Where in the UK offers the best customer experience for car repairs, services, and MOTs?
Whether it's servicing, repairs, a new MOT or just general maintenance, you need a garage that's really going to look after both you and your car.
We're talking reliability, good customer servicing, the best possible prices, quick availability, and qualified mechanics that you can trust.
Unfortunately, not all motorists in the UK have a smooth ride when it comes to taking their car to the shop.
One study, conducted by the RAC, found a staggering 60% of the drivers they polled had suffered a 'bad experience' when taking their car in for a repair, service or MOT.
Another separate piece of research revealed how 7% of survey respondents felt they'd been 'overcharged for work on their car', 5% suspected they'd been charged for 'unnecessary repairs', and a further 7% hit with 'unexpected charges'.
No wonder, then, that more and more motorists are going the extra mile to find garages that they can truly rely on.
And with that in mind, we wanted to find out where in the UK motorists are most likely to be satisfied with their car servicing and repair journey.
So, we set about looking at a number of factors:
- The total number of garages in a given location.
- Number of garages per capita.
- The number of garages available per 100,000 people. This is an important metric, as we feel it illustrates how likely, or unlikely, you are to get your car booked-in promptly, rather than having to wait weeks for an available slot.
- Average Google rating for garages in a particular location.
- Number of approved 'Independent' garages.
- Number of 'Franchised' garages.
It's important to stress here how we got our facts and figures - and to detail precisely which types of garages we're looking at.
We first examined the Government's list of 'Active MOT Testing Stations'. This details all of the garages in England, Scotland and Wales that are fully authorised by the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) to conduct MOTs.
It doesn't capture all garages that provide servicing and repairs, but it reflects those that have been officially rubber-stamped by the DVSA, and which are therefore more likely to offer higher levels of service. It also includes both franchised and independent garages.
We then cross referenced the DVSA data against the list of fully accredited garages provided by The Motor Ombudsman, which lets customers search for local independent and franchised garages. The Motor Ombudsman describes itself as 'the automotive dispute resolution (ADR) body', and it works to inspire 'total trust and confidence in our staff, our customers, and our accredited businesses'.
So, you should be in safe hands with our exclusive Select Car Leasing list.
Under the Hood: Exploring the UK Cities with the Best Garages
We looked at the all of the seven factors above (number of garages, Google ratings, etc) and awarded each UK city a unique Select Car Leasing score, out of 60.
And the city with the BEST garage experience for customers in the UK, with an impressive total score of 49.4 out of 60, is Bristol.
The city has a large number of garages (300) for its size and population, and a combined high average Google rating of 4.6 out of 5. With 30 franchised and 270 independent garages - approved and authorised according to our lists - it means there are more than 70 garages per 100,000 people, with Bristol having a population of 428,234.
In second place is Nottingham, with a total score of 30 out of our stringent criteria, with all things car servicing and repairs considered.
And taking third spot in the Top 10 is York, with around 58 garages per 100,000 people, as well as an impressive average Google rating of 4.7/5.
Driven by Choice: Exploring the UK Cities with the Most Garages to Choose From
If you’re having car troubles, whether it’s something routine or urgent, you want to get your car seen as soon as possible. Luckily some cities have the luxury of having more garages and therefore more mechanics to hand - but which UK cities boast the most?
Again, we're talking about garages authorised as MOT testing stations by the Government, as well as garages approved by the Motor Ombudsman. Our figures don't cover all garages in a given area, but they do offer higher levels of trust in an establishment.
London leads the way, as you'd expect, as the city with the most car garages to choose from, with 604 locations available in the UK’s capital, with 47 franchised and 557 independents.
Birmingham ranked in second place with 315 garages in total, including 23 franchised and 292 independent garages to suit your every need.
Pulling into third place with the next highest number of car garages on the list is Manchester, with 309 garages you can take your car to across the city.
In the Driver's Seat: Discovering the UK Cities with the Most Garages Per Person
Which cities are meeting demand and have the most garages per person?
