Central Avenue Service Station

AVOID – A Dangerous Fault Left Unresolved After Three Visits I would strongly advise people to think twice before using Central Avenue Service Station. Our experience has been extremely disappointing, both financially and in terms of safety. My wife took her car to this garage on three separate occasions to diagnose a serious steering and suspension fault. The car was veering towards oncoming traffic, which was frightening and potentially life-threatening. On the first visit, we were told the problem was the drop links. We were encouraged to pay cash and handed over £160 for the replacement. Unfortunately, this did absolutely nothing to resolve the fault. My wife returned the car for further investigation and was then told the problem was a sticking rear brake caliper. She was quoted £540 cash for a part that, as far as we could establish, cost no more than £120 and less than an hour to fit. I went into the garage to question this price, and the cash quote was reduced to £340 without hesitation. That raised serious concerns for me about the original quote and whether my wife was being charged an inflated price because she knew less about cars. In desperation to fix the car my wife needs for work, we paid for the caliper to be replaced, only to find that the steering problem was still exactly the same. On the third visit, we were told the suspension had been checked and that the problem was due to buckled wheels and incorrect tracking. I took the car elsewhere to have the wheels tracked and balanced, but the dangerous veering continued exactly as before. By this point, we had spent £510 at Central Avenue Service Station and still had a car with a serious, unresolved safety issue. We eventually gave up and took the car to a mechanic we had been recommended by a friend . He identified the suspension faults straight away, described the suspension as dangerous, and confirmed that the lower suspension arms, ball joints and track rod ends needed attention. The necessary repairs cost a further £530, but, crucially, the car was finally fixed. I find it unacceptable that after three visits and £510 spent, Central Avenue Service Station failed to identify the faults that another mechanic diagnosed immediately. A car veering into oncoming traffic is not a minor inconvenience; it is a serious safety concern. Our experience has left us feeling completely let down and seriously out of pocket. We were repeatedly encouraged to pay cash, paid for repairs that did not solve the problem, and were left with a vehicle that remained dangerous. My advice to anyone considering using this garage is to get a second opinion before authorising expensive repairs, particularly if the fault remains after work has been carried out. Based on our experience, I would not trust this garage with our vehicles ever again. We went there looking for a solution to a dangerous fault. We left £510 poorer, with the same dangerous fault, and had to pay another mechanic to put things right. Never again. Avoid.

Went to have 2 tyres fitted only had one was told to come back when back tried to fit difrent make on front was told same comp but different name won't come again on top of that it took 2hr to change 4 attempt to get wheel nuts off and was putting back on car with out wheel balancing being done. Told me don't do that but did last week when other one was fitted. If they are not competent in fitting a tryer how can you trust any thing else to be done .

I'd advise you to listen to the 1-2 star reviews, they're a lot more accurate reflections of the business & staff. Poor communication, sent me a text saying my MOT had failed, I tried calling back for over an hour to see if they'd be able to do whatever work may be needed but never got through and was never called which is what the man I left my car with said he would do. When I showed up, they didn't explain the issues to me just immediately asking for payment but by then I knew I'd be better off going somewhere else to get the work done. Also left the car parked down some side street which others have warned of, you'd be much better off going to a proper garage

They got me in for a MOT at late notice, very polite friendly staff. I got a time to bring the car in and a estimated time they need the car for. Most other garages just say leave it with us for the day. So that's a plus in my book! They text me to say car is ready and as passed mot, shortly after a phone call. They are also happy to give advice if you require. I would recommend this garage.

Awful garage, would give 0 stars if I could. For a VOSA accredited MOT garage, they don't know the rules. They failed my father in laws X5 because of inner wear on tyres, yet there were no cords showing and the central 3/4 band had 5mm+ tread. They tried selling him some brand new budgets of course. A friend also recently went (if only I knew before) and they failed his for light cracking on the outer wall of 1 tyre, except this isn't an MOT failure so they put 'cords exposed' on the official record which simply isn't true. Again, they tried to sell him an £85 budget tyre. Please avoid.