CF3 MOT and Service Centre is at Unit 4C Wentloog Buildings, Wentloog Road, Rumney, Cardiff CF3 1TH, and most of our customers come from within three miles of that door: Rumney itself, Llanrumney at 1.2 miles, St Mellons at 1.5 miles and the Newport Road corridor at about 2 miles. Beyond that walk-in circle we collect and deliver across east Cardiff, and drivers regularly come in from Penarth, Radyr, Pentyrch, Caerphilly and Newport for the jobs they cannot get booked closer to home.
The question behind most calls is simpler than a map. Can I get my car to you and still get to work? This page answers that for each part of the city, so you know whether to drop the car off and walk home, book a collection, or plan a longer drive in for an evening slot.
Not sure whether we reach your street?
Send us your postcode and the job, and we will tell you straight away whether it is a drop-off, a collection and delivery or a short drive in for an evening appointment.
Where we cover, at a glance
- The garage is on Wentloog Road in Rumney, CF3 1TH, east of the Rhymney River.
- Rumney, Llanrumney, St Mellons and Newport Road are all within about two miles, close enough to drop the car and walk or catch a bus home.
- We collect and deliver across Rumney, St Mellons, Llanrumney, Trowbridge, Newport Road, Marshfield, Roath, Adamsdown and the rest of east Cardiff.
- Further out, from Penarth and Radyr to Caerphilly and Newport, ask when you book and we will confirm whether collection reaches you.
- Cars that cannot be driven are brought in by our recovery service rather than left waiting.
- Evening appointments after 5pm are available by pre-booking, which makes the drive in easier to fit around a working day.
Where exactly is the garage?
We are in Wentloog Buildings on Wentloog Road, the road that runs south out of Rumney towards the Wentloog Levels. The postcode for sat nav is CF3 1TH and the unit number is 4C. If you are coming along Newport Road from the city centre, you cross the Rhymney River into Rumney and turn off towards Wentloog Road. From Lamby Way the approach is just as short, which is the easier route if you are coming from Splott, Tremorfa or the Bay side of the city.
That location matters for one practical reason. We sit at the joining point of the older streets of Rumney, the large estates of Llanrumney and the newer housing and business parks out towards St Mellons. None of those is more than a few minutes away in normal traffic, and the drive in does not take you through the city centre, so an 8am drop-off does not turn into a forty minute crawl.
Knowing where we are is only half the answer. The other half is how you get home once the keys are with us, and that depends on which side of the garage you live.
Which areas can drop the car off and walk home?
Rumney, Llanrumney, St Mellons and the Newport Road stretch are the four areas where dropping the car off yourself is usually the quickest option. The distances below are the ones we give on our contact page, measured from the garage.
- Rumney, 0 miles. We are in Rumney, so for most streets this is a walk. Our garage in Rumney page covers the roads, parking and the jobs Rumney drivers bring in most.
- Llanrumney, 1.2 miles. A short walk back along Newport Road or a bus from the main road. The Llanrumney page explains MOT preparation and corrosion checks on older cars from the estate.
- St Mellons, 1.5 miles. Close enough to drop off before the commute. See our St Mellons garage page for commuter and business park vehicles.
- Newport Road, about 2 miles. Handy for anyone living or working along the corridor between Roath and Rumney.
Across the wider CF3 postcode, which reaches from Rumney and Trowbridge out towards Castleton and Marshfield, the distances stay in the range of about three miles. That is the circle where the car can be with us within ten minutes of leaving your drive.
Walking home is fine when home is close. For everyone else the obvious question is whether we can come to the car instead.
How far do we collect and deliver?
Our collection and delivery service covers Rumney, St Mellons, Llanrumney, Trowbridge, Newport Road, Marshfield, Roath, Adamsdown and the surrounding parts of east Cardiff. You book the job as normal, tell us where the car will be, and we agree a collection window. The car comes to the workshop, the agreed work is done, and it comes back to the same address.
The postcodes we most often collect from are CF3, CF23 and CF24. CF3 is the home patch. CF23 takes in Pentwyn, Pontprennau, Llanedeyrn, Cyncoed and Penylan, which are all a short run up the A48 or across from Newport Road. CF24 covers Roath, Adamsdown, Splott and Tremorfa on the city side of the river. We also reach out to CF15 for some jobs, which is Radyr, Pentyrch and Creigiau on the far side of the city.
If you are unsure, ask. Coverage depends on the job, the day and where the car is parked, and we would rather confirm it on the phone than have you book something that cannot be collected. Any charge for collection is confirmed when you book, so there is nothing to discover on the invoice.
Collection works best for the jobs that keep a car in for a few hours: a full car service, an MOT, or a repair with parts already confirmed. For longer jobs, a courtesy car keeps you moving while yours is with us.
Do people drive in from further out?
Yes, and usually for one of three reasons. They want an appointment after work that their local garage cannot offer. They need MOT welding or structural repair that many smaller garages turn away. Or they want the MOT, the repairs and the retest handled in one place instead of shuttling between a test centre and a separate repairer.
