Highly recommended this garage if you live in the Southampton /Winchester area. The technician, Dean, is ex main Fiat trained. What he doesn't know about fiat's is not worth knowing.
He fixed my climate control in under 2 hours and diagnosed another problem, having plugged it into diagnostic equipment and fixed/advised accordingly all for under £200.
Cant recommended highly enough

You can NOT go wrong with Small Car Services.

I trust Dean and his employed technician implicitly with our Fiats (when they were with a main dealership) and when my 500X is out of warranty then anything I can't do myself will be going Dean's way.

Why/how do I support this recommendation. Simply because I'm an engineer, have worked on my own Fiat for 45 years (engine rebuilds, cam belts, clutches, drive shafts, etc.) and am extremely fussy about not only my work but those who work on my vehicle.

I put my money where my mouth is and my 500X just came up for it's 3 year service, but still in warranty. Main dealer wanted £182 for a simple 3 years service and my optional request for an oil and filter change.

SCS (Small Car Services - VAT registered) did the service to my standards for £108 using all original Fiat parts and Fiat only oil. Best local dealer price was £182 after applying all the "My Fiat" and long term (45+ years) discounts.

The big bonus with SCS (which may not be relevant to many customers) is that they technically engage with you and have no reservations about you engaging with them and allowing you to get up close and personal with them, your car and what they are doing.

You could not ask for more.

Thanks for the hint , I have a twinair panda and am sick of the fiat service costs . I work in Southampton and will give them a call

s130 said:

I put my money where my mouth is and my 500X just came up for it's 3 year service, but still in warranty. Main dealer wanted £182 for a simple 3 years service and my optional request for an oil and filter change.

SCS (Small Car Services - VAT registered) did the service to my standards for £108 using all original Fiat parts and Fiat only oil. Best local dealer price was £182 after applying all the "My Fiat" and long term (45+ years) discounts.

The big bonus with SCS (which may not be relevant to many customers) is that they technically engage with you and have no reservations about you engaging with them and allowing you to get up close and personal with them, your car and what they are doing.

You could not ask for more.

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Being able to engage directly with the man weilding the spanners is, for me, as it is for you s130, of great importance. Like you I am a practical motor engineering person (City and Guilds qualified) who does most of the service and repair work on our family vehicles and cares deeply that things are done ""just right". On the odd occasion when I have to hand over to someone else I find it greatly reassuring to be able to talk over what they've done and often they will pass on info about something they have noticed which requires attention. It also lets you assess the general level of competence of the garage.

This is where the big dealers miss out so badly. They are so focused, in my opinion, on maximising profit that they can't allow even a couple of minutes for your mechanic to chat to you - and, heaven forbid, he might say something which could imply that there was actually something on the vehicle which was not very well designed! For me. Learning about such a thing, or any commonly occuring fault is invaluable. All cars, although the local Honda dealer's salesmen would not agree with me, have things which go wrong and learning about the most common ones are not going to stop me buying that brand but do make life easier. I find it really frustrating when you can only talk to a, no doubt very pleasant, reception advisor who very obviously knows a lot less than you and is not able to let you speak to "the man".

Hi folks...I am new on here..in fact this is my first post!. I recently picked up a 500c for my daughter that came with the dreaded heater flap problem. Found Small Car Services by accident but I am totally glad I did. I think Dean maybe the only person in the country that can fix this problem, in situ, without you having to spend £1K to remove doors and strip out most of the inside of your car. £165 all in.....bargain! Dean is a great guy and remarkably knowledgeable ...there's not many garages like this out there anymore unfortunately.

Yes Dean has quite a few tricks up his sleeve when fixing things that would otherwise cost a small fortune. Also goes the extra mile to try and "improve" whatever was at fault in the first place, e.g. sourcing better gearbox bearings.

Unlike larger concerns it is Dean's personal reputation on the line so you can be sure he will ensure everything is just right. And, if he gets something wrong, as we all do occasionally, he'll be the first to put his hand up, tell you and then put it right.

im glad i found this on here as im having some issues with my 1.9 multijet doblo.

im sure this Dean guy used to be the top tech at AHF fiat when they were in winchester.

i used to be the parts manager at the Sarisbury Green branch some 13 years ago.

i think i might give them Small Car Services a go seeing as they get lots of praise on this feed.

I have bookmarked this page for future reeference after a recommendation. My Fiat 500 has the habit of telling me that Stop&Start (which i have never used) is unavailable....at high speeds on the motorway, resulting in a feeling of dragging four dead elephants. £680 later for coil pack and spark plugs I had to have fork our another £70 for new leads. The only way to test y car is to drive at speed down the motorway! I won't be doing that in a while!!

Fran Davies said:

I have bookmarked this page for future reeference after a recommendation. My Fiat 500 has the habit of telling me that Stop&Start (which i have never used) is unavailable....at high speeds on the motorway, resulting in a feeling of dragging four dead elephants. £680 later for coil pack and spark plugs I had to have fork our another £70 for new leads. The only way to test y car is to drive at speed down the motorway! I won't be doing that in a while!!

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£680 for coil packs and plugs?
There must a been a lot of other work carried out for that as it shouldn't even be half the price

My mechanic said that! They gave it a clean, after I had cleaned it before it went in!
I will never use them again. £140 for a diagnostic!
Stay the hell out of Battersea!