My experience with Cridfords has been…
My experience with Cridfords has been extremely disappointing and has seriously undermined my confidence in them.
I took my Porsche Boxster in for replacement front and rear brake discs and pads. There was no flashing parking-brake warning when I handed the car over. When it was returned, the warning was flashing.
I raised this immediately. Cridfords later told me there was an internal fault with one of the parking-brake actuators and quoted me £624 to replace it.
I challenged the diagnosis and asked for a more detailed investigation. After stripping the rear braking system, Cridfords found glazed parking-brake shoes, cleaned and re-ground them, adjusted and calibrated the system, and the warning cleared without the actuator being replaced.
Cridfords has since confirmed in writing that the original £624 actuator recommendation was based on the initial fault code alone.
That is the part I find most concerning. Had I simply accepted the original diagnosis, I could have paid £624 for a part that was not actually required to resolve the fault at that time.
It inevitably leaves me wondering how many times over the years I may have paid for work that, with a more thorough investigation, might not have been necessary, and how many other customers may have found themselves in a similar position.
Unfortunately, there were other issues too. My dash camera was disconnected and not reconnected, an internal trim/OBD cover was left loose, and my Porsche keys were left in an open porch area without my permission. The explanation given was that the driver had “assumed” this was acceptable, despite me never giving any such instruction.
To their credit, after considerable challenge they eventually carried out the more detailed investigation without charge and the warning is currently resolved.
However, it should not take this level of persistence from a customer to get to the bottom of an expensive diagnosis.
After this experience, I would strongly advise anyone using Cridfords to ask for the actual diagnostic evidence before authorising costly replacement parts, seek a second opinion if anything does not feel right or, better still, find another garage.








