The AA Smart Care Avis 

I used AA for a full service about a month ago and had a great experience, booked in online, dropped my car off and had a text a few hours later saying it was ready, everything all good.

After having a good experience using them for my service, I decided to book for my MOT, it was easily booked online and members get £10 off. I dropped my car off the Tuesday evening before my slot as the drop off time was Wednesday 8am.

On Wednesday morning, around 10:30am, I looked online to see that the MOT had failed as the nearside headlamp was insecure, but nobody rang me with results or repair plans. I assumed the garage was busy, so waited until I had an email on Thursday at 8:25am quoting me £91.80 for my headlamp to be investigated, so I approved immediately as I needed my car as soon as possible.

After not recieving any updates by 5pm, I rang AA and was told that they were "still waiting for the garage to send a report." Rang again on Friday and was told the same thing. The garage and AA helpline then closed for the weekend.

On Monday morning, I decided to ring the garage directly for updates, as there's normally long wait times to contact AA. They told me they hadn't received confirmation from the AA that I had approved the investigation, so it hadn't been done.

At midday on Tuesday, I was emailed a quote from AA for a replacement headlight: £241.55. I approved, then rang the garage to confirm they'd received my approval and that it was ordered in. I rang again the next morning for updates to find out AA had ordered the wrong part.

Since they'd already had my car for a week, I decided to take it elsewhere; AA clearly doesn't communicate with their garages and there is something seriously wrong with the way they operate as every time I rang I was told the system was down and they couldn't open my booking.

I have no faults for the garage themselves, I had great service from them throughout, but as I booked through AA, all quotes need to be ran by them before I can approve them, which takes a long time as their systems are constantly down.

As a new driver, AA's marketing makes their service seem like a safe alternative to booking directly with garages, as all work and prices are verified to ensure their accuracy, which is very helpful for people who aren't experienced at dealing with garages and aren't aware of sensible pricing. This is a great idea, however, it's not executed efficiently. The AA's flawed system has left me without a car for a week over a simple MOT fault that could have been sorted the same or the next day.

The new garage I took it to has since confirmed that it didn't need replacing and and was repaired for £78.

I am still waiting for my money back for the headlamp after contacting them three times by phone and once by WhatsApp, where they ended my conversation because the agent hadn't replied to me.

You told Fairfield garage you would have the new parts for my car on the Thursday but you never deliverd them. I had to get taxis home and back to work in the friday morning because my car was on the ramp in bits waiting for the parts. Not happy

No fuss MOT, on time , no unnecessary selling

Poor customer service and communication taking almost 2 weeks to complete a simple job. First call out not fully diagnosed issue. Second call out replaced part but noticed needed another part too. Then took 1 week to book and did not turn up. Lots of issues with booking services and engineers. Eventually towed car to garage who completed job same day. Would have given less star rating if possible.

The Guy Dan was so friendly and made the whole process’s simple effortless.

Great and quick service

Easy to book
It was clear exactly what was covered
Car was picked up (on time )and returned by a polite and cheerful
Member of staff.
The service is good

Great service by the mechanic when he arrived. Very thorough, very friendly but professional.

The MOT and service itself were completed without any issues, and I was happy with the work carried out. Unfortunately, the overall experience was let down by a complete lack of communication.

My car was collected around 30 minutes later than the agreed time. It was then due to be returned later that day, but after waiting over an hour past the expected return time, I tried to contact the AA Care team only to find they had already closed for the day.

I received no communication from either the AA or the garage to explain the delay, so I had no idea where my car was or when I would get it back. I emailed the AA that evening but never received a response.

The following day, the only email I received was about optional extra work, which I declined. After hearing nothing further for a couple of hours, I called the AA, who contacted the garage. I was told my car would be back by 2pm, but it didn't arrive until 4pm.

At no point did I receive an apology for the delays or a reply to my email. While the actual servicing and MOT were fine, the customer service and communication were disappointing. Better updates and a simple apology would have made a big difference.

A great stress free experience. Vehicle was collected and returned with no issues and the garage gave an excellent service. Would fully recommend

Shelley the mechanic was just terrific - great communication before and during the appointment. Had a discussion about the car’s history and she did a very thorough inspection and service. Shelley was lovely and very professional. Will definitely use this service again.

Excellent response time. Everything was explained clearly. A truly professional service.

You would think booking an MOT and a service with one of SmartCare's approved garages would be simplicity in itself? Nope!
Got to my appointment to find the MOT had not been booked, just the service. This, plus some shock absorber changes (for MOT pass) meant the car was with the garage for 5 days.
Guess what? The new shock absorbers leaked oil all over my drive!
Then guess what? AA SmartCare booked me in to another one of their garages to have them replaced.
And then guess what? After waiting 2 weeks and being sent a reminder, the next morning I drove 30 mins to my appointment to find that AA SmartCare....had cancelled my appointment the day they sent me a reminder!
SmartCare are INCOMPETENT and I would also question the abilities of some of their garages too.
Currently in dispute as I want a refund for the shock absorbers. (I doubt stress, time, petrol will be compensated or even figure in their thinking.)

THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST COMMERCIAL MISTAKE I HAVE MADE IN 8 YEARS. Avoid.

Easy to use website. Service at garage was excellent.

Luckily I had Breakdown cover with AA for Home

The belt had snapped so had to be replaced with the tension. I had the AA mechanic come and fix it with their part but was incorrect part, luckily, I had ordered my one which was delivered on time. They were able to use this, it got replaced within the hour and i was happy with the service.

Had a booking for Monday the 3rd and they don’t have the mechanics available, so they tried to delay my appointment further forward, if they haven’t got the mechanics then why accept a job

Easy to book & the garage K&S motor services Paignton were great, kept me informed throughout the MOT & service. Highly recommended

Communication with the smart care team. They were supposed to call me back to approve some work to be done, they didn’t calk back and I contacted the garage directly

I feel misled by this service. No difference made to my vehicle. No change was made. Only telling us what we already know. We need a refund.