Car servicing on the northside

+1 for Chris Hedges in Maryborough St Fyshwick. I don’t work anywhere near him anymore, so I don’t take my car there anymore. He is definitely recommended though.

I’m with overheard. Have recently started taking my car to CWC and they’ve been excedingly prompt, friendly and professional. very impressed!!

harry,s auto care and steve kelo automotive ….both at belconnen have helped me with my racecar over the last few years…i/>

Sounds perfect for my Camry 😛 LOL

Chris Hedges in Fyshwick. Absolute champion.

Stay away from a certain Subaru dealership in Fyshwick unless you want to replace your gearbox after a service. Also a large dealership with several stores on Melrose Drive in Phillip – useless.

Paul Whyte Automotive ftw

harry,s auto care and steve kelo automotive ….both at belconnen have helped me with my racecar over the last few years and both workshops are top notch……..i highly reccommend both of them

Darren at A&D Motors in Canberra 6280 9911 Avenue Fyshwick. Utterly trustworthy and reasonably priced. AND if you arrange a service far enough in advance they give you an old courtesy car for the cost of topping up a few dollars worth of petrol…

Third vote for Total traction Services, always do a great job on our cars, road and race

I went to my dealer for many years but have recently been put onto CWC Services Auto behind the War Memorial. They’ve had much to do as my car has been subject to two services, some other leak or ailment, plus my unfortunate meeting with Skippy last December, and they’ve been superb throughout. Going back tomorrow for more…. stuff.

C.W.C. Auto Services Pty Ltd

(02) 6247 3601
Quick St
Ainslie ACT 2602

or (02) 6247 5171

My partner has a fetish for Saabs and has been using De Jong in Hume to service her cars for around a decade. He knows his stuff. The work’s exceptionally well done but not cheap (but I suspect thats more a function of fixing older european cars). I can recommend him.

There’s a Saab specialist???
There’s a business plan that’s aiming for the moon.

I’ve never had a bad deal out of Marcus and the boys at the Hawker Shell/K-Mart garage. Helpful, obliging and good quality.

Oh, and for a good, honest service, the garage at the Haig Park end of Braddon, the one with the big car wash, is very good. Not fancy, but they do a decent job.

The Saab specialist in Canberra is a chap by teh name of De Jong in Hume. He loves the things. If you have specific problems, or just want the car serviced by someone who knows every little bit of a Saab, take it to him. Hume’s inconvenient though.

Thanks for all your comments and advice – I rang Total Traction in Belconnen and they were really nice and seemed quite knowledgeable about my Saab – will let you know how I go!

As to the name of the place that destroyed my engine, I don’t like to name names, but let’s just say that it was in Phillip, and it was big, and I am never going back there.

Left Canberra a year ago, but Promotive in Belco were very good, a little pricier than average though. Also try Caltex Kaleen mechanics – straight up and down, no mess around.

Gungahlin Auto Group – good service, clear explanations, heads-up on upcoming issues, one-stop approach even if he has to outsource (probably a nice little earner for him, but who cares when you are time-poor?).

Underneath the car wash centre off Gundaroo Drv.

Melba Motors +1. Took my (older) Scooby Doo in there pre-Christmas for a new clutch. Quick, very informative, competitive prices. There’s no receptionist as such, I dealt straight with the mechanics. I will go there again.

I’d also like to know who to stay away from in Belconnen – zagons, where did you go?

Mick @ Melba Motors in Belconnen. Specialises in MG’s, Jags and the like but took the same care with my 1995 piece of crap Corolla.

I have also had Mick recommended and he’s done a small job for me. I asked him to give me a quote for some bigger work, but he never bothered to call me back. So I haven’t used him again.

Mick @ Melba Motors in Belconnen. Specialises in MG’s, Jags and the like but took the same care with my 1995 piece of crap Corolla.

http://www.melbamotors.com/

I’d definitely recommend Ron and his sons at the Caltex Servo in Lyneham. I’ve been taking my cars there since I learned to drive. They are friendly, don’t do things that aren’t required and go the extra step for their customers.

Another vote for Stuart Elliot. We’ve been getting our cars service there for nearly 20 years. Never had a problem with them.

For those with a Toyota, steer clear of the Belconnen dealership garage at all costs.

I recommend Caltex at Lyneham. Good, no nonsence, service.

I used to take my car to Mitchell Service Centre and they were always polite and helpful. They would call you before performing any major work and would let you know how it is going. I still get my rego checks done there. For repairs, I now take my car to the Holden dealer in Phillip as I have a new car under warranty.

If you can possibly do it yourself then that is the best option. Service people have left WD-40, spanners, screwdrivers, and even a hand drill under the bonnet of my cars over the years.

Once I took my Nissan to the Nissan Dealership and asked them to find out why it wasn’t starting properly. They actually told me there was nothing wrong with my car. They wanted to charge me $80 for that information, so I took the manager out to the car, put the keys in and turned them. Not-surprisingly it didn’t start, so of course the manager was embarrased and I didn’t pay. Later I looked on the net, talked to some mechanic friends, then fixed it myself (it was the AAC valve for the mechanics out there). The dealership closed down several months later.

This is the link to choice magazines review of service centres.
http://www.choice.com.au/goArticle.aspx?id=106318&title=Car+servicing+centres

Personally I have found the K-mart service guys surprisingly good. I have been using them (differrent places & 3 cars) for about 3 years and have had no weird tools under the bonnet, no grease marks on the leather, no bullshit repairs that didn’t need to be done.

I’ll second Total Traction in Belco.

braddon service center (behind the caltex on lonsdale)
nrma approved (so nrma members get ~10% off labour costs)
they’ve taken good care of my magna, but a friend of mine wasn’t impressed on a pre-purchase inspection they did. they can be very busy and take a while to get a booking though

city car care i think does a good job, but they’re quite pricey.

and if an oil service was included in your checkup at the dealer, and the reason it lost oil was because of the filter or bung being reinstalled poorly, then you can get them to fix it

Dealerships generally do only an ok job at best, as they are full of apprentices. For basic servicing it’s ok, but even then you need to check their work.

Experience suggests that finding a smaller place where the head mechanic owns the business gets better results.

“at a dealership which shall remain nameless“

Name and shame so no one else goes there and suffers the same fate.

Stuart Elliott Automotive Pty Ltd
(02) 6259 2541
Clarey Cres, Spence, 2615, ACT

Top bloke, top job done everytime.

Total Traction, Belconnen.

Two brothers who don’t advertise as word of mouth is enough and has been for seven years now.

I’d love some suggestions on this topic too! My partner’s car was serviced a couple of months ago and has already got brake and clutch problems among other things…