Automerc Newbury are no more

[DickyC]

Just called in to book my car in for service, the yard looked suspiciously empty and the doors were all shut.



Shame. I've got on well with them for years.

[Dog Star]

Never been there, but a lot of my SLs service history is from them.

[DickyC]

Nice people. Knew their stuff. Wished I'd gone there years earlier. The last time I had my wife's car serviced at the main dealer it came back with a video made by the technician who serviced it. "This is rusty, needs replacing. That's rusty, needs replacing. These are rusty, need replacing." I asked the Service Manager how it came to be like that. He asked what I meant. I told him that as they'd serviced and maintained the car for sixteen years, it shouldn't have got into that state. He was non-committal. I took it round the corner to Automerc. The guvnor, Gordon, looked it over. He said the exhaust didn't need replacing, but fitted new clips and clamps. The brake lines didn't all need replacing, but replaced the ones that did. The road springs and shock absorbers would need replacing eventually. Structurally, nothing to worry about. Realistic and pragmatic. Automerc looked after it afterwards and when I bought my C Class that went there as well. I'm a bit stuck now.

The other side of the argument, of course, is they're are out of business and MB are still functioning.

[Huzzah]

That's a shame, always a pity to lose a reliable and trusted service.

[tobinen]

Blimey. I only used it a couple of times but I drive past it most days and it always looked busy.

[DickyC]

tobinen said:

Blimey. I only used it a couple of times but I drive past it most days and it always looked busy.

Yes, it was a real shock.

[Riot X]

It’s a shame, I lent Gordon lots of tools over the years.

[DickyC]

Riot X said:

It s a shame, I lent Gordon lots of tools over the years.

There's a contact for creditors. When I picked my car up I always took donuts which makes me a pre-preferential creditor, I believe, so if you could form an orderly queue.

[Riot X]

It’s a shame, I lent Gordon lots of tools over the years.

[Robertb]

Just looked them up to book in for a service.

I had noticed last time I drove nearby that it was all closed up, I assumed to try and keep the heat in the workshop.

Its a shame to lose a respected specialist like this, scary that even an apparently successful longstanding business cannot make a go of things in this economic climate.

Anyone visited Star Motor Services in Reading? That is my next nearest independent, reviews look decent. I'll give them a try for my CLS's next service in December.

Edited by Robertb on Wednesday 26th November 10:43

[DickyC]

Star Motors? Recommended from on high.

[DickyC]

IIRC Thatcham Autocentre was where AutoMerc sent their tracking and balancing.

[DickyC]

These are from AutoMerc's Facebook page.

[Robertb]

Seems to be some argy-bargy between Star and Thatcham Autocentre in Stars Google reviews!

[DickyC]

Robertb said:

Seems to be some argy-bargy between Star and Thatcham Autocentre in Stars Google reviews!

My decision may be more geographical than reputational. Thatcham is much nearer for me.

[tobinen]

I prefer Star over Automerc. It is a bit of a pain to reach but I can walk to the Reading office and work from there whilst it is in. I have never used the Thatcham place.

[DickyC]

tobinen said:

I prefer Star over Automerc. It is a bit of a pain to reach but I can walk to the Reading office and work from there whilst it is in. I have never used the Thatcham place.

It's amazing the lengths we go to to get the service we want. I was recommended an independent Audi garage in Andover for my RS2 and dutifully drove there, left the car and came back by bus. There had to be easier ways.