Northgate
A dark car raised on a lift in a workshop after hours, a technician working beneath it under fluorescent tubes and an inspection lamp, the roller door half open onto a wet lane
Independent · family-run · Chester

The workshop after the guesswork.

MOTs, servicing and repairs for petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars. Fixed prices. Clear findings. Your yes before we spend a pound.
Ask for a slotSee published prices
Frame 01 / since 1987
Mon–Fri 7:45–17:30 · Sat 8:00–12:30

MOT · Servicing · Brakes · Tyres · Diagnostics · EV and hybrid · Fixed prices · Old parts in your boot · A call before any extra work

02 / How we work

No mystery. Just the work, shown clearly.

Northgate Garage has been family-run since 1987. We test before we replace, price before we proceed, and keep the conversation plain. Ask, and we put your car on the ramp so you can see what we found before you decide anything.
See our habits

£0 spent without your yes.

Gloved hands holding a worn brake pad beside a rusted brake disc, an inspection lamp glowing behind
03 / The work

One workshop. The whole working life of a car.

From the yearly test to the fault that will not explain itself, the work stays under one roof — petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric. Classic cars are welcome on Saturdays and between other work.

  • A gloved hand holding an inspection lamp over a wheel hub and brake disc with the wheel off

    Servicing & MOT

    MOT tests, interim and full servicing to the maker's schedule, with the right oil grade and a stamped service book.

    View prices
  • A wheel alignment clamp with a target plate fixed to a car's tyre in a dark workshop

    Brakes & tyres

    Pads, discs, tyre fitting and four-wheel alignment, with the measurements and the choices set out before work begins.

    View prices
  • Gloved hands touching red and black test probes to wiring in an engine bay

    Diagnostics & repairs

    Warning lights traced through readings and tests, plus timing belts, clutches and air conditioning.

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  • Hands in insulated gloves working on the orange high-voltage cables of an electric car

    EV & hybrid

    Health checks and servicing by technicians with IMI Level 3 high-voltage qualifications.

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04 / Workshop habits

The small things are the standard.

Not slogans. The habits that shape every job.
1.

Agree it first

Published prices include VAT and labour. Parts for a repair are quoted on the day. Anything extra gets a phone call with a photo, a price and your yes first.
2.

Trace, do not guess

We read the fault, test the part and show you the reading.
3.

Service by the book

The maker's schedule, the right oil grade and a stamped service book, so a new car's warranty stays intact.
4.

Keep the evidence

Your old parts go back in your boot, in a bag.
5.

Look before deciding

Ask, and the car goes up on the ramp so you can see what we found.
6.

Stand behind the repair

Parts and labour are covered for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
7.

Make a failed MOT clear

You get the failure list with a fixed price against each item. If we do the work, the partial retest within ten working days is free.
8.

Help with the journey

Borrow one of two courtesy cars, or take a lift into town in the van. Ask when you book.
05 / Prices

The board price is the price.

All prices include VAT and labour. Parts for a repair are quoted on the day; nothing goes on the invoice that was not agreed first.
Ask for a slot

Servicing & MOT

  • MOT test, £45below the legal maximum

    45 minA class 4 test in our own bay. A free partial retest within ten working days.

  • Interim service, £139

    1.5 hOil and filter, fluids topped up, lights, tyres, brakes and steering checked. Every 6,000 miles or six months.

  • Full service, £239most cars

    3 hThe interim plus air and fuel filters, plugs where due, a road test and a stamped book.

  • Full service and MOT, £269

    Half a dayBoth on one visit, £15 less than booking them apart.

Brakes & tyres

  • Front brake pads, from £119fitted

    1 h

  • Front discs and pads, from £229fitted

    2 h

  • Tyre fitting, £18per tyre, plus the tyre

    30 minThree tyres quoted at three prices; you choose.

  • Four-wheel alignment, £69

    1 hOn the laser rig, to the maker's figures, with the before-and-after printout.

Diagnostics & repairs

  • Diagnostic check, £60taken off the repair

    1 hA warning light read, traced and tested, then a fixed price before anything is touched.

  • Timing belt and water pump, from £389

    1 day

  • Clutch replacement, from £495

    1 day

  • Air conditioning regas, £69

    45 min

EV & hybrid

  • EV and hybrid health check, £79

    1 hA battery state-of-health report, the high-voltage cables and cooling checked, the brakes inspected.

  • Hybrid service, from £219

    2.5 hTo the maker's schedule, by an IMI Level 3 qualified technician.

  • EV service, from £149

    1.5 h

  • 12-volt battery, from £129fitted

    30 min

06 / Recent work

What came in. What went out.

