Formula One Autocentres - Chelmsford

I needed two new rear tyres. When you book a tyre fitting online at Formula 1 you select a time slot. When you get your email notification it asks you to arrive 15 minutes early. I am not sure why they dont just bring the time slot forward by 15 minutes. Anyway, I arrived at 9.15 for 9.30 to be told that someone had unexpectedly turned up to change some parts on one of the tyre balancing machines so there would be a delay. When I asked for some idea of how long the delay would be he told me they couldn't give an estimate. When I asked what I should do he told me I could either leave the car with them or book it in for another day. He suggested that I could go to the retail park across the road and spend my time there. I went to Dunelm for a coffee but by 11am I was bored and had received no updates by phone so I walked back to the garage where I saw my car up on jacks with the rear wheels missing. I could also see one of my wheels with a new tyre fitted leaning up against one of the balancing machines. A mechanic came up to me and said he had to warn me that the paint on my alloys was bubbling and that changing the tyres could lift the paint. I went to the waiting room for a while but got bored again so started wandering around outside. Nothing was happening to change the second tyre but the mechanic who had spoken to me seemed to be spending his time working under the bonnet of a black mini. The other tyre balancing machine didn't appear to be in use and there was not much activity at all in the garage overall. This made me wonder if another reason for the delay was a lack of staff. It was another hour after I had returned before the second tyre was fitted and the car returned to me. I saved £10 on two tyres and lost half of my day off; lesson learned. No discount was offered.

Good service however I was supposed to receive a call to confirm that wheel alignment was needed once the new tyres were fitted and therefore approval to the cost before work was carried out.I suspected the work was needed so happy the work was done but feel that when extra spend is required it should only be completed if the customer gives permission and approval.

Lovely guy called Chris welcomed us and when my car failed the MOT he explained the problem and gave me an instant quote, he booked it to be done first thing in the morning after I explained I had a hospital appointment at 1.30pm. I called up and it was ready in plenty of time, great service and value.

They asked to have the car 8am-6pm which is fine. It got to 5.30pm with still no call so my partner phoned and they said ' yes its just coming off the ramp'. We arrived and the car was still in the garage. No one knew if it was finished. I was promptly asked to pay, it was only when we asked was anything wrong they said ' yes you have an oil leak'. My partner then said, well is a substantial one, to which they just replied yes. I explained it would have been good is someone could have called to let us know and then we'd have agreed for it to be repaired. They said they were a fast working service and the car would have to be re-booked in on a day when someone was there to diagnose?? and see if it was fixable.I also got charged for specialist oil. The same car was serviced there last year and didn't require specialist oil then!Absolute shambles. Take your money and don't give a toss! Last time we come to you!

When we previously lived in Chelmsford this used to be a great reliable place to go. We booked in for my husbands car to get 4 new tyres with wheel alignment. I was there for hours waiting whilst people came and went. Apparently the mechanic had put the wrong tyres on then needed to swap them. Then because it was so delayed they said I would get a wheel alignment for free. However, they never gave me any paperwork for the wheel alignment to show it had been done. We also noticed after that dust caps were missing and some tyres still had stickers on them!Anyway, I decided that maybe it was just an inexperienced mechanic but I’d try again with getting 4 new tyre for my car. This was done quickly whilst I was there and I was charged nearly £50 for wheel alignment.As soon as I drove away I had a warning light flash up that my tyre pressure was low so I took it to a garage and pumped it up. I emailed them with no response. Then a couple of days later I took it on the motorway and at higher speeds the whole car vibrates and it was terrifying. Not knowing whether it was something more serious or related to the tyres I took it to the Ford garage where I have warrantee. Turns out the wheel alignment was very far out even though F1 had charged me to sort it! Not sure what I paid for and I will never be going back as it has been troublesome and terrible service!

I booked my car in for a MOT. The service I received was exceptional. Even though my car initially failed and needed work it was done so efficiently and quickly. Thank you for such a pleasant experience. I felt the costs for parts and labour was a good value for money.

The service was great they solved our problem quick and efficiently will definitely be going to them again if we have any further problems with our car.

Car booked in for a 14.15 appointment to check for a possible slow puncture. Arrived just before 14.00 and watched as car was finally taken to a ramp at 15.25. Two hours and a quarter after arriving, I'm still waiting....Update. New tire required. For it to take that long (three hours), especially when it's a booked appointment, is not the best customer service experience. To improve this situation, communication is key. Tell your customers if there are delays. Manage their expectations. Three hours to change one tyre is, regardless of circumstances, horrendous.

Five years on and Im afraid my 5* rating five years ago needs to be revised.Old onsite management long gone. If I ever had an issue, area managers sorted out.No longer I'm afraid. Gone are the days of the concerned management so won't be going back every again after my most recent experience which really was poor.