SOUTHGATE GARAGE

Every car will need mechanical repairs at some point. The important thing is taking it to a garage you can trust, who will do the job correctly and without any undue expense. We have many years of experience at Southgate Garage dealing with various car repairs.  Therefore, we are more than qualified to carry out repairs to your vehicles.

Main repairs include:

• Brakes - from checking to replacing. Brakes are a vital component to your cars safety
• Exhausts - adjustment, sealing or replacing. The exhaust transfers the harmful gasses from the engine out at the back of the car. It is vital there are no leaks, or the gasses could escape into the car.
• Batteries - Testing and replacing. It is especially important that the correct battery is fitted where stop/start systems are now incorporated
• Clutches - checking, adjusting, bleeding, or replacing. The clutch connects your engine to your gearbox and is one of the hardest working components on your car.
• Suspension - checking and replacing. Worn suspension components can affect the performance of other parts of your car such as tyres and steering.

Tyres are the crucial link between your car and the road. It is important the tread and pressures are checked on a regular basis. The better the tyre tread, the better grip on the road they have. Incorrect tyre pressures can also affect your cars stability on the road

We can give you expert advice on your tyres including sizes, pressures and tyre ratings. With modern tyre fitting and balancing equipment, we can replace or balance your tyres quickly and efficiently. We can also carry out tracking or wheel alignment to ensure your front tyres are set correctly avoiding premature wear and replacement.

We hold a large stock of quality budget tyres and can get same day delivery when necessary.

Many cars come with air conditioning fitted as standard. As with most mechanical parts these systems need regular checks and maintenance. It is recommended your air conditioning system is serviced every two years, to ensure it operates correctly and efficiently.

Vehicles mainly use one of two types of system which have different refrigerant gasses in them. The most common refrigerant is R134a but this is more harmful to the atmosphere and ozone. Due to this, it is a legal requirement that any technician handling this gas obtains certification for the F-gas Regulations (fluorinated greenhouse gases). We currently have two certified technicians and are experienced in air conditioning system repairs and servicing. The newer gas is R1234yf and is far less harmful to the atmosphere and has been introduced into new cars manufactured for use in the EU from 2017. We have the latest equipment enabling us to service and maintain your air conditioning system with this gas.

What we do:

• Service air conditioning system
• Pressure test systems to trace leaks
• Fit replacement parts where required
• AC bacteria & odour power clean- Forté Power-Clean AC Bacteria & Odour Remover is developed to kill bacterial and microbial growth in A/C Systems and remove the associated bad odours. 99.99% VIRUS ELIMINATION IN 15 MINUTES INCLUDING SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19)

Using the latest vehicle diagnostic equipment, we can identify and fix problems for your engine management and other vehicle systems. Cars are becoming more complex using many different systems around your vehicle to ensure optimum performance and safety. Occasionally you may see warning lights for one or more of these systems.

Using our diagnostic system along with manufacturers technical information on our Autodata system we can identify and fix these problems ensuring correct parts are fitted to your car.

One of the most important items to maintain in your engine is the timing belt, otherwise known as a cambelt. The job of the timing belt is to connect and drive from the lower part of the engine to other parts in the engine. It runs on pulleys which are strategically set to ensure the engine runs correctly. This is known as engine timing. 

Over time the belt can deteriorate and stretch and this timing can alter slightly. In extreme cases the belt can break causing different parts of the engine to run out of sync very often resulting in damage within the engine which can be very costly to repair.

To avoid this all manufacturers, give a timing belt change interval which should be adhered to. Using your car registration we can easily advise you what that interval is and can give you a competitive quote to replace it. We recommend it is changed as a kit to include its tensioner and pulleys it runs on, plus if it runs the water pump, we would recommend changing that at the same time, to avoid any unnecessary expense in the future.