In an attempt to provide a guide to the places to go, and the places to avoid. Here's a list of garages etc which are recommended ( the Good ) the ones which are not so good, but may do a satisfacory job ( The Bad ) and the ones to avoid at all cost... ( The Ugly )

When placing an entry please provide the following information, and most importantly a reason why they are good, bad or ugly ( ie, testimony )



I'll start the ball rolling.

County / Country : Warwickshire / UK
Town : Rugby
Name : Paul Treen Motor Services
Services : General garage service, mechanics welding
Address : 279, Lawford Rd, Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 2JG
Link to Map or website : Yellow Pages
Rating: GOOD
Testimony: Has done a lot of work for local club members which has been all of a high standard, quick and resonably priced.

County / Country : Nottinghamshire
Town : Giltbrook - Nottingham
Name : Surf Blue
Services : Classic car repairs, servicing, welding, performance modifying, tuning
Address : 521 Nottingham Road, Giltbrook, Nottingham, NG16 2GS
Link to Map or website :Surf Blue
Rating: Good
Testimony: Excellent service by Geoff and Les, excellent quality of work, often does small favours, very enthusiastic. Discounts for local club members, good prices and quick work.

County / Country : East Sussex
Town : Ninfield
Name : Gerald Dale Motorsport/Engineering
Services : Rolling Road, Suspension alignment, Engine building, Mechanical fabrication and Servicing.
Address :
Unit 1
Ninfiled Garage
Bexhill Road
Ninfild (Nr Battle)
East Sussex
TN33 9EE
Link to Map or website : geralddale.co.uk
Rating: 10/10
Testimony: I've only had a rolling road here but Gerald got the absolute most power he could out of it. If you see the site you can tell he knows his stuff with minis as he's done plenty of racing!

County / Country :Dorset
Town : Charlton Marshall
Name :Sivad Garage (Davis backwards)
Services : General garage
Address :
Link to Map or website :
Rating:0
Testimony:This garage does anything, but when saying they had done the lower bushes on a Pug 405 they hadnt. 15 months on, they had disintegrated and needed doing. He hadnt taken the bushes off, let alone changed them. Oh. but he charged us 200quid for the "work and parts".
Avoid at all costs

County / Country : Northamptonshire / UK

Town : Northampton

Name : The Mini Hospital

Services : Full body and paint restorations and repairs, Replacement panels and sprayed, Light mechanical work, Welding and MOT work There’s also a Saturday morning drop in workshop where you can work on your car yourself, I’ve not been to one of these yet but I probably will at some point

Address : 48 Clare Street, Northampton, NN1 3JF

Link to Map or website : www.theminihospital.com

Rating: Good

Testimony: Charlie Brown suggest I go to the Mini Hospital to get my Mini repaired after it was vandalised & I was really impressed buy the standard of work & it didn’t cost the earth, I’ve since been back for a service & MOT etc. + Bob & Della are really friendly & helpfull. It must be good for me to be willing to drive all the way from Stevenage to Northampton to get work done!

County / Country :Kent
Town : Broadstairs
Name :Manne Hutte Services
Services : General garage/Petrol and Spare parts
Address : Yell details
Link to Map or website : see above
Rating:6
Testimony: 9 times out of 10 they've had the parts I needed, especially odd little parts that, or parts that are stupidly expensive new (Speedo housing to rad bracket - £5!!). The main guy there (Alf) can be a bit old and grumpy, but he always has time to stop and tell me the best way to do something, or a handy little tip that will save me time! Haven't had any work carried out there, so can't comment on that.

County / Country : Gloucestershire
Town : Thrupp, Stroud
Name : Autocraft
Services : General garage service, mechanics welding
Address : Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Rating: BAD
Testimony: tell you theyve done work they havent, very rude on the phone. other people have had similar experiences, one had his car catch on fire.

County / Country : Lancashire
Town : Wigan
Name : John Atherton Autos LTD
Services : Most things
Address : Wigan, Lancs
Link to Map or website :
Rating: So So
Testimony: Welding was great, services is good and very friendly, good estimates for work, however not too good when tuning carbs, all in all will use again but not for tuning.

County / Country : Hampshire
Town : Southampton
Name : Minis Only
Services : Pretty much everything
Address :Unit 22 Allington Manor Business Centre
Allington Lane
Fairoak
Southampton
Hampshire
SO50 7DE
Link to Map or website : Minis Only
Rating: GOOD
Testimony: I've had several things done at this garage and it's all been good. They certainly know their stuff! They can be rather expensive and do seem a little obsessed with putting really high spec bits into your car but the quality of the work is second to none.