These are the distances drivers are most often travelling, again from our contact page:
- Penarth and Dinas Powys, about 4 miles
- Cardiff city centre, about 5 miles
- Radyr and Marshfield, about 6 miles
- Caerphilly, about 7 miles
- Pentyrch, about 8 miles
- Barry, Bedwas and Machen, about 9 miles
- Llanbradach, Abertridwr, Rhoose and Crosskeys, about 10 miles
- Newport, about 12 miles
For these areas the booking conversation is slightly different. We agree the work in advance, confirm the parts are in before you set off, and give you a realistic finish time so the trip is worth making. If the car needs to stay overnight, we say so at the booking stage rather than when you arrive.
Drivers from the western side of the city, Pentyrch and Creigiau especially, tend to plan around the A48 and Eastern Avenue rather than cutting through the centre. Leaving just after the evening rush usually gets you here in comfortable time for a late appointment.
Distance only matters, of course, if the car can be driven. When it cannot, the plan changes.
What if the car cannot be driven to us?
Then we bring it in. Our vehicle recovery service in Cardiff covers Rumney, St Mellons and the wider city, and the car comes directly to our workshop rather than to a storage yard. That removes a step that often adds a day to a breakdown: waiting for a second truck to move the car from wherever recovery dropped it to the garage that will fix it.
A car should not be driven in if it has a flashing engine warning light, a brake warning light with a soft pedal, an overheating gauge, coolant or oil pouring out, or an MOT failure listing a dangerous defect. In each of those cases, driving the car makes the repair bigger and the road less safe. Ring us, tell us where the car is, and we will arrange to collect it on a truck.
A typical call comes from a driver in Pentwyn whose diesel has gone into limp mode on Eastern Avenue with an amber light on the dash. They have pulled into a lay-by and are wondering whether to limp the last few miles. The answer depends on what the light is doing and what the gauges say, so we ask. If the temperature is normal and the car will hold a steady low speed, a short careful drive to us is sometimes reasonable. If it is overheating or the warning is flashing, it goes on the truck. Either way, the car ends up in the same workshop that will diagnose it, and the driver has one phone number to deal with instead of three.
Can I book an evening or Saturday appointment?
Yes. We are open six days a week and offer evening appointments after 5pm on a pre-booked basis, which is often what decides whether someone from outside east Cardiff books with us at all. A car dropped off after work can have a service or an MOT carried out, and many smaller repairs can be finished the same evening when the parts are in stock.
Saturday appointments suit anyone who works shifts during the week or wants to be at the garage while the car is looked at. Our evening and weekend appointments page explains how late bookings work, what can realistically be finished the same day and how to arrange a key drop.
Because opening times can change around bank holidays and busy periods, ring 07400 454839 or check the contact page for today’s hours before you set off.
What work can we do for drivers across these areas?
Everything we offer is available whichever area you come from. The service does not change with the postcode, only the way the car reaches us. The jobs drivers most often travel for are:
- MOT testing, with pre-MOT checks and failure repairs handled in the same visit
- Interim, full and major servicing to the manufacturer schedule
- MOT welding on sills, floor pans and suspension mounts
- Engine diagnostics and warning light faults
- Brakes, suspension, clutches, exhausts and cambelts
- Bodywork and accident repair
- Motorhome MOT and servicing, and maintenance for business vans
Whichever area you are in, the first step is the same: tell us the registration, the job and where the car is.
Tell us where the car is and we will do the rest
Ring 07400 454839 with your postcode and registration. We will confirm whether it is a drop-off, a collection or a recovery, and give you a time the car will be ready.
Questions about the areas we cover
Where is CF3 MOT and Service Centre?
We are at Unit 4C Wentloog Buildings, Wentloog Road, Rumney, Cardiff CF3 1TH. The quickest approaches are from Newport Road across the Rhymney River, or from Lamby Way if you are coming from Splott or Tremorfa.
Do you only work on cars from CF3?
No. CF3 is our home patch, but customers come from all over Cardiff and from Penarth, Caerphilly, Barry and Newport. The work is the same whichever postcode you live in.
Which areas do you collect cars from?
We collect and deliver across Rumney, St Mellons, Llanrumney, Trowbridge, Newport Road, Marshfield, Roath, Adamsdown and the rest of east Cardiff. If you are further out, give us your postcode when you book and we will confirm whether we can reach you.
Is there a charge for collection?
Any charge depends on the distance and the job, and we confirm it when you book. You will know the full picture before the car is collected.
Can you recover a car that has broken down?
Yes. Our recovery service covers Rumney, St Mellons and the wider Cardiff area, and the car comes straight to our workshop for diagnosis and repair.
Is it worth driving from Newport or Caerphilly for an MOT?
It is worth it when you want an evening slot, welding or repairs handled alongside the test. We confirm parts and timings before you set off so the journey is not wasted.
Wherever you are in Cardiff, the car can get to us
Ring CF3 MOT and Service Centre on 07400 454839 or book online. We are on Wentloog Road in Rumney, we collect and deliver across CF3, CF23, CF24 and out to CF15, and courtesy cars are available for longer jobs.