A positive review for once. (National Tyres and Autocare)

Member Name: Rich

Product:	National Tyres and Autocare
Date:	18/01/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Staff helpful and friendly, fair quotes for parts and labour as far as I can find.

Disadvantages: Coffee machine in waiting area demanded exact change >:(

I've had my Fiat Punto in the Kilmarnock branch of National twice now, and while they admittedly wouldn't be my first choice of place to go when my car has problems, i've always found their quotes fair, the staff i've dealt with helpful and friendly. I know next to nothing about car maintenance beyond the basics and oil changes, but I knew the exhaust was damaged at some point given the problems I was experiencing since I've had it happen on another car.

As my local garage are closed weekends and take a day or two to order in parts, I felt I had no choice but to phone up National since I needed my car to get to work on Monday. I'd previously taken my car in to get the battery tested and replaced and they'd seemed friendly enough. "No problem" they said, "bring it in, we'll check if you're right". Sure enough they did, pointing out the exhaust was cracked at a severely correded joint where it connects to the catalytic converter, several more corroded points where it was likely to crack again and a few tiny holes along the length of it which would apparently have been affecting my overall performance. They explained why I was losing acceleration, why the engine was running roughly (fuel air misture being thrown off due to the exhaust being cracked before the oxygen sensor), made it clear why the whole system needed replacing.

I have no idea if the £390 I was quoted was fair or not, but as I mentioned, i've had this happen before on my previous car and that cost me £220 at my local garage; given that was a Matiz, which I suspect was powered by a lawnmower engine, the price I was quoted for a Fiat Punto seemed fair enough, especially considering it was getting done on a Saturday. The work actually came to £440 in the end due to having to replace the lambda/oxygen sensor as the mounting thread was stripped on removal, again, they explained this throughly and fair enough, especially since they'd had to nip over to a independant parts dealer across the road to get it.

Admittedly, it remains to be seen if the new exhaust system was fitted correctly, but I can't imagine there's much that can go wrong there. I'm only really wary about potential MPG issues with the new oxygen sensor, though I suppose that's going to improve if anything. Car's running fine, engine sounds fine. It feels and sounds slightly different, but I suppose that's to be expected.

It seems you only ever read negative reviews about these kind of places online and no-one bothers to report their positive experiences. I realise of course individual experiences all come down to which particular branch of National you go to and I hope this review helps people realise this.

Summary: No complaints about the service i've recieved at my local branch so far!