Kensington car care v's George Fraser

[Tan]

Hi

I need the following jobs looked at on my car: Gearbox oil change, AC Recharged and Spark Plugs.

I have used george in the past but am no longer based on that side of london. I've heard about Kensington car care and was wondering has anyone used both and if so who is better.

Regards

Tan

 

[jaymanek]

My diff went the day after georges "apprentice" changed the oil. Ended up replacing the whole diff myself.

Whats up with the a/c. Air con should never need a recharge. If its low on gas means theres a leak due to infrequent usage. A recharge can last from a day to a year, but does mean theres something up with the system. A/c works like a fridge, if used all the time, will never leak - unless a component fails.

 

[Tan]

The prob with the AC is that I used to be a subscriber to the "use the EC button". However, an earlier thread has informed of the error of my ways.

I in two minds about the gearbox oil as many say change it as my car is at 61K now, but gearchanges are ok now.

Regards the sparkplugs, how do you know when they need changing

 

[Sp!ke]

I've been to both... not used KCC though, just spoke at length to them and had a snoop around their workshop.

I'd suggest you do the same to get a feel for the place

 

[BaldGuy]

Tan,

I had the plugs changed on my Merc @ 60k and I think but dont quote me that 60k is the interval stated....
As for GF, I used him and both occasions had problems with his staffs work, dont get me wrong George is a diamond of a guy and what he doesn't know isn't worth knowing about the Benz marque....
Like many others on this forum I treat my cars with care and lack of respect from a garage who's doing work on them signals to me, that no more business is going their way!!

Good Luck

 

[Tan]

Thanks for the info guys, sometimes i feel that at least when the stealership messes up there is a good chance they will honour the rectification. Sometimes the smaller places wont do a thing. Not that I have been in this situation with either of these two companies.

 

[C240Sport97]

I would only allow one of GF's mechanics near my car, and she's the only female mechanic there. She's very good at what she does, loves her job, is thorough, and she did the spark plugs for my V6 -- excellent work. And the change of plugs and oil transformed the engine, smoother, faster, more powerful. worthwhile if it's never been changed (mine was done at 49k miles, when it was 6 years old).

Thanks for the info guys, sometimes i feel that at least when the stealership messes up there is a good chance they will honour the rectification. Sometimes the smaller places wont do a thing. Not that I have been in this situation with either of these two companies.

 

[jaymanek]

Tan i would change the oil in the box. Waiting till changes are rough may be too late. In some MB's the stated change is every 36K. Makesure they use proper MB oil, not just dodgy ATF. It would be ok for a while, but MB stuff is best. I would actually buy the MB stuff and take it with you. Once you get there they will tell you that normal ATF is fine. George's boy tried to put normal ATF in my manual box. I made him drain it back out. 5 mins later he appeared with the correct stuff from the office...

Jay

 

[Tan]

This is my only issue with GF is that the service can be a bit hit and miss. I have had a few things done, when George has done them himself they have been perfect but when not....well that's a different story.

The Kensington guy was good on the phone, but as they say he can talk the talk but can he walk the walk. He was telling me that they did the service on an '04 SL55 the other day because the owner didn't want to wait 4 weeks to use the maindealer...I just dont know.

Maybe time to give brabus a call?? My real fear is that I dont want someone to do more damage than good in the process.

Regards

Tan

 

[Aldeburgh]

Having enthusiatically recommended these guys on this site I have a confession to make... they are actually not all that good. The head guy is a good salesman and knows how to make you feel well taken care of, but the work he did for me was crap. Tehy couldnt even balance the wheels properly.