Formula One Autocentres - Woodford Green Reviews 

I took my 10-year-old car (not a luxury model by any means) to this garage for a service six months ago. I was told it needed £1,100 worth of repairs. Trusting their assessment, I paid for the work.

Recently, I returned to the same garage — the Woodford branch — for an MOT. They informed me the car had failed and quoted £950 for the necessary repairs. I was shocked and immediately questioned the cost, saying I’d prefer to get a second opinion.

They handed me a report listing only two issues: one was an advisory (i.e., not urgent), and the other was a supposed problem with the wheel bearings.

After driving the car home, I found two nuts on the passenger seat. Concerned they had left something undone, I called the garage. They dismissed it as nothing to worry about. Not reassured, I took the car to another reputable garage the very next day.

What I was told shocked me: the wheel bearings were completely fine — in fact, the new garage believed something had been deliberately loosened to cause the MOT to fail. In other words, this garage appears to have tampered with my car and fabricated a repair job worth nearly £1,000.

This kind of behaviour is not only unethical but downright dangerous. The advisory issue (which they also tried to upsell) didn’t need immediate attention and was recommended by the second garage to be handled within the next six months.

I’m appalled that this garage is operating in such a dishonest manner. I strongly advise others to steer clear of the Woodford branch — or better yet, avoid this company altogether.

WARNING! WARNING!
AVOID!! Extremely Disappointed - Unprofessional
Behaviour!
Avoid for tyre fitting. I booked an appointment 4/5 days ago and I went to the fitting centre on that day before my appointment time. They said they can't change my tyres due to they are fully booked today. The guy cancelled my appointment front of me. If they called me or inform me before I won't waste my time and fuel.
Staffs are rude and not professional.

Replacing of tyres took 2 hours! 1 person working on few cars on the same time.

Nathan, customer service advisor was absolutely fantastic. His attitude, character and integrity was magnificent. He suggested I only required a wheel alignment and no tyre replacement required yet.
A genuine and trustworthy company, especially the Woodford Branch that I personally visited.

Nathan was superb.
Stellar service from start to finish.
Many thanks

Booked an appointment for mot at 12pm arrived at 11:50 to be told I am too late my appointment was 11:30. My email confirmation was 12:00. Couldn't fit me in until Tuesday.

Always friendly and welcoming staff. They are helpful and accommodating

Formula 1 Autocentres provided exceptional service for my MOT, full service, and annual repairs. Their communication throughout the process was Top-Notch, far surpassing my experiences with other automotive service providers. The quality of their work and attention to detail was evident, leaving me highly satisfied with the results. I strongly recommend Formula 1 Autocentres to anyone looking for reliable and professional maintenance services.

Great staff,very customer focused,prompt efficient service and price.Arrived knowing my car would fail its MOT due to the hatch door on my Citroen C1 being jammed.Special thanks to Reece {hope I chose the right spelling of his name} for getting it working great in about 5 minutes,very pleased regards Kevin

Normally they are fine but this time I felt they charged a little too much for the service . The guy in the morning at reception was friendly as usual, but by the time I came to pick up the car at 5 pm the manager was different . (Also they said I needed wheel alignment , after doing the same thing a few months prior) - but I’ll take their word for it . And then the manager confused my Audi A1 with an Audi Q3 and charged me for the latter , brought out the wrong invoice and car and when I corrected him he made me feel it was my fault.I could have literally driven off with someone else’s car . You should always ask for some sort of ID or address details before handing over a car- the guy also made a sarcastic comment to me for not noticing it earlier . Didn’t apologise , almost acted like it was my fault and then refunded me and sent me on my way , was okay in the end but customer service this time was seriously lacking , normally it is much better but that was a different manager . They didn’t even tell me the service was done, I went down at 5 pm and asked myself . The guys doing the actual work are pretty good , have had a good experience with them each time . The work is solid but the management, at least with this particular manager needs to improve ,this particular manager / receptionist wearing a bandana seemed to have lost all desire to live , seems like he doesn’t care about himself , customers or the world . Looks incredibly unhappy - In which case I would recommend doing something else .

The staff at Woodford Green, IG8 branch , changed the quoted price for new breaks and pads and also a new set of spark plugs. These jobs were discovered to be needed during the service and MOT . My strong objection was that the service staff dropped the price of these jobs when I showed my exasperation with the total price. The job prices should be fixed. I came away with the feeling that they charge as much as they think they can get away with. I will not be returning for future work so you have lost a customer. Also I will not be recommending you to friends and acquaintances indeed the opposite is now true.

I have been coming to this branch since 2021. I can honestly say I have had no issues or problems with the staff working there. From small puncture, mot and servicing my car it has been a great journey so far. Today, my MOT was due in for at 3.30pm I got there 10 mins early and mot tester Mark was outside and said to me 'take it inside mate'.

He is polite and cheerful person and so he assistant manager Reece. Nice chap and down to earth person. It was nice talking to me for a short while.

I would like to suggest to the area manager Mr Perry Liley to get a coffee machine installed at the Woodford Green branch. Because today my throat was parched and was desperately in a need for drink.

Bad experience from start to finish.
I bought two tyre online with free fitting at Woodford branch.
The manager (Reece) attitude is unbelievable. Very unprofessional, he doesn't listen what you have to say , he doesn't give you any information, he's telling you in the face that if you don't like it, take back the car and leave.
This guy behave as he owns the company and wants to shut it down as quick as possible!

