S.D.L Autos carries out car, van and motorhome repairs on your driveway or at work, anywhere within about 25 miles of Norwich. Here’s everything we do, with our published labour prices.
Mobile car repair
Most of what a garage does can be done on a driveway. We bring the tools, parts and diagnostic kit to you, so you can carry on with your day while your car or van is repaired. Jump to a service:
Most clutch problems come down to wear: the friction linings on the clutch plate get thinner until they can’t grip, and the car starts to slip, judder or bite at the very top of the pedal. The fix is a new clutch kit (clutch plate, pressure plate and release bearing), which means taking the gearbox off. We do that on your driveway or at your workplace.
While the gearbox is off we check the flywheel. Many diesels, and plenty of petrol cars, have a dual-mass flywheel that wears too, and replacing it at the same time saves paying for the gearbox to come off twice. We also check the clutch hydraulics, because a pedal that sinks or sticks isn’t always the clutch itself.
Price: £450 labour, plus the clutch kit (and flywheel, if needed) for your vehicle. We’ll confirm the total before we start.
The parts in a clutch kit
Bolted to the end of the engine’s crankshaft. The clutch plate is squeezed against its face. Many cars have a dual-mass flywheel, which can wear out along with the clutch.
The friction disc in the middle, splined onto the gearbox input shaft. Its linings wear a little every time the clutch slips, until it can’t grip.
The cover and diaphragm spring that clamp the clutch plate against the flywheel. Weak springs can cause slip and judder.
Presses on the diaphragm fingers when you push the pedal. A worn one whirrs or rattles, often when the pedal is down.
Squealing, grinding, a soft pedal or a car that pulls to one side under braking all need looking at quickly. We replace brake pads and discs on your driveway, and deal with seized calipers, stuck sliders and rusted-on fixings, cutting them off and replacing them where needed.
One of our Yell reviewers had a quote within the hour and new discs and pads fitted the next day.
Knocks over speed bumps, a car that sits low on one corner, vague steering or uneven tyre wear all point to the suspension. We replace broken coil springs, suspension arms, bushes and shock absorbers on cars, and leaf springs and shocks on pickups and vans.
Recent jobs include the rear suspension on a VW Passat estate and leaf spring work on a pickup, both done on site.
The cambelt (timing belt) keeps the engine’s valves and pistons in step. On many engines, if it snaps, they hit each other, and a cheap belt becomes an expensive engine repair. That’s why manufacturers give a replacement interval by mileage and by age.
We replace cambelt kits, and the water pump where it’s driven by the belt, and we also replace timing chains when they stretch and rattle.
Price: £450 labour, plus the kit for your engine.
Vans, pickups and motorhomes get the same service as cars, done where they’re parked. For a tradesperson that means less time off the road, and for a motorhome owner it saves trying to get a big vehicle into a small garage.
Commercial vehicle and van repairs cover clutches, brakes, suspension, servicing, diagnostics and diesel faults.
More car repairs
Servicing and oil changes for cars and vans, on your driveway or at work. Fresh oil and filters and a proper check of the brakes, tyres, lights and suspension, with anything we find explained before it’s fixed.
Engine warning lights, poor running, loss of power and cars that won’t start. We read the fault codes, test the parts involved and fix the actual cause, including batteries and battery servicing.
Diesel engine faults, fuel injection problems and blocked diesel particulate filters. We find out why a DPF has blocked and clean it, so it doesn’t just block again next month.
From oil and coolant leaks to cylinder head repairs, engine rebuilds and reconditioning. We’ll explain what’s wrong, what the repair involves and what can safely wait.
Prices
We publish our labour prices, so you know where you stand before you call. Parts are extra, because a clutch kit or cambelt kit costs different amounts for different vehicles. We’ll price the parts for your vehicle and confirm the total before any work starts.
Labour prices as published by S.D.L Autos. Parts are charged on top and confirmed before work starts.
Everything we do
If you don’t see your problem here, call and ask.
How it works
Booking a mechanic in Norwich takes one phone call. Here’s what happens next.
Tell us the make, model and registration, what it’s doing and where it’s parked.
Our labour prices are published on this site, and we price the parts for your vehicle before any work starts.
At home, at work or wherever the vehicle is, on a day and time that suits you.
We explain what we found and what we did, and leave the working area clean and tidy.
FAQs
Where we work, cambelts, DPFs, warning lights, MOTs and prices.
Anywhere it’s safe and legal to work on it, with your permission: a driveway, a private parking space or the car park at work. For bigger jobs such as clutches and cambelts we need a flat, firm surface and room to get underneath.
At the interval in your car’s service schedule, which is set by mileage and by age, whichever comes first. On many engines a snapped cambelt causes serious engine damage, so it’s worth doing on time. If you don’t know when yours was last changed, ask us to check.
A diesel particulate filter traps soot, and it needs to burn that soot off regularly. Lots of short journeys stop that happening, and the filter blocks, often with a warning light and a loss of power. We find out why it’s blocked and clean it, so it doesn’t just block again.
Usually, yes. We read the fault codes stored by the engine computer, test the parts they point to and repair the actual cause. Clearing the light without fixing the fault just means it comes back.
MOT tests have to be done at an approved MOT test centre, so a mobile mechanic can’t test your car. We can fix many common MOT failures and advisories, such as brakes, suspension and some engine and emissions faults, before or after the test.
Yes. Our clutch and cambelt labour prices and hourly rate are published on this site, and we’ll tell you the parts cost for your vehicle before we start.
Tell us the vehicle, the problem and where it’s parked. We’ll call you back with a price and a time that suits you.
