Uncle Tom's Motoring Centre

"Given how well-received this place has been, I feel a bit guilty posting this lukewarm review. But this reflects my own experience following a harrowing drive that led to getting a tyre fitted here and perhaps a misunderstanding on both sides. Here's what happened: I mounted the left kerb hard in south London in poor visibility (rain and early morning), planning to do a walk in scenic north Essex and end with a nice pub lunch. Previous attempts had frustratingly failed as the first time I'd been delayed driving off through no fault of my own and when I got there they'd stopped serving lunch despite it being 14:25 with five minutes to go, and the second time my start was also delayed by a day and the pub was fully booked for lunch on a Sunday. I thought I could manage all the way before checking the tyres on arrival, but it soon became clear on the M11 that driving would be too slow and dangerous for me to continue. Sure enough, the bottom of my rear left tyre had got completely deflated. The positives - after I called the RAC (who provide breakdown cover as part of my car insurance with Hastings) from an access road near junction 7 about three miles from Harlow, the spare tyre was fitted and they called Uncle Tom's who to their credit had the right kind in stock and were quick in getting it fitted. The staff at Uncle Tom's were overall quite friendly, the whole matter was settled within an hour of the RAC guy's arrival (including the drive into Harlow) and the place was easy to find and park next to. However, I got confused by the fact that I had to pay nearly £77 even for the cheaper option, when I thought it was simply a case of fitting an already existing spare tyre. This stemmed from the facts (a) I'm quite sure that on a previous occasion I had a tyre replaced on the roadside using the spare one with no cost (admittedly 16 years ago, but it was the only previous time I'd broken down with my own car due to a flat tyre - I've actually only had a car for five years, going from 2013 to 2025 without one), (b) I was puzzled that the spare tyre was speed-restricted, thinking this was something RAC had supplied and Uncle Tom's were going to fit what I thought was the actual one, which was actually just the damaged one lying on the roadside with the deflated bit hidden - I admit I didn't observe what the RAC did with it - and (c) the tyre that was fitted for free couldn't have been speed-restricted because it was in Bath and I was able to drive straight back on the M4. Also, the last time I had to replace a tyre was when a new one was fitted at Kwik Fit in Braintree after I was driving my dad's car - that one cost about £142, so I was confused by the price at Uncle Tom's either way (for an installation or an actual new tyre?). When I questioned the price it would have been better to just get a straightforward answer rather than be counter-questioned on the lines of "why are you confused/what did you expect to pay/why did you think it would be free". Also, the person I spoke to came across as a bit patronising, as when taking down my registration number, he asked to confirm the last two letters as he "didn't understand what I was saying" - but he heard me right first time, and what relevance did what I'd said before have? It made me come across as a bit odd and muddled. To be fair, when I got home and studied the invoice I fully understood what happened and realized that most modern cars don't have identical spare tyres and tyres vary a lot in price. But I think at least one of the staff needs better interpersonal skills and maybe it would help both parties if they got to know the customers better, as not everyone is a Harlow resident who's been using this place for many years for routine services and is well versed on current matters on car ownership, maintenance, repairs and insurance (which is probably where many of those 5-star reviews come from), unlike a first-time customer who's been pretty stressed out from breaking down and the disappointment of having to cancel a trip and is unable to think straight."

"Great service, phoned to confirm the booking and the time the night before. Warm greeting , didn’t wait long and great price for tyres"

"Very good service and friendly staff, price very good for tyres I had fitted"

"Very helpful and informative when had questions."

"Really excellent experience with Uncle Tom's team today. Last minute flat tyre emergency and they sorted it same day. I didn't ferl ripped off and the team were really good at keeping me updated! Thank you 🙌"

"Amazing guys safe my day ...thanks for young guy Tommy who fixed 👍"

"Easy online booking system with follow up phone call from centre to confirm details. Excellent service and prices with great feedback on any other issues that may need attending soon. No pressure sales staff to push for extra work. Thoroughly recommend Uncle Tom's and will use again in the future"

"Absolutely delighted every time you get the best service here. Mr Toney has a great team looking after and taking care of the customers."

"Great service book me in within an hour of calling Highly recommend"