County / Country : Norhtamptonshire
Town : Northampton
Name : Mini hospital
Services : Pretty much everything, but mainly bodywork and painting
Address : Claire street
Norhtampton
Link to Map or website : www.minihostpital.co.uk
Rating: VERY GOOD
Testimony: Nice bloke, in with the mini scene. Can give advice, does top body work and pretty much knows about or knows where to get anything. Did me a wing early 2005 and was a v good job

County / Country : Suffolk
Town : Ipswich
Name : Phoenix Minis
Services : Restoration and MOTs (dunno what else)
Address : Foxhall Road, Ipswich
Link to Map or website :
Rating: EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Testimony: really friendly bunch, even delivered my mini for free when I explained Id been a non driver for a few years, theyve fixed my windscreen jets, bent the bumper back in place (whoopsie) for free, and I suspect Ill be back to them regularly for bits and pieces.

BODY REPAIRS, MOT, TUNING AND PERFORMANCE:

County / Country : Somerset
Town : Minehead
Name : Dev's Auto Repairs (Member of Minehead Mini Club)
Services : Restoration and MOTs, performance, etc etc..NOT PAINT WORK.
Address : Mart Road, Friday Street, Minehead TA24
Link to Map or website : N/A
Rating: SPEEDY REPAIRS, BRILLANT PRICES, TOP BLOKE.
Testimony: Knows his minis - has 5 projects on the go at any 1 time, and has plenty of spares...will tune to limits, bodywork like a God, MOTs and services that make your heart flutter. Fantastic stuff!

PAINT WORK:

County / Country : Somerset
Town : Minehead
Name : Bens Paint Shop
Services : Car paint work and rust removal welding if necessary
Address : Minehead Industrial Est. Near Tescos.
Link to Map or website : N/A
Rating: Fantasic paint work!
Testimony: Re-sprayed my britih open classic for £700. Rebuilt the thing virtually from scratch, replaced all stickers - bought genuine from Rover spares.

county/country: essex uk
town: Braintree
name: Bridge Farm Garage
services: all engine work, usual garage services and minor welding!
address: Bridge Farm Garage, London Road, Braintree, Essex
rating: 10/10 good
Testimony: have been taking my minis there since i passed my test 5 years ago, Trevor is a top bloke who knows his stuff, really good on prices and is quick, offers good recovery too. his troubleshooting is excellent.

County / Country : West Midlands
Town : Birmingham
Name : GRB Mechanics
Services : General garage services, mechanical problems repaired etc
Address : rear of 1731, Pershore Rd, Birmingham, West Midlands B30 3DT, 0121 458 3366
Link to Map or website :map here, taken from yell.com
Rating: GOOD
Testimony: Got my mini through it's MOT after it got failed at another garage which would rate as an UGLY garage, Gordon the owner loves minis, is a total enthusiast. Reasonable prices too.

County surrey kent sussex border

town warlingham

name Minidave

What i do: everything mini classic related except body kits

Address r/o 33 harrow road warlingham cr6 9ey phone 07831 312681

been fixing these cars for now over 15yrs and 6yrs selfemployed

dave

County / Country : Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Name : P&L Minis
Services : Anything mini related
Address : 34 High Street, Thurnscoe, Rotherham, S63 0SU
Link to Map or website : Link
Rating: BAD
Testimony: Would not refund faulty good and had to threaten to take them to court over £40 of faulty rear lights (seals were rubbish and p**sed water in). Eventually received money back after around 1 month of complaining. Was told by Liz if I came back to the business her husband would give me a 'good seeing to'. Somehow I don't think they were on about mini parts Had to inform South Yorkshire police for threats of violence.

County / Country : Brighouse, WestYorkshire
Name : J C Bates
Services : Anything mini related, MOT's, Spray Shop
Address : Wellholme Garage, Bradford Road, Brighouse HD6 4AA
Link to Map or website : Link
Rating: Very Good
Testimony:I take my car there all the time very good service and they all drive
mini's :grin:

County / Country : Nottingham/England
Town : Nottingham
Name : Nottingham Mini Centre
Services : Anything Mini related, spraying etc
Address : Not sure!
Link to Map or website : www.nottinghamminicentre.co.uk
Rating: Good!
Testimony: Would recamend the garage for structural work/engine work! Good bloke!

