Sacriston Auto Services - Durham

Justine owens

First time going here. I forgot my MOT was due but they managed to squeeze me in the day that it expired. Nothing was a bother for the staff. The older gentleman who worked there was just so lovely and accommodating.

I asked if it was okay for me to pick it up late at night after work, and they were fine with that and were happy for me to pay then. Would go here again

Emma Richardson

Only used the once so far my clutch repair. Recommended by a trusted family member. They took a little longer than discussed to get to the job after dropping the car off due to staffing issues. This wasn't ideal, of course, but it happens. I judge garages on workmanship for the most part. The price was very competitive. The mechanics came across as knowledgeable and honest. The car was returned in the same condition as dropped off. ( No extra dents or scratches). The repair was successful. Todate no follow up issues regarding the repair work have been needed. Will use again and recommend to others.

I'll update the review if needed, but assume no updates means no issues.

Kirsty Johnston

October 2023

Incompetent customer service. Appalling attitude simply rude, avoid.

Booked myself a M.O.T. with this garage for today, online. Followed the emails instructions to contact the garage if they had not rang to confirm the booking. As I had not heard anything from them on their next working day. I rang them on Monday and it was confirmed that my booking was fine. M.O.T booking was states that it was a 1pm to 2pm slot. So arrives at 12.50pm to get a vague statement that it was a drop and go service and that they would ring when the car was really.
By half 2 I had heard nothing regarding the car. So I rang to gather more information. I was given nothing but attitude via the older male that works there. " we shall ring you when the car is ready, you dropped it off in the middle of the day, there's another 5/6 cars in front of you".
I pointed out that the email stated different to what I was now being told. To gain the response "we don't send the emails ". I then pointed out that none of this was mentioned to myself when I rang them on Monday, he had no real answer to this.
Due to the incompetence causing issues and being told that it would not be ready till 3.45 at the earliest. I simply decided to collect my car and go elsewhere.
Clearly a money hungry business, that accepts more work that it can actually perform, as advertised.
The bloke even admitted he was being rude on the phone because he was stressed, before they claim that theyve listened to the telephone call and were not being rude, in their dishonest response.

As you can see 8 months later by their response. They still have a pathetic attitude, because someone dares to tell the truth about how they operate their business.

anthony chatton

booked car in for mot hassle free very busy garage but staff very polite and friendly would highly recommend this garage to anyone requiring any work also good to know they do motorbike mots too definitely be back thanks again

Zoe Johnson

Moved to area and needed a new garage closer to home, everyone I dealt with was so friendly, will definitely be back. They even picked up and delivered my car free of charge which was great as I can't drive yet following surgery. Very reasonable too. Thanks so much 🙂

Andy Taylor

Booked my car in for an MOT Tuesday AM. I Rang back later in the PM (around 4) to check on the results.

I was told the car had failed, the cost to fix the problems would be X amount and the car would be ready to collect on the Wednesday. The price point was verbally agreed on the phone. At this point absolutely no issues.

Wednesday AM, no contact from the garage. After hearing nothing till 4pm I then ring the garage and was told the part I needed for my car wasn't available, the part will arrive tomorrow and I would be rang as soon as it was fixed and ready to be collected. At this point no issues, these things happen, would have preferred for them to call me instead of me chasing them but gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Thursday AM, I hear nothing back. Thursday PM around 3:45 I start to become slightly concerned, due to being told they would call me when the car was done, I call the garage expecting to hear it would be ready the next day or later Thursday PM. This was not the case. I was told the car was ready for collection due to the car just being finished, I say thank you and will collect the car shortly.

Less than one minute later I receive a phone call from the garage. Upon answering the phone I heard "was it you who had just phoned about X car". I answer yes and we get talking. I was then informed at this point that due to the job taking longer than initially thought I would be charged an extra £60 solely for labour cost. I reluctantly agree to this cost (what choice did I have?).

Upon collecting my car, the worker who has been working on my car (a very nice and polite man) said to me he expected to finish the job by 11am but had finished at 2pm. This came as a surprise due to our earlier phone call and promise I would have been called as soon as it had been completed.

Overall the £60 labour cost is where my issue lies. Had they quoted me the extra £60 for the job this would have been no issue or even got in touch throughout the job to say it's running longer than we thought we need to discuss a price increase. This would have been preferential to being told after the job had been completed. I understand the initial quote was an estimate however the least I expect would be a phone call informing me of the additional cost.

I'm left with one question I will never know the answer to. "If the work had been completed sooner than expected, would i have received money off the estimated cost?" I suspect I know the answer to that question.

In conclusion I feel very dissatisfied with this experience and feel as if I've been given the run around having to constantly chase them only to have the overall cost of the job increase. Had this handled better I would be leaving a more positive review. My household will be happy to give our business to a different garage in the future.

Martin Kerin

I recently moved to the area from abroad and needed an MOT in order to register my car in the UK. Despite some frustrating difficulties with entering the car into the MOT system, the team at Sacriston Auto Services (in particular Ray) was patient, friendly and determined to complete the job, keeping me informed throughout. In the end, they were able to perform the MOT successfully. The car was also given a full service and, on top of this, the team was able to fix a long-standing problem with a malfunctioning digital display. Moreover, due to the complexity of my case, the car needed to return to the garage a number of times. Each time, it was picked up and returned at no extra cost. All in all, I'm very happy with the service I received and will both give this garage my future business and recommend it to everyone I know.

Vicky Copeland

I was concerned with a whirring noise coming from the engine of my car. I had previously taken it to another garage and was told this was nothing to worry about.
I knew myself that the car shouldn't be making that noise so I took it to SAS for a second opinion and I was very kindly told to come straight down with it.
SAS diagnosed the problem as a faulty water pump. It was explained to me that although the work couldn't be carried out on that day it would be done the following day. I didn't mind at all as they were good enough to fit me in at short notice and I was pleased that my car was finally getting fixed. I couldn't get to the garage before they closed so they kindly kept the car overnight for me and I picked it up the following morning. My car now runs like a dream again.
Thanks so much for getting to the bottom of the problem with it. I will certainly return for any further work on it.