Anglia Auto Centre, Barford, Norfolk

Picked my new Marea Weekend 1.8 115 ELX from them yesterday. Great service, down to earth and helpful and just all round nice guys. David, the owner, did me a lovely deal on the Marea and the p/ex of my Sei Sporting and as a goodwill gesture because he couldn't get the new rear wiper motor it needed before I came to pick it up, he's given my a free MOT in October

http://www.angliaautocentre.co.uk

I've not used their garage services yet, but I have heard they are very good, and of course, being independent, they are a darn site cheaper than the money grabbing Desira in Norwich !

Desira in Norwich are ratted a good one iirc

I used to use DBS Desira in Bury St Edmunds (same family, different company) and I knew Sam and Joe Desira inparticular, very well. They did (and still do) provide a great service, and I'm not just saying that because my ex brother in law (and one of the UK's top FIAT mechanics) is the service manager there

Desira in Norwich (and Diss & Gt Yarmouth) are good but not as good as DBS IMHO. Their sales people are more pushy and over bearing (obviously comission rather than customer driven) and their service is not as good.

I will use them for parts where necessary but would never use their service facilities. They quoted me £350 for a new radiator and an MOT on my Seicento Sporting last year. after some digging, I found the place where they obtain the rads's (Serck Marston), bought one myself for £50 cash, bought the coolant and slipped my kid brother (who at the time was also working for Desira in Diss) a few quid to do it. By the time I had the MOT done at a dedicated MOT garage in Norwich, I had saved myself over £160 on what Desira quoted me !!

They also over charge in other area's. For example, we all know that a 2.0L 20v cambelt isn't cheap. One of the main reasons is the labour. FIAT used to say it was an engine out job, hence the 11-13 hours labour costs. My kid brother did one and told me that all they do is suspend the engine and boot it over and it's done in less than half the stated time, but they still charge the "menu" price. PowerFiat do the same job, same technique but charge less than £500.

And now I know what they pay their staff and how they treat them, I won't use them again for servicing or repairs.

Shame really, because they used to be really good.

I had my brakes done on my gt turbo here,took 3 days and cost £250 but also got a courtesy car so i wasnt too miffed. I also had a boost problem which they looked at but couldnt solve.To be honest i think they are good,the staff are friendly and helpful,but higher performance cars need a specialist.They charge £25+VAT for using their diagnostic computer which i thought was excellent compared to the £60+VAT Desira were gonna charge!!