Town : Sleaford
Name : Sleaford Mini Centre
Services : Everything for a mini, inc bodywork
Address : Dont Know
Link to Map or website : www.sleafordminicentre.co.uk
Rating: BAD
Testimony: Had my new engine set up by them, ended up running worse than it did when timed up by eye back home, to do them credit they only charged me 58 quid, but i'd have expected the car to run properly...Quoted me 800+ to respray mini

Town: Lincoln

Name: MBE Race engines

Services: MBE Race Engines is an established company with over 20 years experience in the production of horsepower from the four stroke engine.

If you are building a race engine, modifying an engine or fitting an engine management system look no further. Covering most specialist areas of race tuning MBE can offer everything from advise and parts to a full race engine build service.

Full on-site machining facilities means MBE can offer their own custom performance parts as well as many branded stock items. Bespoke parts can be machined, in fact MBE produce their own high performance barrel throttle assemblies and air rams.

Vast experience and great industry contacts enables MBE to offer specialist electronic services for engine management systems. Extensive service covering stand alone ECU's and after market fuel injection systems, able to source and configure specifically for your needs.

Rolling Road and Engine Dyno Service with extensive parts stock covers all your testing and tuning needs including Cams, Carbs, Injectors, Pumps, Filters, Coils and all Linkages or Fitting Kits.

Address: MBE Race Engines, 2 Wavell Drive, Allenby Industrial Estate, Lincoln, England, UK, LN3 4PB

Website: www.mberaceengines.co.uk

Rating: Brilliant.

Testimony: Mikes very helpfull . And as they made a squential gearbox for a mini that says enough. Plus im getting a engine kit from him. They have lots of top end gear inside to.

Town : Sleaford

Name : Sleaford Mini Centre

Services : Everything for a mini, inc bodywork

Address : Dont Know...don't care!!

Link to Map or website : www.sleafordminicentre.co.uk

Rating: Bad/ Evil

Testimony: They kindly removed my suspension and replaced it with an older one that had to all be replaced. Left a hose off my radiator which then overheated and blew my headgasket, they replaced it half price but with an even worse one which had already gone. I had to get it replaced by another garage as I lost patience. It messed the engine up too which has now also been replaced. Removed my hotspot and grill splash protector and kept them.
Avoid at all costs, unless you would like some parts removed off your mini, took me for such a ride that I enrolled on a car mechanics course so I wouldn't get this trouble again. I think they rub their hands when they see a young female and a mini with a few working parts!! My poor little mini.

County / Country : West-Midlands

Town : Walsall

Name : J&J MINI'S

Services : [u]everything to do with the mini, everything!

Address : 42 Butts road WS4 2BW

Rating: IMMENSE!

Testimony: they can do anything to a mini and its at a decent price! what more could you ask for?

County / Country : Norfolk

Town : Norwich

Name :SCA rally

Services :Engine work and general car tuning

Address :????
Link to Map or website :????
Rating: very bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yea ha cowboy

Testimony: My friend had the downpipe on his renault 5 turbo replaced, they quoted him £65, then charged him £155. Then to make matters exciting the turbo clam chroud thingly caught fire, where they had hacked it about and not removed it correctly. They denieded ever touching the shroud and told him to bugger off. NUFF SAID.

County: Cheshire

Town : Chester

Service: Welding, re-spray, suposidly engine tunes

Work carried out: engine tune went in running a bit rough, cam out wallet alot lighter and the timing runs on after turning the ignition off (this did not occour befor the tune)

A name to this report might help!

anyone got a review of the mini place dereks mini's wolverhampton?

Anyone got any views on garages in South Wales?

I do know that you should avoid MB Motors of Ton Pentre, Rhondda like the plague and don't trust him with a Dinky Model never mind a real car!

Anyway love "The Mighty Boosh" jifs of Verns PlayMate & jif2006, that shows awesome!

county Greater Manchester

Town Leigh

Name North West Mini's

Service MOT

Rating - I feel well and truly conned out of £44.00 (not a lot I know, but considering I had to pay that again 2 days later!!)

Failed My car on lots of stuff, including bulbs not being orange enough, even though they were new. Then wouldn't do a free retest if I drove the car away, but couldnt do any work on it for 2 weeks !!! Also wanted extortionate amount for rear radius arms (120 plus fitting a side) when I can buy em from Minisport (not the cheapest place) for £29 exchange !! Had a slanging match which got me absolutely nowhere, took the car to a local MOT centre (non mini expert) Passed with 2 advisories, which I have had sorted !! Now tell me if I'm wrong but how can 2 garages rate the condition of a car so differently?

