I booked into Ponthir Hereford for a pre- MOT check..
I booked into Ponthir Hereford for a complimentary pre- MOT ‘ health check’ for my Fiat 500 a month or so before the MOT was due. After the check, I was presented with a breakdown of the state of the car which is low mileage and 7 years old. It said I needed three repairs , apart from two new tyres which I already knew about, and which I bought from elsewhere later that day.
The health check revealed repairs quoted at £360.9 for front brake discs ‘slightly scored’ and needing an hour and a half’s labour , and £228.47 for the exhaust flex pipe ‘.deteriorated but not blowing’ , needing an hour’s labour. Also £86 to remedy a ‘ creaky door’. a job quoted at 0.6 hour’s labour.
For what it’s worth, I’m a solo female, driving with clean licence for 43 years.
I put my trust in Ponthir as they’ve serviced my car since I bought it from them three years ago.
I braced myself for nearly £600 for necessary repairs and booked the car in.
In the meantime I had a small illness issue and put off the repairs appointment - and thank goodness I did. I asked the AA about Ponthir’s estimate about the state of my car.. Was I being ‘done’?
The Fiat sailed through the MOT at a different Hereford garage, one recommended by the AA ( I'm a member) as I didn’t have a clue who to trust. There had been no problems whatsoever with my car, they said, disbelieving when I showed the Ponthir’s assessment. Brakes slightly scored? Not even slightly. Brake pipe deteriorated? No sign of it. Creaky door!? A spray of WD40 sorted it and Ponthir had quoted £86 with more than half an hour’s labour to fix it !
My Fiat flew through the MOT two days ago with NO advisories. The final assessment by experts was that my car had no issues whatsoever, and the long-standing, experienced motor vehicle mechanics could not understand why I had this Estimate, which, with a service, came to £874. 77.
Now I’m wondering if my previous MOTs and repairs, which came to over £1,000 last year, were another example of a loaded bill aimed at someone who doesn’t have a clue about car repairs. I feel made a fool of, which is upsetting. I’m not going to say anything awful about this company. I’d rather you be the judge.
January 13, 2025
Unprompted review