Formula One Autocentres - Reading Reviews 

I booked my car in asking for brake shoes and drum work, they carried out everything but that work and charged me through the nose for the work completed to the tune of almost £1k.
An example is they charged £75 for a pagid wheel cylinder that trade price is £8.34 with a rrrp of £56.20.
When I queried why the requested work hadn’t been done I was assured by Daniel Reading branch it had and it was the invoice that was wrong. The result a further AA call-out and thankfully they took me to an honest garage, who has now resolved the original issue. Would never darken the Reading branch doors again and believe quite simply that they took advantage of me being female and blonde and ripped me off 🤬🤬

It was a Sunday and I needed someone to check my wheel balancing ahead of a long journey. Formula 1 were great, they identified it was a disk that had been fittted by another garage had warped. They did a full inspection and report on all the brakes for me to take to my original garage and didn’t charge.

The service received from Terry and James was impeccable. Their level of professionalism has impressed me to the point of changing my car care provider to Formula One Autocentre. Thank you!

Booked an MOT 2 weeks ago at the Reading Branch. Dropped car off, then 30 mins later they rang and said can't MOT it because testers gone home.
No rebooking offered - Go elsewhere, they couldn't give a toss!

Have only ever used f1 since I have had car. Always friendly helpful and make me feel confident.

Terry was really accomodating and friendly. We just walked in for a tyre change and didnt realise that the brake discs we’re corroded as well. He offered to do everything there and there even if we didnt made an appointment. James and Luis did a good job and a finished within 30 mins. We will definitely come back for car repairs.

Recommended by a work colleague to take care of my tyres, I've visited this shop a few times now and couldn't be happier.
I had to pop in just before Christmas and the service couldn't have been better. Thank you Ryan and the guy at the reception (sorry, didn't catch a name) for making this less stressful

Having used F1 Autocentres many times previously for car serving, MoTs and tyres, my experience this week at the Reading centre has been a real disappointment. Having dropped the vehicle off first thing, I didn’t hear anything until towards the end of day to say the vehicle had passed its MoT but there were a couple of things I need to know about…

Firstly, I was told all four wheels were out of balance and out of alignment, and for just shy of an additional £120, this could be corrected. I declined, as the vehicle drove without any issues whatsoever. More to the point, I’ve not had the wheel tracking and balance checked as part of a service before, and there’s no sign of unusual wear on any of the tyres - so wasn’t really sure this was even checked. I wasn’t show any evidence to prove the alignment was out. The next day, I took the vehicle to my local independent tyre centre who use a Hunter laser alignment system who said the tracking was slightly out on the front, and perfect at the back - just £45 to get it corrected. Makes me irritated that F1 tried to charge me so much more!

Secondly, I was told the engine undercover bolts had sheared off when it was detached from the vehicle. Apparently because they were “completely rusted”. Having been shown the heads of the sheered bolts, the explanation of “completely rusted” didn’t seem to be the case, there was no rust on them. And there was no such problem when the same centre serviced the vehicle 12 months ago. But apparently the significant rain we’ve had recently was to blame?! The undercarriage cover was left in the boot of the vehicle - inspecting it the next day, there’s all sorts of damage to the cover where the bolts attach and to the plastic clips around the edges. I can only assume the cover was handled without any care or attention.

Whilst F1 have low headline costs, this experience had left me feeling extremely disappointed and now needing to spend more money with another garage to sort the undercarriage cover damage, get the bolts drilled out and replaced. I’ll not be using F1 again.

Extremely disappointing. 1st impressions looked great, I cancelled my service with BMW and decided to use them. Good quote spent all day on service and MOT to tell me I needed to bring it in again and pay more than double. Had to chase for the quote which I never got (still took it back) car does not feel as smooth, I now have a check engine light which was not there before only to be told I need to take it to BMW. I did and they want to charge me £150 to do engine diagnostics. My car is 5 years old with 30k mileage.
Job number 1: 081J239991
Job Number 2: 081J239880

The guy here was very understanding and did his hardest to fit me in for my Aircon regas today. The car is now feeling very cool, good job all round thanks

I went in to have my air con
done today. The young man called Lewis was very understanding as my mobile phoned had stop and needed charging and he tried to find one for me but unfortunately he didn’t had one. He was very professional and completed my air con within 30 minutes! I would definitely return for my service in November! Thank you Lewis for your time and patience and trying to help me out, you are credit to your employer.