So personally I would advise against getting your car tested here, although I must add I have heard that their mechanical work is good...

Try SUREFIT on Wigan road Atherton !! Ians a top mechanic and reasonably priced.

chester mini centre!

yeah mighty boosh is wkd!!!!

I have an imposter

County / Country : Lancashire, UK
Town : Blackpool
Name : Harwoods Garage
Services : Pretty much anything except major spray jobs.
Address : Bk. 28 Carshalton Road
Link to Map or website : /
Rating: Good
Testimony: Well, what can I say. It's my Grandad's garage... They're only small, but they're extremely honest and try their best to get it done for you in as little time as possible. Grandad knows a fair bit about mini's as he used to own a BMC garage so if you need something doing in Blackpool, give me a shout and I'll give more details.

Whilst entitled to his opinion (and I agree with some of the above) some of the "facts" in the above report are untrue.

The car didn't fail on lots, but did fail where our Tester felt it should fail. No apologies for testing cars properly.

I have a bag of new orange bulbs here which the tester has failed my cars on and which we have changed. Some of the current batches are not dipped for long enough and don't show orange enough.

We, along with the vast majority of MOT stations, don't do free retests if removed from the premises (unless they fall within the regulations.) We have to do a full test when they are brough back and this has to be paid for.

We were booked up for 2 weeks (we are a very busy Garage) but said we would start the work the following week if desired.

Radius arms are £110 per side FITTED. Customer was told that he probably didn't need one as it could be greased.

"Had a slanging match" - We can't and won't delay existing jobs for existing customers because someone raises their voice.

So, I agree that we are strict with the quality of our MOT testing. We believe that an MOT test is there to check the safety of your car and we take that resopnsibility seriously. We are NOT con men, if we were we would not have said that the Radius arms would grease up.

If you want good honest work done we will do our best for you.

Thanks for the chance to respond
Colin

fair comment

personally i dont think £110 a radius arm is to bad seeing as everything around it is usually rusted solid and the brakes need bleeding afterwards

County / Country : Nottinghamshire
Town : Giltbrook / Eastwood
Name : Surf Blue
Services : Only ever used them for bodywork
Address : About 5 minites from ikea
Link to Map or website : www.surfblue.co.uk
Rating: 5/10
Testimony: Sent my mini there on club recomendation for new front panel, new wings, new a-panels, new inner a-panels, a new bootlid and the roof sprayed in black(i supplyed all the pannels). I also asked for a sumpguard to be fitted (supplied) a chrome grill (supplied) chrome boot light and hinges (supplied) and a Chrome roof trim (supplied).
8 mounths down the line the minis been back 3 times. When i got it back after the work, 4 weeks later, after surf blue having to retake it down the body shop over and over again beacuse the black roof kept reacting, i got a box back with the inner a-pannels and all of the acsessorys id asked to be fixed on, except the chrome grill which was the only thing fitted. The mini then went back for the scuttle pannel cracking, paint reacting all over the front and to have a few key marks repaired.
Its not going back again, unless they can expain why ive still got the original front pannel with the same dents and stickers on thats still rusted in the same places, in addition to why my mini came back with an empty tank of petrol and 200 miles on the clock after it went in for the theird time. And now ive found the black paints comming off the roof.. and guess what.. its still red underneath .
Its not fair to surf blue for me to give them 0/10 beacuse ive never used them for anything other then body repair.

^^^^ If they charged you for work they havent done then get trading standards on them or take them to the small claims court.

If someone put 200 miles on my car without my permission they would be getting a serious beating !

Sounds like they've done a blowover - where they just paint over the top and eventually it peels off...not proper paintjob and totally unproffessional.

Like jimmyarm says, get onto trading standards

Cheers, If id had rerlised all there shortcuts when id got the car back id have gone to trading standards, but its at least 6 mounths down the line now and theres no hard evadence against them ( i dont think i even have the recept for the work still .
I think i post on here will be sufficant action, just so that evreyone else knows not to trust them and therefore cant go though the annoyance ive been though.

Just To Clarify To Anyone Reading This Artical.. Dont Use SURF BLUE For Bodywork!

