Grancab Servicing in East Anglia

Doctor Houx

Member
Messages
791
I'm new to Maserati, having repalaced an Alfa Spider with a Grancab. I used to use Alfa Workshop in Royston who were great with Alfa's and had an excellent reputation, and I'm sure they would look after the Masser, but they are not recognised specialists for the Marque.

I live in North Norfolk, and the nearest cities to me are Kings Lynn ( 5 miles) , Norwich, Cambridge ( 40 miles each) and Peterborough (30 miles). I know of Marshall the MD in Peterboro and have heard that McGrath in Hitchin have a good reputation. Any advice re any local specialists would be very welcome. Thanks!
 

CatmanV2

Member
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48,557
For day-to-day stuff you I can recommend Auto Alfa in Basildon. Bit of a stretch perhaps. McGrath do indeed have a good rep. My experience with them was not in line with everyone else's, however.

How's Jamie doing? He used to look after my cars.

C
 

RichardS

Member
Messages
107
Not many options in these parts, I'm afraid. At least nothing close by. So far, I've used Lancaster's in Colchester for routine servicing and Grimaldi Engineering in Halstead for some work on brakes and other bits and pieces. Both of these are obviously, quite a trek. Marshall in Peterborough sounds like your best option. For bodywork, I can recommend Norwich Premier Coachworks who recently did a great job sorting out my paintwork.
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
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21,017
Christian Lewis is a forum sponsor and in the Northants area. Zep's local to them and can provide a recommendation if you need one.

Grimaldi in Halstead has a good reputation (always served me well) though I believe Catman had some challenges a couple of years ago.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,557
Christian Lewis is a forum sponsor and in the Northants area. Zep's local to them and can provide a recommendation if you need one.

Grimaldi in Halstead has a good reputation (always served me well) though I believe Catman had some challenges a couple of years ago.

I certainly did. They have a good rep indeed, but on my experience, I can certainly not recommend them.

C
 

doodlebug

Member
Messages
913
Bill McGrath is quite a trek from Norwich as well. They are not exactly in Hitchin, but another 20 minutes further south along some awful roads. I'm based in Cambridge and I generally use Grimaldi in Halstead or Lancaster in Colchester in preference to McGrath's purely because they are easier to get to.

I've used Barr-Tech in Cambridge a couple of times for minor stuff but I'm not completely convinced that they are able to do more complicated repairs.

I think Lancaster's pick up from Norwich as they have previously mentioned a couple of times that they were picking up a car from there before they came to get mine. Pick up is free if they drive the car or there is a fee if they use a low-loader.

Lancaster also seem to price match the indies these days, particularly on older motors.
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
McGrath really aren’t that difficult to get to ....
The A1(M) runs right past the place. Get off at Stevenage....
They are happy to taxi you to the local train station at Harpenden if you need it ....
 
Last edited:

doodlebug

Member
Messages
913
Mc Grath really aren’t that difficult to get to ....
The A1(M) runs right past the place. Get off at Stevenage....
They are happy to taxi you to the local train station at Harpenden if you need it ....
True, but driving down the A1(M) in the morning to drop the car off is an utter ball-ache because of the stupid 3 into 2 lane change at Stevenage, and then negotiating Kimpton at peak traffic with all the cars parked on the main road just adds to the pain. Agree about the train though.

I find the roads to Grimaldi's and Lancaster's to be much less congested and take significantly less time at peak times.

And btw, there is no space between the 'c' and the 'G' in McGrath. :)
 

TimR

Member
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2,656
And btw, there is no space between the 'c' and the 'G' in McGrath.:)

Dunno wot ur talking about m8 !

Personally I never had too much of an issue with traffic but I dont go in that way from Diss..
Traffic is a ball ache everywhere in the UK...?
 

Keano

Member
Messages
287
I have used Marshall 3 times and no issues with them and they seem to do a good job. Negotiate with them as i have usually managed to reduce the cost. I also skipped the oxy sensors as the manufacturers do not say they need to be changed as often.
 

Doctor Houx

Member
Messages
791
Thanks for your replies everyone. Cambridge and Peterborough are the nearest cities to me, so I was thinking of using Barr Tech in Cambridge who claim to be Maserati and Ferrari specialists, but one comment seemed to indicate a lack of experience. Anyone else have experience of this Company?
 

Keano

Member
Messages
287
Thanks for your replies everyone. Cambridge and Peterborough are the nearest cities to me, so I was thinking of using Barr Tech in Cambridge who claim to be Maserati and Ferrari specialists, but one comment seemed to indicate a lack of experience. Anyone else have experience of this Company?
Hi . Who did you use in the end and any feedback ?
 

Doctor Houx

Member
Messages
791
Haven't used anyone yet as not due a service for another 6 months. Was just trying to investigate all options and I will make sure I report back on here once I do get it done.
 

Thatch

Member
Messages
232
I use Barr Tech, and am happy with their competency and fairness.

Always let me know the options and potential ways of budgeting the work depending on the severity/urgency.

Did my last service and they have a bodyshop that is always full.

Plenty of Maseratis mixed in with the Ferraris too.
 

doodlebug

Member
Messages
913
Thanks for your replies everyone. Cambridge and Peterborough are the nearest cities to me, so I was thinking of using Barr Tech in Cambridge who claim to be Maserati and Ferrari specialists, but one comment seemed to indicate a lack of experience. Anyone else have experience of this Company?
I had Barr Tech replace a leaky steering rack pipe and they did a great job. They have also repaired (sub-contracted) the ABS pump but it failed again shortly afterwards. They then repaired it again under warranty but it failed on the Monaco or Bust trip which was a little inconvenient.

I had a failure in the central locking which they unfortunately could not fix because the alarm module was fubared and it required a main dealer to replace with a new part (security?) so this fault and the ABS pump failure were done at Lancaster's.

For general stuff, I'd have no hesitation in recommending them but any very specialist repairs I'd go to a dealer or to one of the other indies mentioned previously.
 

Itare Sam

Member
Messages
131
Newbie here, just wanted to say thanks everyone for this highly informative thread - after reading it I've signed-up to the site. Based in Norfolk, bought GranTurismo about 20 months ago. Love it. Was thinking of using Barr Tech or Lancasters for servicing, so the posts here are very helpful indeed.
 

mischaRS

Member
Messages
155
Recommend Shiltech in Loughborough. Drop off, live in Sheringham, train home to door. Very good, highly recommended..
 

Itare Sam

Member
Messages
131
Following the discussion on here I booked the GranTurismo into Barr-Tech Cambridge for a standard service (at 31k miles) and MOT, and I'm very pleased I did. As I couldn't get there until mid-morning I arranged to leave the car with them and they provided a free courtesy car. The boss, Tino, is very helpful and approachable - it makes a welcome change to have all communications directly with the person in charge. I definitely felt he was doing his best to keep costs in check as far as possible, e.g. sourcing brake pads at well below list price, and fitting Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's at around the same price as Black Circles quoted online. The total service cost was very reasonable compared with main dealer prices, the quality of the work seems excellent and the overall experience was very good. I'll definitely use Barr-Tech again.
 

Doctor Houx

Member
Messages
791
Great to hear this positive news. I’m due a service early 2020 and nothing like a positive endorsement from a forum member to be confident in using Barr Tec!
 

Thatch

Member
Messages
232
Tino and his brother Nino (body-shop) are extremely knowledgeable and approachable.

They have just fixed my rear bumper following an insurance claim, and it's looking wonderful again!