I know this isn't truely a forum for discussing such things other than local meets, but I thought it might be a good idea to have a list of local specialists and people's experiences of them.
Reply on this thread with details (names, addresses, genuine experiences, etc) and I'll periodically update this first post to keep all the info together.
At some point this morning somebody keyed my car from the front left wing, across both left doors and part of the rear left wing, creating a long white line on my black car. Does anybody know any decent body repair places in York which aren't hideously expensive? I am aware of Minster Coachworks but not any others. The other option is a company that comes out to your car wherever it is during the day and resprays it if necessary (it'd be in my works car park which is on the edge of Leeds next to the M1 assuming work allows that kind of thing.)
Generally, do these body repair companies take on private work (should I decide in the end not to claim on the insurance) or do they only take on work via insurance companies? I wouldn't have thought it'd matter either way.
I knew a chap that rented a small unit on a farm near Wigginton, he had a spray booth and painted my front bumper, rear bumper & sideskirts when I lived in York. This was a couple of years ago now, if you PM me I will send you his number. He'd been a painter for years but only working for himself for a short while, I don't know if he's still doing it or back working for an employer but it would be worth a call, he did a great job and was excellent value-for-money due to his low overheads and not being VAT registered.
i'm not the sort of person to slag someone/a company off, but the work done there was atrocious.
accident repair - paint needed doing, previously unscratched panels came out with scratches on, suspension parts were put on the wrong way round (!!!!!) and some smoked bumper indicators i had were stolen from the car. all in all the car went back to them 4 times. even the machine polish after painting left holograms behind.
i will not use them, however, i have heard there have been lots of changes there, and JJB Motors take cars there for alignment after suspension work as apparently Minster are good at that...
i will not use them, however, i have heard there have been lots of changes there, and JJB Motors take cars there for alignment after suspension work as apparently Minster are good at that...
Yes mine has also been to Minster for alignment via JJB when JJB were doing some work on it.
Given your previous experience I think I know where I wont be going to get it done
Minster have a John Bean visualigner which is very accurate setup that costs around £35000. They have a dedicated alignment technician who aligns all of our cars, he does a very good job and has worked there for over 10 years. As for the bodywork repairs I have heard some mixed reports, but that is down to the panel beaters and painters.
Hi, just a quick note about Woodcocks', they have now moved to Willerby (HULL), the telephone number I believe is the same!
I used them a couple of times and Alan is a great guy, very particular and knows his stuff, everything is done to perfection.
Anyone know of woodcocks reputation in hull ? read 1 bad report than another guy(the same guy) promoting the garage in a few different sections of the forum. So just wondering if anyone on the forum have dealt with them as I may want a little work doing on my new gt in the future
I've used Woodcocks a couple of times, and have no hesitation in recommending them for specialist work. Alan is a great guy and has been very straight and honest with me and even pushes discounts on as and when he can
Mike Wade Developments at Keswick Way, Huntington, York, (0785 0098600) is an Alfa engine specialist. He has raced Alfas for many years and builds engines. He's just done the valves and cams on my GTV. Ian.
The last I heard of them was that they were closing for a while to try and move. That was about 6 months ago now though and I tried sending them an email to see if they'd re-opened but I didn't get a reply.
These guys don't appear to have been mentioned yet, MotorFarm/Alfa Barn in Whitley, Doncaster. http://www.motorfarm.co.uk/
The Barn, Wood Farm
Doncaster Road
Whitley
Goole
North Humberside
DN14 0JF
They're an Alfa specialist and do repairs/servicing etc, I believe that side of the business is called Alfa Barn. I'm not sure what they're like for actual work as I haven't had anything done yet, but I bought my car from them and found them both to be nice enough guys to deal with .
Chris (foxti40) has had his in at alfabarn this weekend for the mot doing, ive booked mine in for the cambelt and mot easter week so we should have a bit of feedback on that one, quote was good though and seems knowledgeable, watch this space.