Do not use them total rip off.
My previous centre had unfortunately closed down so ended up using them for MOT.Overcharged and slow service

good procedures
professional staff

I have booked myself for a service and MOT for Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend.
I dropped the car there at 8:30am, I got a call at around 2pm that the car failed MOT due to leaking shock absorbers and they suggested to change few things including spark plugs. I agreed on the price and was told it will be ready on the same day.
When I rang them just before 6pm if I can still pick up the car on that day, I was told it will be ready the next day at 3pm.
The next day as I am just ready to leave the house at 3pm I got a call. Apparently they need to update me on the situation. A pin on the bracket broke when they were changing the shock absorbers and they had to order a whole bracket but it didn’t arrive yet so it will be ready on Thursday. The mechanic later admitted it was his fault.
On Thursday so 3rd day I wasn’t able to pick up the car so my wife went to collect it. She asked if we can be compensated in any way for the fact that we were 3 days without a car and it wasn’t our fault. She was basically ignored, she was told by Mason that he cannot do it and the managers are at home so she paid the full price and left.
She called me right away however that there is something wrong with the car. I wanted to see for myself so on Friday afternoon I went to check it. The car was literally shaking right after you started the engine and was very jittery when you put gas on. When driving the car felt like it was a having a stroke. I really don’t understand how the mechanic didn’t notice that even when driving the car out of the garage.
I drove it to the service, the receptionist Mason rang the mechanic. He started the car, listened to it and said it’s probably issue with the new spark plugs – and walked away. The customer service guy told me that they are fully booked and that I have to bring it on Monday. (so nothing like – please leave it here and we will look at it first thing in the morning) I rang the service on Saturday, there was another manager, he confirmed that they are fully booked but I can leave it there and they might be able to look at it over the weekend. I wasn’t however able to be completely without car all weekend so I brought it back on Monday morning.
I then rang on Monday at 1:30pm and was told that the car is ready. When I came to collect it, I was told that the new spark plugs are working fine.
When I queried with Mason the fact that it took basically a week for this whole ordeal and that they didn’t even offer me a discount, he told me that I already got a discount in the initial price (yes you get cheaper MOT when you book a service – but I spent nearly £1000 on top of the service and MOT price for the shock absorbers, spark plugs and few extras). When I queried that they broke the pin on the bracket that hold the shock absorbers, he told me that “we could have told you, it was broken and have you paid £400 for the bracket but we didn’t” making it sound like I should be grateful I have a car finally working after 1 week since I dropped it there.
At no point I he would appologies properly or expressed they are sorry if they have caused us some issues – nothing. Only once I was told when I came back with the jittery car – ohh sorry about that.
I have literally never experienced anything like it. A simple MOT and service with few fixes took basically 5 working days to sort out. The car wasn't even checked after the service and the exchange of the spark plugs as they would have noticed the wrong engine sound. There was no urgency at any point! I am definitely not using this service again!

I strongly suggest you avoid the Woodford Green branch. Where do I start with the problems.
Booked my car in for an MOT as I needed some form of evidence to show the police if I were stopped on the way (the MOT had expired) otherwise I would have used Clarks down the road where I usually go. Big mistake.
I wasn't very available once I had dropped my car off and I was in conversation with them about supplying them with parts that I had procured from eBay. My car was in their workshop for nearly 2 months.

Over £1,300 later and the car is still leaking oil. The front brake caliper was sticking so how this passed the MOT I'm not sure. I had to fix this a week after getting the car back, at Clarks this time so no issues. The car also had an airbag light which Formula One couldn't fix and had to send my car to another garage so they cannot fix everything on cars so another reason to question whether or not to send your car there.

They also dented my car and said that they would fix it, not heard anything and it's been over a month.

So, £1,300 spent at Formula One and my car still has issues which I asked to be addressed. Totally unacceptable and I will be avoiding this place going forward and advising all the people I know and you reading this to do the same.

I had a long travel plan so I booked an available appointment with woodford green branch of Formula One Autocentres ( even though it's far away from my home and even though I had read a bad review of them).

I went on the time on the day and handovered my car. The guy said the car will be ready by late afternoon.

I got the call late afternoon which I happily took as I thought they must be calling to say your car is ready!

Instead, the careless manager bluntly said to me that we can't service your car today because of an issue at their side.

I was totally shocked to hear this and tried to explain that from how far I have come and why it was urgent to me.

The careless manager was so unprofessional that he didn't bother nor had any empathy to listen to what I have to say nor he sounded sorry to give me this kind of pathetic customer experience. He only said take back your car!

I didn't receive any call from the Formula One Autocentres to rectify the problem. I had to follow up by writing detailed email to customer service for my refund which I had prepaid.

Worst customer service experience ever!

A very rushed brake fluid change after which the dash light showed pads needs changing and this was not checked during the wheel alignment process. Also dah light shows brake fluid needs changing so not sure there is now a leak. F1 Woodford do not respond, thus having to post. Finally customers being turned away as told the online booking doesn't match with their existing computer systems so having to return rather than being offered a refund.

Had my MOT done there yesterday, no waiting around seen when my appointmnt was booked for, excellent customer service from the manager and the guy who done the MOT would highly recommend