Kia Picanto 2016 (11) - 1.25 Sport 5dr Auto

We were on holiday at the end of July and had warning lights come up on our dashboard. We were told to go to central motors who were friendly and managed to fit us in , the diagnosis on the computer was for a faulty rear left speed sensor and after a phone call we were told they could fix it later in the day ,so we took the van back later and it was fixed supposedly. We paid \xa3295 and went on our merry way however half way up the motorway all the dashboard lights came back on and abs cut out along with esp and anti wheel spin etc. We managed to limp it home and visited our local diesel fitter who diagnosed a fault with the rear left speed sensor (sounds familiar!) after explaining what had happened down south at central motors to him he said just hang about while I check the sensor ( put van on lift and disconnect rear left sensor whilst attached to the diagnostics ) yes definitely that.? The mechanic at central motors had changed the rear RIGHT speed sensor thus removing a perfectly good sensor and charging us \xa3295 for the privilege. All you had to do was check ,as our mechanic did rather than just changing a sensor and thinking you had fixed the problem.If you still have the good sensor that you removed,please post it to my partners address and we can have it replaced as you removed a genuine Mercedes sensor and replaced it with an after market (cheap one) as i heard you say to your workmate when you didnt realise i was behind you.Jesus.J

Not too happy. I took my car in with a constant squealing noise which had stopped when I got there (he said it was probably because it was wet). They kept it over night to see what the problem was. I was told it was down to 2 belts that needed replacing so I agreed to go ahead with the work for \xa3230!! (The belts were around \xa370 - the rest was labour). It was in the whole of the next day. The noise came back very quickly so I took it back. He said that it wasn’t the belts after all , it’s the water pump but he’ll keep it over night and look at it. It took pretty much all day the next day for me to be told it’ll cost me another \xa3190 to replace and that’s with a discount bearing in mind the work they’d already done! I couldn’t afford another \xa3200 so I took it home. He couldn’t have cared less. I was told that they couldn’t have known what the problem was because it wasn’t making the noise at the time of repair which I didn’t know. I didn’t think it would have been ‘repaired’ without hearing the noise!! Unfortunately I have a friend who had a very similar experience too. Gutted.

I am writing this review to share my experience with Central Motors and provide some feedback. The vehicle I had repaired here was a PEUGEOT EXPERT 1.6 HDI 2018, which initially had an overheating issue under load or in high gear. I engaged in a phone call with one of Paul Butt's colleagues who assured me they could repair the vehicle. However, after 2 days, they informed me that the sensor needed replacing, originally quoting \xa3300 but later amending it to \xa3450. I waited a week for the part to arrive. Following the sensor change, I was told that the ECU had a fault, and the repair cost escalated to \xa3599. They mentioned sending the ECU to a specialist company called "Allparts ECU" in Essex, which I couldn't verify after extensive research. It took four weeks, numerous phone calls, and face-to-face meetings to receive the ECU back without proof of work done. Upon fitting the ECU, I was informed the engine might still be overheating due to potential issues with the thermostat or water pump. Communication with Mr. Paul Butt was a challenge, with multiple unfulfilled requests for a quotation and excuses regarding email addresses. I eventually paid \xa31435 for sensor replacement, ECU repair, and mechanic labor but encountered issues after taking the vehicle home. The turbo exhaust was disconnected, the air filter was disconnected, the battery had been replaced with an older one, and there were loose wires near the cam belt. This all happened over an 7 week period. I firmly requested proof of the ECU repair but did not receive it, leading to my dissatisfaction. To summarize, my experience with Central Motors fell short of professionalism, and I would advise considering alternative garages in Bridport