Christina Maude

“When we first moved to Sussex 22 years ago, Coles was one of the first places we visited on a tour of ‘people you must know about’ given by a friend.

Since then they have looked after all of our cars and vehicle needs: routine servicing, repairs to engines and bodywork, checking over potential purchases, getting them all through MOT – often far from straightforward.

Coles manage to deliver a rare combination of professional, high-tech diagnostics and kit with a slightly old-fashioned practical approach to engines and vehicles. They are very good at advising what makes sense (we have quite a stable of clapped out vehicles, which they miraculously keep going safely), so we trust them completely, particularly when it really is time to give up on one. 

A couple of times they have gone way beyond the call of duty; once lending me a courtesy van during a week of an epic house move after I had clobbered the exhaust on the largest vehicle I was using fully loaded every day (literally nothing would have been more helpful than that, which took so much stress out of the situation), and more recently re-gassing the air-con on one of our cars at very short notice in the heatwave. Not only fitting me in, but lending me a courtesy car to make it all seamless and as quick as possible. 

Dropping off and picking up is always simple and convenient, and the reminders, appointments and communications are managed in the most friendly and efficient way. 

I could not recommend Coles more highly – my only regret is when we occasionally have to have something fixed as a main-dealer-only recall or replacement, when we can’t use them.”