Nottingham tops the table for having the most garages per person, with an impressive 84.66 per 100,000.
Bristol is second, with 70.06 garages per 100,000. Although the city has a large population of 428,234, Bristol has 300 garages to service them, meaning Bristolians won't be short on mechanics.
Exeter, meanwhile, also scores well in our run-down. Devon's county town has 68.8 garages per 100,000. Home to a smaller population of 129,307, the city has 89 garages that can help with any car troubles.
Rating the Revs: Analysing the Average Google Ratings of Garages in UK Cities
Crowned joint first and earning the title of the cities with the best average Google ratings for their garages are Belfast and York. The cities’ garages both averaged an admiral 4.7 out of 5 on Google.
Following closely behind in second place with a score of 4.6 out of 5 is a whole host of destinations - including Nottingham, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton, Leicester, Newcastle, Blackpool, Swansea, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff, Coventry, Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, Brighton, London, Aberdeen and Manchester.
Placing joint third for great customer service when it comes to car repairs, are the cities Birmingham, Glasgow and Oxford. Their cities’ garages averaged a respectable Google rating of 4.5 out of 5.
Ranking UK Cities by the Number of Independent Approved Garages
More and more motorists are looking to approved independent garages, rather than main franchised dealers, largely because they're attempting to reduce costs.
According to a survey from 2018, a large majority (70%) of UK drivers say they prefer an independent garage to a main dealer when they need servicing or repair.
But the landscape here is shifting slightly.
A report by the Motor Ombudsman from 2022 found that independent garages were having to invest heavily in staff training in order to satisfy the demands of electric vehicle (EV) drivers. Almost half (44%) had embarked on EV staff training in 2023, and that's likely to continue into 2024.
And remember that if you lease a vehicle, you'll need to have it serviced at a garage which is approved by your funder - the details of which will be provided when you take out the lease.
Franchise Frontier: A Comparison of Franchised Garages Across UK Cities
There are a number of reasons you might prefer to visit a franchised garage for your car’s repair or service.
You get the reassurance of being dealt with by mechanics who specialise in your manufacturer of choice, and well-established chains also often offer high levels of customer service.
Glasgow comes out top in our list, having the highest number of franchised garages at 53.
Another Scottish city, Edinburgh, also fared well, coming fifth in our list with 28 different approved franchised garages in the city.
Methodology and data sources:
In our assessment of services in the most populated cities around the UK, we researched six factors to evaluate the quality and availability of auto care services. The following is an overview of the steps we took to conduct this evaluation:
Total Number of Garages
We gathered data on the total number of auto care garages in each of the selected cities by considering the garages that are recorded in the DVLA Active MOT Testing Stations. While we acknowledge that this figure may not precisely represent the total number of garages in an area, it serves as a valuable indicator of garages committed to service quality and customer satisfaction.
Number of Garages per Capita
Number of Garages for Every 100,000 Population
To standardise our data and enable a more meaningful comparison between cities of varying sizes, we calculated the number of garages per 100,000 residents within each city. This metric provided a normalised measure of auto care service availability.
Average Google Rating for Garages
We examined Google reviews to determine the average customer rating for garages in each city. This rating reflects the overall satisfaction levels of customers and provides insights into the quality of services offered by local auto care providers.
Number of Approved Independent Garages
We identified the number of independent garages that were listed in the Active MOT Testing Stations info. This factor enabled us to recognise the presence of accredited service providers dedicated to maintaining high standards of service quality.
Number of Franchised Garages
As part of our assessment, we counted the number of franchised service providers within each city. This category includes well-known brands and dealership service centres.
We assigned appropriate weights to each of the six factors based on their relative importance in determining the quality of auto care services. Subsequently, we calculated an overall score for each city to rank them based on their service quality and availability.
Other Sources:
https://www.google.com/maps
https://www.wikipedia.org/
https://business.google.com/reviews
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