Independent in East London/Essex/Suffolk

[Jamie]

Calling all Essex Boys......Can anyone recommend a competent and trustworthy independent specialist in Essex. Ideally in the Colchester area. Alternatively I work in East London so if anyone knows of one there that would be useful.

Has anyone had any good/bad experiences of main dealers in my area.

Cheers :)

[Straker]

The only work I have had done round here was at barkingside Volvo. it was only a AC regas but the guys were quite helpful and only charge me for the gas effectively waving the hour "labour" it should have cost to pug the machine in.

I live in Brentwood by the way so pop in if you are passing. :B_steerin

[pault5]

http://www.volvocarparts.co.uk/default.asp

try braydon in E5 east london.

[k690bpp]

if you don't mind travelling a bit further try sw autos in kent, they know there volvos inside out and stuart the owner owns a 500+bhp 850!!!

website: http://www.swautos.co.uk

[siamblue]

I take mine to Braydons for all the mechanical/Electrics side of things,
Never over charge or Bull you like some garages.

[dicky b t5]

Calling all Essex Boys......Can anyone recommend a competent and trustworthy independent specialist in Essex. Ideally in the Colchester area. Alternatively I work in East London so if anyone knows of one there that would be useful.

Has anyone had any good/bad experiences of main dealers in my area.

Cheers :)
Ive found Volvos in Ipswich (on London rd) to be very good for a main Dealer.
Remember they dont always charge loads more than some Inde's...!

[Jamie]

Ive found Volvos in Ipswich (on London rd) to be very good for a main Dealer.
Remember they dont always charge loads more than some Inde's...!

Absolutely right, but I've been scared off by Saab main dealer poor service and general ignorance. However I'm taking your advice and giving H R Owen Colchester a go. I had a long chat with the service manager on the phone and he sounded very knowledgeable and professional. I'm booked in for a full service first thing tomorrow (the car that is - not me! Though God knows I could do with one! :biggrin: ).

[dicky b t5]

Jamie let us know how you got on , what you had done & how much it cost.. :anmflower

[Jamie]

Hmmm. Ok well that was painful (of course), but not too bad I guess.

Firstly H R Owen Colchester were great, extremely pleasant, helpful and knowledgable, and I won't have any hesitation in taking my car to them again.

Needed a few things doing:

110,000 mile service including parts and VAT, about £185
Replaced a torque arm bush which had split, about £80
Also a slight leak on the turbo return pipe needed a new gasket and seal, and a split vacuum hose to the inlet manifold needed changing. In addition the usual bulbs and wipers. Overall cost was £395 - could have been much worse I guess and from a main agent I'm not unhappy with that at all. There was an advisory on chipped headlight and foglight glass but I can do those myself and they aren't actually too bad at the mo.

I feel a lot happier driving the car now that I know that an expert has looked over the car and sorted all the problems out.

This morning I got a compliment from a nice couple about the colour and condition of my car. Cheered me up a bit! :)

[dicky b t5]

Nice one Jamie , Well worth it...I still think it pays to go to the Main Dealers ,
might be a bit more Cash at the end of the day but worth it for the piece of mind. Glad you found another good Dealers in our area. Happy days mate. :wiggle: :wavey: :banana:

[arbee]

The car i have just bought was last serviced in the Ipswich main dealer, The things that they picked up seemed pretty comprehensive and it looks like they did a pretty thorough checkover. Even better, the previous owner got everything fixed/replced that was advised - A nice sign! The pricing for a main dealer wasn't too excessive either, I was quite impressed.