Halfords Autocentre Rochdale Liley Street, Littleborough OL16 2AS

"The garage was able to offer same day assessment and next day repairs to my car, which was perfect for my schedule. The work was a bit expensive compared with smaller independents, but they had much better availability. The staff were pleasant and professional though."

"The Good: The one bonus with dealing with Halfords is they have a support team in place. If you feel aggrieved by the attitude or service offered, this is a blessing, and I’m indebted to all those who helped resolve the issues we faced, including, Jo, Lezlee, Glen, and Dondray to name a few. But the star of this complete fiasco is Alan Grant, regional manager for Rochdale. From our first contact, we found him to be understanding, impartial, and amenable. The Bad: On the 12th of September, my wife took her car to Rochdale Autocentre after we discovered a hole in the exhaust back box. We were told that the whole exhaust needed fitting at a cost of £459.83. Following the work, my wife heard a knocking sound when starting the engine. I looked at the exhaust and saw a dint in the new back box too. The Rochdale manager “mansplained” that the dint was just the way the exhaust looks. My wife put him straight. The manager then agreed it was a dint, but it wouldn’t affect the performance of the vehicle. Again, my wife didn’t accept this. The knocking noise was diagnosed as loose nuts that had not been tightened when the exhaust was fitted, and the damage to the exhaust “sometimes happens in transit”. They finally agreed to replace the exhaust and tightened the bolts. 21st of Nov: The car developed a thudding noise when turning into tight spaces at low gear. Not trusting Rochdale, we booked the car into Halifax to have the noise diagnosed. The issue was that the rear bush had slightly worn, and there was play in the joint. Solution: renew both lower suspension wishbone arms and renew both track rod ends. Cost: £512.70. The work was completed on 26th of Nov. 28th of Nov we heard a rattling noise on and off while driving. This noise only began after the recent suspension work was done. The next day she visited Halifax and two people did a test drive and couldn’t hear or see any problems with the vehicle. That night, while driving home, the noise presented itself again. Having zero confidence in Halifax and Rochdale, my wife took the vehicle to an independent garage to have a new tyre fitted. The mechanic there diagnosed that the mid-section of the exhaust was moving up and down because Rochdale hadn’t secured it again! The mechanic also stated there was a leak where the exhaust went into the Catalytic Converter, and that Halfords had just put putty around the seal which had come away. A bolt used to secure part of the suspension (the same work Halifax had done) could be loosened too. My wife rang me on the way home crying, which prompted me to escalate this to Customer Services. The first regional support manager for Yorkshire came across as unsympathetic, never once acknowledging the stress all this had put us under, and was more interest in facts. So much so that I asked him if someone from the Manchester area could take this on. He arranged for Alan Grant to make contact who was warmer, open, and put into place a logical and fair approach. Alan had the car picked up from my wife’s work and taken to Middleton Autocentre to be assessed. He informed us that the exhaust was fitted poorly by Rochdale and was leaking in three places. He tightened the bolts in the suspension, and stated that the noise problem had nothing to do with the suspension, but was the front driver shock absorber. The Ugly: Overall, there has been a severe loss in confidence with the Halford Autocentre business. The original work carried out was handled with neglect. Rochdale fitted incorrectly an exhaust, not once, but twice! Fact. Halifax charged us for suspension work that left bolts loose. Fact. They also overlooked the genuine issue of the front shock absorber. Fact. We feel betrayed by Rochdale and Halifax, both of whom have tarnished the company’s reputation and besmirched the overall practices of Halfords. Hopefully, for those still reading, you will profit from our unfortunate experience, and find a nice independent garage who uses mechanics that are industrious, and whose branch managers care equally for profit as they do their customers."

"What a nightmare! Booked online for 4x4 wheel alignment in Middleton. They called me to say they don't have the facilities to do it and recommended Oldham. Oldham couldn't do it as the only person trained is away, they recommended Rochdale. Called Rochdale and they couldn't find the booking. After repeatedly calling Middleton and Rochdale, Middleton finally agreed to called Rochdale for me. I then called Rochdale and they confirmed my booking at 9.30 is fine and all is good. So here I am in Rochdale having a coffee as they have told me it won't be done until this afternoon as they only have one ramp due to the other one being broken. I think the whole company is broken and recommend using ATS Euromaster for the same price or another local one I found for £45. Update: I returned at 10.30 and the car was still on their drive so I cancelled and drove away. Shouldn't have left it with them in the first place; maybe I was in shock and didn't believe what I was hearing. Lesson learnt"

"Amazing service! Managed to fit me in the same day when car broke down and I was back on the road by 6pm. Honest and professional. Can't thank them enough!"

"Absolutely amazing and helpful staff, had a full out puncture and panicked not knowing what to do as it was my first one and i have learning disabilities, they were able to squeeze me in and replace my tire as I had to drive my wife to work the next morning at 5am and the space saver wouldn't have been able to handle 50miles on the motorway. Thank you so much especially to the receptionist who had to deal with my panicking self. Many thanks"