Three jobs from the workshop floor. Drag the handle across each one.
  • A new brake disc and a cleaned calliper fitted to the same hub
    A worn, rusted brake disc and pitted calliper on a hub, the pads down to the metal
    BeforeAfter

    01 / Front brakes on a daily driver

    Pads down to the metal. New discs, pads and a cleaned calliper, at the price on the board.

  • The same saloon restored in deep blue-black paint with polished chrome, back on its wheels
    A rusted 1940s-style saloon on axle stands, its sills and floor rotted through
    BeforeAfter

    02 / A 1940s saloon back from the rust

    Fourteen months of evenings and Saturdays: new sills and floor, the engine rebuilt and the chrome sent out.

  • The same small saloon painted and on its wheels in the back bay
    The bare metal shell of a small classic saloon on a rotisserie stand
    BeforeAfter

    03 / Shell to road

    Stripped, welded and painted in the back bay, then through its MOT first time.

07 / Ledger

The numbers we can stand behind.

Counted from our own job cards, like the board in the workshop.
  • 1987
    First car through the door
  • 38,400
    Cars repaired since
  • 12 MTHS
    Warranty on every repair
  • £0
    Spent without your yes
  • 4
    People in the workshop
08 / From message to keys

You always know what happens next.

  1. 01Tell us what you needSend the form, ring or email. We confirm the slot and the price before you come in.
  2. 02Bring the car inWe check it against the work booked and test the fault where needed.
  3. 03See the findingIf something else turns up, we ring with a photo and a fixed price. Ask to see it on the ramp.
  4. 04Give your yesOnly agreed work goes ahead.
  5. 05Collect with the evidenceThe invoice, any readings or printout, and your old parts bagged in the boot.

Need to get into town? Ask about one of two courtesy cars, or a lift in the van, when you book.

A car key, a clipboard with a blank job card, a work light and folded gloves on a scarred steel bench
09 / Four people

The names on the job card.

A family-run garage, with the work passed between people who know the car and one another. Two of us hold IMI Level 3 high-voltage qualifications for electric and hybrid cars.
Dave Mercer, grey-haired and grey-bearded, arms crossed and smiling in the workshop
Dave Mercer
Founder · master technician
Opened the garage in 1987 and still does the road tests.
Jo Mercer with her dark hair tied up, smiling in the workshop
Jo Mercer
Workshop manager · MOT tester
Runs the diary, the counter and the MOT bay; holds an IMI Level 3 high-voltage qualification.
Sami Khoury with dark curly hair and a short beard, arms crossed beside a car
Sami Khoury
Diagnostics · EV and hybrid
Joined in 2015. Traces the warning lights others gave up on.
Callum Mercer, young with curly brown hair, smiling in the workshop
Callum Mercer
Apprentice technician
Third year of his apprenticeship. Spends his Saturdays on the classics.
10 / From the driver's seat

The detail people remember.

  • Rain on the glass of a workshop door at blue hour, street lights blurred beyond
    The light came on before a long drive. It was a cracked sensor lead, shown to me in a bag, and I paid the price on the website.
    Priya NairDrives a 2016 estate
  • One hand passing another a clear bag holding a small cracked sensor and its lead
    The dealer quoted me a clutch. Dave rang to say it only needed a cable adjusting, and charged for the hour.
    Martin HaleCustomer since 2009
  • A charging cable coiled on a hook on a dark workshop wall beside a tube light
    They explained my hybrid without making me feel daft, serviced it to the book, and the warranty is still intact.
    Hannah BrooksHybrid owner
  • A dust cloth draped over the curved front wing of a classic car
    My 1972 classic had sat in a barn for fifteen years. It went through its MOT with every original part they could keep.
    Gareth OwenClassic owner
11 / Questions

Before you book.

Yes. Every published price includes VAT and labour. Parts for a repair are quoted on the day, and anything extra needs your yes first.
12 / Book the work

Tell us what the car needs.

We confirm the slot and the price before you come in.

Mon–Fri 7:45–17:30 · Sat 8:00–12:30 · 01632 960418 · or write to
A roller door half open from inside the workshop onto a rainy lane at blue hour
Northgate Garage · Brook Lane
Unit 3, Northgate Works, Brook Lane, Chester CH2 2AT — behind the timber yard, five minutes from the station
The workshop unit from across a rainy lane at blue hour, its roller door half open on a lit bay
13 / Northgate Works

The door is open.

Independent. Family-run. Clear about the work.
Ask for a slot
Brook Lane, Chester
End frame / Chester / since 1987