Formula One Autocentres Reviews 

Very easy to use, helpful information, straight forward booking

Easy to book and good availability at suitable times.

Took my son's car into the Chelmsford Branch for a MOT. It failed and they said it would be around £600 to fix it !!!!.
Took the car to another garage and got them to check everything on the list was warranted as a failure.....IT WASN'T !!!.
The brake pad they failed it on, you couldn't see so how could they fail it..... I asked but the guy at Formula One said he didn't do it so couldn't answer and he was from another site so dont know how they work, but he would ask the Chelmsford Manager to ring us on Monday, but yep you guessed it HE NEVER DID ! !.....An MOT is a MOT and ALL the guidelines are set by the DVSA. All MOT trained techs go by this (well they should do).
They have been reported to the governing body so hopefully they will spot check them and catch them out lying.
Customer service is terrible and they over charge for repairs. WILL NOT be going there again and will spread the word to everyone i know to stear clear of them.

Poor payment functionality. It tried to auto populate but then froze.

Can be a bit confusing navigating

It was easy and quick to make my MOT booking.

easy to find the right tyres and simple checkout

I took my car for it's annual MoT test (to F1 Autocentres, St Phillips, Bristol). The car failed on emissions. On checking the results I could see the numbers recorded (1st & 2nd fast idle test) were erratic and implausible. 1st test Lamda 62.12 (limit 0.97 - 1.03), CO 0.00% (limit 0.20% max). 2nd test Lambda 0.99, CO 0.27% - Fail. I questioned the readings but my concerns were brushed off by one of the staff, saying my catalytic converter was probably the cause. When I advised it was replaced only last year for the MoT I was told it was probably somehow defective.
Three miles away on my way home I stopped at Crown Garage, Hanham and asked for their advice. They agreed the results looked odd and offered to check. All readings were comfortably within limits.
I decided to leave the car with them and get the car fully tested again. It passed the MoT test with a couple of extra advisories that had been missed by F1.
Of course I had to pay again for the new test but now feel confident it was done professionally.

Gavin and the team were absolutely brilliant, diagnosed the problem I was having and fixed it within 48 hours.. I was also given a very good price. 5* customer service all the way.

Everything was OK. Thanks.

I arrived on speck to have two new front tyres fitted along with tracking etc. Although they were under staffed, they were able to fit the tyres within two hours whilst i went into Hinckley to shop. Very friendly staff and appreciated getting the job sorted without a booking.

Have EVIDENCE (plenty) that Formula One OVERCHARGES by a Huge Margin, e.g., THREE TIMES as much for a Brake Job, which I REJECTED...This is called Gouging!

This centre have some excellent men on site in particular one gentleman who helped me after my tyre blew out as I had just got to Newport Pagnell. They didn’t have the tyre in stock and he agreed to take his time and fit a temporary spare to allow me to get back to where I was coming from to get a new tyre put on at no cost . Thank you very much you don’t understand how much you helped me that day to the person with such kindness thank you you are a true asset to any organisation

Easy to use, clear process

Very easy to use booking system and very pleased with previous work on family vehicles done by the staff at this centre

***Update after feedback***
I will not be using your business again, dishonesty goes no where in my world.

I placed an order online with Formula 1 and called to ask if I could collect the tyres directly. I was told they had to be fitted on-site, and an appointment was set for 12:30 PM the following day.

I called the garage directly to ask if I could bring the car in earlier because my MOT was due. Ryan advised me that one of their tyre-fitting machines was broken, but said he was happy to make an exception and let me take the tyres away if I signed a disclaimer. The next day came and went, and nobody bothered to call me with an update.

Fortunately, my car passed its MOT elsewhere, but I then had to go into the branch in person just to chase up my refund. I was told the store manager Ryan wasn't available because he was supporting another branch though even that seemed questionable. A new member of staff assured me I would receive my refund. But what boggles my mind is why the refund wasn't processed automatically the moment they knew the tyres hadn't even been delivered on my collection day!

This entire experience comes down to poor communication lead by Ryan, weak management, and a total lack of accountability.

It’s sad because large chains like this give garages a bad name, while smaller, hard-working independent garages do a much better job looking after their customers, but have to work hard to build the loyalty of customer due to bad experiences.

I was somewhat disappointed with the service and MOT carried at the Southend branch . Firstly, I noticed on the drive home that the ride was more bumpy than usual. When I checked the tyre pressures when I arrived home I found that all the tyres had been inflated above 40 . One tyre was 45. The recommend pressure for my vehicle is 29 to 32. In addition I did not initially receive a receipt for the extra work done on the vehicle and had to return to ask for one. Also the service log for the vehicle had not been filled in.