County / Country : Avon/north somerset
Town : Thornbury
Name : Spamspeed
Services : supposed to be a RR
Address :
Link to Map or website :
Rating: 0/10



My car was booked in at spamspeed RR before Avon
something went wrong with the turbo so i rang him to say that i was having problems as soon as possible, i did not want to waste his time the least i could do

got called a w@nker as he put the phone down

i am looking forward to a mag RR day there now! what a cnut

i have since not heard a good word about this guy sounds a complete cowboy who knows nothing about customer service

The Cheek of calling my old man grumpy!! Cheers for the comments as after over 30's of playing with minis he knows a thing or two and as you say is willing to give tips especially being his business is to fix these as have heard many comments of garages who will not share any info just want the work!
Alf Established Manna Hutte Mini's 31 years ago and is known to be a Good supplier for second hand basic mini and rover bits, New Panels and most servicing items. We have slimmed down on fancy trick bits purely due to stiff competition from larger mini shops who do cheap mail order. Good to see some old mini specialists still about due to them slowly disappearing. Personally should give him 10/10

I think that Manna Hutte mini's is a really good place, when ever i have been there everyone is really friendly and tries to help me out as much as possible, so i think overall its a really good place. Also all the parts i have brought from there have been good and never let me down.

So i give it the and a 10/10

Ha ha, sorry about that, but you know what I mean, probably comes from having to deal with the general public everyday! (I used to hate dealing with the public when I worked weekends at B&Q!). But yea, Manna Hutte is a fantastic place when your working on your car and need an odd little bit there and then! The only other gripe I have is that its not closer to me! But then I spose I wouldn't never have any money!!

County / Country : hampshire, england
Town : gosport
Name : Newtown Motor Engineers
Services : bodywork, mechanical, mot, servicing, sales
Address : unit 1 elmhurst business park, elmhurst rd, gosport
Link to Map or website : http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ou...tnG=Search+Maps
Rating: A+
Testimony: this is the garage i work at, richard (my boss) knows minis like the back of his hand and is one of the few 100% honest mechanics around. 25years of experience and a massive stock of parts. cash paid for minis dead or alive. mini (old and new) and mgf specialists

I'll give Manna Hutte 10/10! They've always got the bits I need and even the bits I don't expect anyone to carry! Always friendly and an excellent sauce of information...I'm never in there less than half an hour as I can't resist but stop for a chin wag! Top marks, keep up the good work

Ratbag can talk for hours.......

County / Country : Greenwich
Town : Mottingham
Name : Palmer Brothers
Services : Everything from engine to body
Address : Albert Road, Mottingham, Greeenwich
Link to Map or website :
Rating: 5
Testimony: They are very good....at taking your money without permission. They will do work on your car without notification and charge you for it. I put my mini in and just simply asked if they could tell me why there was a funny noise coming from the engine bay. I came back later that day and was then confronted with a £60 bill as they replaced the alternator belt. Annoying especially it was a job I could of done myself.

County / Country : CAMBS, england
Town : Peterborough
Name : Williams Minis
Services : bodywork, mechanical, mot, servicing, sales
Address : Peterborough, Fengate
Link to Map or website : www.williamsminis.com
Rating: Very Poor

Bought mini from them a year ago, turned out to be a lemon, had 3+3 dash put in and the wiring behind was soo dodgy Im lucky my mini hasn't burnt to a crisp (bare wires and allsorts) Re-spray was done on a friends mini and I had front end done both were shocking, rust within a couple of weeks. Steer well clear.

County / Country : Lincolnshire
Town : Boston
Name : Jason Turvey - JET
Services : Everything mini related
Address : off Marsh Lane, Boston
Rating: 10
Testimony: Undertook a lot of work on mine, new wings, drivers door (sourced original), A panels, new A frame section and associated respray, at a very reasonable price, no problems at the time and none whatsoever since. Also undertaken very good work for my nephew's mini. Not the quickest in the world, but it is worth the wait.

County / Country : Rutland UK
Town : Greetham
Name : Greetham Garage
Services : MOT / Paint / Mechanical
Address : Main St Greetham, RUTLAND
Link to Map or website :
Rating: The best
Testimony: Family owned business, Julian Cardew the owner is a mini enthusist and does not make a drama out of a crisis, always available for advice. Both MOT testers are genuine and little adjustments for the MOT such as emissions / headlight aim done on the ramp. totally recommended. Extra work is always advised and priced. Fair labour rate too

bill richards racing
ashford kent
engine ,brakes all mechanucal work
performance engine building
small garage but work always produces top work
very friendly
maybe a bit exspensive but you relly get wot you pay for,
bill and lee both top boys
and they race minis so know wot it takes to producea performance a series,
had 2 cars done there and couldn recomend them enough