Well had the aux belt and tensioners done, top and bottom wishbones, rear torsion bars, cam cover gaskets and the M.O.T done at Alfabarn in whitley bridge. Top bloke Graham, did everything as described, to my standards and for a good price, also gave me a courtesy car... Happy chappy, he'll get all my work from now on, not much else to say
Not an Alfa Specialist, so a little off topic, but for anyone who runs a oil burner like me I can point you in the way of Craig at Monksbridge Garage in Dinnington.
He did my Brera a few weeks ago and there was a definate improvement in pick up, it felt just like when you have had a service and get a nice new airfilter, crisp responding and free breathing
Monksbridge Garage
Unit 7 Monksbridge Trading Estate
Outgang Lane
Sheffield
S25 3QY
I dunno, but regardless of what Alfa UK say, I would much rather entrust my bella to Alan at Woodcock Garage in Hull. He's no longer on Anlaby Rd, but operating out of premises in Willerby. I don't have contact details to hand, but will post when I find them. Hoever I do know that the telephone number is unchanged:
01482 568956
Alan and his team are Afla/Fiat trained and have always done good work for me.
just had a replacement clutch, glow plugs, few little niggles, and oil sorted by Gareth at Northern Alfa Performance at Maltby, between Rotherham and Tickhill/Worksop.
Knowledgeable and friendly guy, good price for the work - one happy customer!
I've also had some work done by Gareth, in fact mines there now having a clutch slave cylinder fixed, top bloke and top service,
Northern Alfa Performance
Maltby
Rotherham.
Just had an oil and filter change done at JJB in York. Low mileage, 5300, 1.3 Jtdm-2 Sprint which I decided to give a 1 st birthday treat to. Johnny and the guys impressed with their knowledge and enthusiasm as well as being Alfa drivers themselves. Work well done and car clean, no oil in engine bay and washed when I collected it. Also price was half of the quoted dealers £180 - 190 :wow:. Also they used Petronas SAPS 5w-30 oil and a Wix filter. Petronas incidentally make the same oil for Alfa to stick in their Selenia cans at 3 times the price All in all Johnny and his team were as good as their write ups on this site and well worth a visit.
PS they were quite happy for me to go touristi in the workshop.
Had a load of work done by Gareth at Northern Alfa at Maltby. Full service, cambelt/variator/waterpump and all the other related bits, plus balance belt, replaced both front brake discs, small niggles such as missing hood bolts and grub screws, dodgy sump plug, rocker cover gasket, loosened the rock hard front bumper bolts so I can swap it with the GTV and made me a list of advisories that I can knock off over the coming months. And the best bit was the level of detail shown in showing me all the bits taken off my Spider compared to similar worn items, to prove just how bad mine were.
All that would be over £1,000 at all the other garages I have ever been to. Heck, a full service at a Merc garage for a Smart car was about half of what I paid. I won't tell you the exact price but suffice to say it was less than three quarters of the grand I was expecting.
Well recommended, really nice knowledgeable bloke, and as an Alfa specialist in our area we should support him as much as we can
I'll third it
Gareth at Northern Alfa looked after my previous 147 GTA and now gets all the work for my GT. A car nut just like the rest of us. There's a reason he's always busy! Just booked in for the end of this month.
I've fourth it! Took my Giulietta in for a service and cambelt change. I was expecting some nasty bills but I was pleasantly surprised to find him very cheap. Gareth is a top bloke. Great knowledge and I could talk to him all day. He showed me the state of my Air filter which had apparently been done on its last service by the dealer I got it from (Harretts, Mitsubishi). I'm going back to him for a remap, new brakes soon. :thumbs:
Ive been today to northern alfa at maltby nr tickhill and a had a minor service done to my giulietta multiair not only is he very knowledgeable but also very approachable and reasonable priced. Recommend him anytime.
Saw your Giulietta while I was there, booked the GTV in for a cam belt and service, "mrpbailey's" GT was also there, and very nice it looked too ...... .
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