven the car and it has only covered 296 miles, with the mileage now at 66,222.

After finishing work one day, I noticed fresh oil on my driveway and underneath the car. When I opened the bonnet, I discovered something that completely shocked me.

The oil filler cap had been left off the engine following the service. It had been left loose in the engine bay, resting on top of the radiator/fan area, while oil had been sprayed around the engine bay and underneath the vehicle. Had I gone on a long journey, this could easily have resulted in serious engine damage.

To make matters worse, when I checked the oil, it was already extremely black despite the car having travelled only 296 miles since a Major Service, where a full oil and filter change is supposed to be carried out. This has left me questioning whether all of the work I paid for was actually completed.

I contacted the store and was called by the manager. Instead of apologising, I was told this wasn't his mechanic's fault and that it must have been an engine issue that blew the oil filler cap off.

I explained that this simply doesn't make sense. There is very little clearance between the engine and the bonnet, and the oil filler cap sits lower than the engine cover. If it had somehow blown off while driving, it could not have landed neatly on top of the radiator/fan assembly inside the engine bay. The much more obvious explanation is that it was never refitted after the service.

The manager then said he would need to inspect the vehicle when he could fit me in, or alternatively I could wait for Head Office to contact me. I declined to let the same garage touch my vehicle again because I no longer have confidence in their workmanship and chose to wait for Head Office.

After hearing nothing, I contacted Halfords Customer Services again via live chat on Tuesday 21 June. I was told my complaint would be reopened and someone would contact me. It is now Friday 26 June, and I have still received no communication whatsoever.

The photographs speak for themselves:
Oil filler cap left off after a Major Service.
Oil contamination around the engine bay.
Oil underneath the vehicle.
Oil stains left on my driveway.
Engine oil appearing extremely dark after only 296 miles.
Mistakes can happen, but what has disappointed me most is the refusal to accept responsibility and the lack of communication from both the store and Head Office.

Based on my experience, I would strongly recommend using a garage you trust for servicing and MOTs. Unfortunately, I no longer have any confidence in Halfords servicing.

Totally useless. Mot booked at longwell green and arrived after taking days leave and 30 min drive to be told they can’t do it as ramp broke 2 days prior. No notification prior given, had all my contact details. Staff blamed customer services for not calling me, customer services informed me it is the dealerships responsibility. Then to top it off, can’t offer you a mot in my area for nearly 2 weeks!!!
Garage was a mess, with stock and vehicles everywhere!
Have booked elsewhere! I’m done with Halfords, not the first time I’ve had poor service from them!!!

Bought the AV repair product AC pro Superseal.
It doesn't work, my car passed all the vacuum tests but still lost gas.
Bought this and stuff to regas, £138 in total, followed the instructions to the letter, absolutely no change, it doesn't seal even the slightest of leaks. Save your money

After visiting the Mansfield branch looking for a in car radio system, I was made welcome by Paul who advised me of various feature's and benefits of models on display, I went with his choice Kenwood DMX6523DABS,
a date was was arranged to fit the unit, on the day of fitting (which was the hottest day recorded) I left it with Paul,on return I was pleased to see everything in place,Paul then went through the set up with me and advised if I required any further help with any problems or information to call back and he would advise me

Halfords' model is to appeal to customers to take up their motor club for around £40, and you get a free MOT. Makes sense, right? Once they get you in, they add hundreds if not thousands, onto unnecessary bills. Try it yourself. It's a scam company in clear, unregulated view. Each Halfords is tasked on upsell because of this model. Get out while you can.

Halfords Autocentre Warwick

Not to be trusted. Took my car for a major service, they did not replace the cabin filter, brake fluid cap was not removed as it was still in the place that I had positioned it before the service and the fluid upon checking was showing more than 5% moisture. Oil was jet black but apparently this can happen straight after an oil change??
It is impossible to get a satisfactory reply and from customer support they shut the case by automated email as soon as you respond to their emails.

Halfords Autocentres are a totally shocking, do not carry out what they say is included in a Major Service and it is impossible to follow through and make progress with the complaint procedure.

Just been to Halfords,Clough road, hull. As we changed our car and roof top bars wouldn't fit.
Harry and mark, and the girl serving, were absolutely brilliant, they tried there very best, but new car ment I had to go to the car dealer, :(, but they deserve a shout out today for all there help in this hot weather,
Thankyou all, kind regards Jo, x

I went in to the Plympton branch today to ask if someone could check my tyres as I have my mot next week. Lady at counter asked guy next to her if it was possible? He didn’t even look up and just said no!! I think she was a little embarrassed but said that someone could look at them tomorrow. Very bad experience. I went to Victor Barry got great service and 4 new tyres being fitted in the morning. Great service great price. Halfords do not care about customers or good orders!!!!

I bought a package of three things for one appointment at Halfords Garage: a free brake check, when fitting new tyres, and a wheel alignment job.
Halfords failed to perform the brake test, failed to perform the alignment, and also damaged a wheel cover when replacing the tyres. Halfords credited the cost of the wheel alignment but offered no compensation for not doing this work at this time. Halfords offered to pay for the wheel cover, but again no compensation for a new cover to be sourced and fitted. Halfords have refused to pay compensation for the omitted brake check.