Great service. Friendly staff.
Had 3 tyres changed, reasonably priced and quick service. Would definitely recommend.

It was torrential rain, 2 hours from home and my oil light came on and temp gauge was rising. I called into Formula One Autocentres, Hyperion Way, Reading and asked if they could help. They were super professional, very welcoming and Lewis sorted out the car straight away and within half an hour I was safely on my way. Would not hesitate to recommend them - they saved my day!

The chap on the desk was very helpful and kept me informed during the day concerning progress.
One star deducted because the machine to measure exhaust emissions part of the MOT, broke so MOT had to be carried out elsewhere. Again, very grateful to chap on desk because he was able to arrange for MOT to be done the same afternoon elsewhere. Something similar with faulty equipment had happened two years ago when the anticipated date of my car's MOT had had to be changed.
So the service is vg but the tools to help them do their work need attention.

Excellent service and MOT completed by Formula One Autocentre in Reading today. Kept me informed throughout the day and also went the extra mile to provide evidence to show recent work at National Tyres hadn't been completed! Well done Formula One, a car garage you can trust!

Very helpful staff. Easy to purchase tyres online with great discount. Would recommend them to anyone

Staff arrived late. Had pre- booked a full service, AC top up, and MOT. Asked them to also install a new battery as I had been having problems with existing one. I also requested that any faults found to be rectified as I was going on holiday. Within an hour I had 2 calls. One to say the MOT emissions machine had broken down, the other to say they couldn’t find something needed to check the wheels. 7 hours later I had a call to say they couldn’t do the air conditioning, there was an oil leak and I needed a new battery, All these things apparently are not stocked and would need to be ordered in.

Booked an MOT on the website for 9.15 - arrived and the site was shut! It is a bank holiday! Place opened at 10.00 , arrived and was booked in. Received an email at around midday to say they could not do it today. Not good service and they don’t care that we have been inconvenienced. Luckily have booked at another place for tomorrow as the MOT is due by 31/8. They offered 5/9- no use. TERRIBLE -NO SERVICE AT ALL.

SERVICE & MOT
July 30th 2022.
Booked and paid online for my Land Rover service & MOT. I later received a telephone call from Formula One Autocentres stating the front discs and pads were worn and pitted, naturally this would cause the vehicle to fail the MOT. The garage also stated the wheels required balancing and alignment.
I pointed out that within the previous 12 months Formula 1 the same garage had fitted 4 new tyres which were balanced and aligned at that time. Since then the vehicle had only covered 2306 miles mainly on the M4 and balancing and alignment is therefore not unnecessary.
When collecting the vehicle I asked to see the removed discs and discovered that they were not worn or pitted as stated but within the legal limits.
I asked for the failed MOT certificate only to be advised that the vehicle did not fail the MOT test.
Therefore it was clear that replacement discs were unnecessary as the vehicle was legal and had passed the MOT. The garage alleged that they were worn and pitted to generate additional income. When I expressed my concern to the staff member, he said the work was advisory.
In the last 3 years, I spent several thousand pounds at this garage and is therefore disappointed that they treat customers in this manner. I would therefore not attend this garage in the future or recommend this garage.

10/08/2022 Update:

Following the above review, I received a call from Mr. Craig English South Area Manager, who listened to my account of events at Formula 1. after which Mr, English apologised for the way I was dealt with. He the stated he will have the staff who dealt with me retrained and offered compensation for the replaced parts which was not required.

It is refreshing to see that management does not support staff-forced sales, and consequently, I have improved my rating to 4 stars.

Bought 2 new tyres from Asda with fitting at F1 Autocentres. Thought the money I paid would cover the cost to get them fitted but found that they charge an extra £25 so I could have the new one's put on the front. Had to pay it if I wanted the tyres fitted as had already paid for the tyres thru Asda. Got home called Top Gear tyres & Staysure Tyres & they told me no they don't charge to move the tyres around. Felt exploited & ripped off. Called them they said no they won't do a refund.
Had an unexpected call the next day from the regional manager Craig who has given me a refund of the £25 & who has given me a big discount on some repair work + has balanced & rechecked my tyres. He has made the situation right & went over & above to do it as he personally did the work himself. A really good guy, one who can be trusted & will do everything he can to make a situation right. Someone anyone would be proud & happy to have in their organisation.