Formula One Autocentres - Chelmsford Reviews 

I have recently used the Chelmsford Formula 1 several times. In fact I have used them since they opened many years ago.
The present management and team are excellent.
Debbie on the front desk is outstanding, excellent interpersonal skills, knowlegeable, and reassuring.
thank you so much

Daughter took her car in to have brake pads done as to advisory on mot.
Guy on phone when booking appointment was very efficient and helpful. On the day they phoned to say all brake pads and all discs needed doing at a cost of over £800. Now initially it was only supposed to be front pads!! As the car was there we reluctantly agreed to the work. Was told it would be ready by 5pm, got there for 5 and car was still on ramp with no wheels. The guy I the reception said he would have to go and help them as they were new trainees!!!
We waited an hour! Car was then ready, my daughter took photos of her alloys that morning as there were a couple of scratches but nothing major. When we looked round d the car all of the alloys had a lot more scratches on them, we queried this and was told very rudely that the photos could have been taken anytime and basically calling us a liar. If we wanted to take it up with the management team we were told they would have to confiscate the car until Monday, my daughter by this time was distressed, the guy said he could knock a bit of money off although he wouldn't admit the damage was done by them, we felt the guys at the garage were rushing us as they wanted to close as it was gone 6 o'clock, my daughter reluctantly agreed to pay with the £50 taken off, the worst thing about our experience was that there was no mention of how to drive the car ie, (brake gently for so many miles until they bed in), my daughter drove her car as normal , went to brake and they didnt stop her immediately, she was so shaken up, guys there were totally unprofessional, rude and we will not be going there again and I will recommend to my friends not to go there. I did complain to the management team and they denied all damage too.
I wouldn't even give 1 star to be honest 😡

Exceptional customer service. Parts ordered and arrived so quickly and the work was done super efficiently. MOT initially failed and after the work was carried out on my exhaust and suspension it passed. Thank you for such a pleasant experience and for the fantastic customer service I received. I would highly recommend to all.

Went in to have a clutch changed, at a cost of £900, had a phone call to say the fly wheel needed to be changed, at a cost of another £600, reluctant agreeded, took two days to get the job done, picked the car up, drove a couple of miles and the car broke down, the drive shaft had fell out, cost £200 to get towed home, took it back to formula one, they fixed it again and said they would reimburse the £200, 3 weeks later and I'm still waiting for my money.
I have lost confidence in my car and certainly would not use formula one again

Awful!

I made a morning appointment online for air-conditioning re-gas at the Chelmsford centre and called ahead as per the email confirmation and was asked to bring the car in for 9am.

When I arrived I was told my details were not on the list, that I must not have called ahead and that I would have to be added to the bottom of the list. I explained that I had booked a morning appointment as I needed my car that afternoon but was told they would fit it in when they could. I showed the phone call log to prove I called ahead and it was insinuated that I was incorrect as the person I would have spoken to would have put my name on the list.

The staff member basically called me a liar and was incredibly unhelpful. There was no apology or acknowledgment that something had gone wrong at their end. I had to re-arrange my entire day due to their incompetence.

I then received a call that afternoon to ask if I had already been contacted to advise my car was ready to be collected. A thoroughly shambolic experience all round with terrible customer service.

I’ve already contacted the customer service team.

Mot failed retest charged at £14 pounds a rip-off don’t go there they try to milk all your money away
No customer service no information given absolutely no communication so that customers are informed never going there again

The guy that did my air on was very friendly and informative and kept me updated

F1 Chelmsford, great help from the team. I just needed an exhaust emission test to make sure my vehicle catalytic converter was changed correctly and they helped me in 5 minutes without any problem. Thank you!

Amazing service and crew understanding on other’s circumstances!

Excellent customer service. Employees are a credit to your company.
Highly recommended.

Absolute waste of time, they do not know what they doing. Took my car for alignment and made it even worse, now the steering is off centre. Highly recommend finding elsewhere to get the wheel alignment done. The manager is rude as well.

Chelmsford branch. I made an appointment and waited an hour and the car had not moved. They need to explain that appointment times will not be met and be prepared to wait hours to get work done.

Earlier this week, the team at F1 Chelmsford were amazing in replacing my rear exhaust.

I called just after 10am on a bank holiday, fully expecting to be booked in later in the week, but they offered for me to leave the car with them that day for them to squeeze in an exhaust check when a ramp was available.

I dropped it with them at 10.30am, and within an hour they had done the check and called me to say they could replace the rear box, but a team member would need to go to their Basildon Branch to pick up the part.

Just before 3pm they called to say it was all done....and all this on a bank holiday when I know they were very busy. And the price was great too.

I received brilliant service and I'm very grateful to the Chelmsford F1 Team for going the extra mile and then some.

I've used this branch about 7 or 8 times over the last 10 years, and every time they have been excellent - highly recommended.

Booked online get a time slot, 1 tyre change, get there and have to wait hours for the work to be done, I left after 1.30hrs of waiting and got refund online, rude staff

My daughter was stranded in her car in the rain last Sunday having hit the kerb in the wet and irreparably damaged her tyre. Having driven to where she was in Chelmsford, I removed the wheel and took it to Formula 1 Chelmsford. It was a busy day for the branch and whilst they kindly said they would find a way to do the tyre that day, when I explained the position of my daughter waiting with the car at the side of the road, they immediately took the wheel from me and put on a new tyre straight away. Nothing was too much trouble from their point of view and in less than 20 minutes, I left there with the wheel and replacement tyre. The operatives were very efficient, courteous and friendly. My daughter and I can't thank them enough for the way they dealt with our mini-emergency situation. A big thank you to the team!

Massive thank you to Formula one for staying open and helping me out. Noticed a flat tyre after shopping at Aldi. Feeling very grateful and safe, thank you.

Excellent service with friendly and helpful staff. Debbie and Gary went out of their way to make me feel welcome and although Chelmsford is a very busy centre Debbie made the time to advise and explain which tyres I required finding the right ones at a great price.
Well done Chelmsford 👋👋👋

Excellent service, great job, very helpful.
Had trouble getting back to garage but stayed open late so I could pick up vehicle.

I attend formula one today to have my MOT done, the customer service was excellent, the guys went out of there way to make sure I was booked in when I needed to be. The service I received was quick and professional, they made sure me and my family were comfortable whilst we waited and couldn’t have been more helpful.

The Chelmsford branch of Formula1 autocentres is outstanding.
I have been using them for both our family cars, for the past 3 years and the level of outstanding service, professionalism and friendly-support has always been of a consistently high level.
Even this week, Chris and Debbie could not have been more helpful, offering professional and knowledgeable advice as well as ensuring a quick turnaround on the work on my car.
Exceptional service - highly recommended. 👍