Halford have closed my case five times. I have to take it up with my credit card company

For the omitted items I have had to take my car to two different garages to get the wheels aligned, the brake check and collect and fit the new wheel cover.

I have requested Halfords reimburse my replacement costs, and compensation for two days of unnecessary disruption.
I am surprised credit card companies are trading with a company that is making false claims to offer customers free ‘value added’ services, and other ‘while you wait’ convenient services. It should also be mentioned Halfords own dispute resolution system is designed to ignore and make it difficult for customers to raise and resolve complaints. Last, the mechanic and garage manager was great and very sympathetic. He agreed with me that Halfords online should never have accepted the booking and told me his garage was unable to do the things the website offered.

Booked in at Gateshead for an MOT for my daughters car. Had a previous bad experience when they told us our Volvo needed 4 tyres to be replaced, not the two that were worn as 'it was 4 wheel drive'. Volvo confirmed this wasn't the case and we complained to Head Office. No response. We only used them again as needed the MOT urgently. To cut a very long story short, they failed the car on a suspension spring. And a huge list of advisories. We took it to our usual garage who replaced the spring to get it through MOT to be told there was nothing wrong with the spring in the first place. They gave it to us to keep when the other one fails. We took it back to Halfords for re-test and they failed it again on something completely different that wasn't on the original MOT. We took it back to the local garage and you guessed- nothing wrong with it. They retested it and it passed but we had to pay again for the MOT. The cost of the work was half what Halfords quoted. They're absolutely despicable- charging way over inflated prices for unnecessary work. Avoid at all costs. They're just criminals.

I cannot recommend Halfords Mobile Expert installation services based on my experience.

I purchased a BlackVue 590X dash cam with professional installation (Booking Reference A966B062899).

The technician attended and confirmed that the dash cam could not be installed in my Honda Jazz Crosstar. While at my property, he contacted his office and then informed me that the order would be cancelled, a report would be submitted, and a refund would be processed.

None of this happened.

No report was provided. No cancellation confirmation was sent. No refund was processed. The booking remained open in the system as if nothing had happened.

I contacted customer support and was given case reference 00863624. I was promised a response within 48 hours. No response was received.

I then spent considerable time trying to find a way to submit a formal complaint. The complaints process was extremely difficult to locate. One email address I was directed to was no longer active. During a later phone call I specifically asked where I could submit a formal complaint and was told the information would be sent to me. It never was.

The matter was only resolved after I submitted a formal written complaint and pursued the issue myself. Only then was the order finally cancelled and my refund processed.

My complaint is not that the installation could not be completed. Technical issues can happen.

My complaint is the poor communication, failure to carry out what was promised, failure to respond to my case, and the amount of time I had to spend chasing a resolution for something that should have been handled correctly from the start.

The refund was eventually received, but only after significant effort on my part.

Major service in Wellingborough Halfords Service, they cuts splash guard under engine in Honda CRV 4gen 2016 just because bolts was rusted, they didn't ask and inform about they cut the guard, they didn't accept reclaim. NEVER AGAIN SERVICE IN WELLINGBOROUGH HALFORDS.

Helpful staff at Rutherglen Store. I had a brake light out and the staff was kind enough to find the right bulb for me and explain how to change it, first time doing it. very thankful

I am perhaps biased but its a great place to be a customer. Croydon branch is fantastic

Fantastic customer service at Redditch, punctured car tyre fixed quickly and efficiently and team friendly and helpful. Would 100% recommend and will use again.

I bought two self tapping screws and caps for my number plate at £1.99 at Halfords Stockport and fixed to car in car park. Then £5.99 comes up on my phone - £5.99 !! Apparently if screws are anti tamper -£5.99 - couldn't take off to return - packs are identical next to each other.

Had my vehicle serviced and was told my battery had failed the test and was at 54% and needed replacing. Also told had excessive oil leak. Took my vehicle to my regular garage to find that battery was absolutely fine at nearly 100% and oil leak was not excessive at all.

I took my car here for an MOT and it failed on rear brake issues. They initially gave me an inflated quote for discs and pads, then called later that afternoon to add new calipers for an extra £659. The total quote came to over £1,113 just for rear brakes, and they wanted to keep the car all weekend. I collected my car and took it to an independent garage, who fixed the calipers, replaced the pads, and completed the MOT for a total of £350. Unbelievably abusive pricing and terrible value. I highly recommend getting a second opinion if you are quoted for major repairs here.

Biggest rip off garage in the UK. I had 2 experiences with them, first, car's rear bumper got damaged in their garage and when asked all the workshop team started to act weird and refused to answer my questions. Second, took my car in for AC checks, I was told that system needs re-gas. They charged me £140 for re-gas only to take my car to them again when AC stopped working after 2 weeks. This is when they said there is a leak in the system.

Hello if I could give this a 0 star I would , I called up last week and spoke to someone and told them the issues I had with car and needed a diagnostics test then a quote of how much it could cost for repair , they guy said that’s fine and he booked me in for today at 8:30 in Basildon I turned up at 8:15 spoke to them when there and they told me sorry we can’t help you as they don’t deal with that I wanted as I believe it’s the can bus in the car but the guy on phone said yes was all fine so just wasted time going down there for them to not even look at my car , very angry as I could of went somewhere else , called other places and next slots are in August and I have 4 kids so I need my car and I used to get to work!

Would not recommend Halfords garage