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Monday 8am - 5:30pm Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm Friday 8am - 5:30pm

Arrow Car Repairs And MOT Ltd

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Arrow Car Repairs And MOT Ltd

Small independent business, before Arrow Car Repairs took over, the business was known as Arrow Motors which had been established for over 50 years.
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We have managed to satisfy and maintain all of the original customer base built up over the many years.

21/09/2026

That moment when the rain gets heavier, you speed the wipers up... and get a greasy smear right across your eyeline instead of a clear screen.

It's not always the blades. Traffic film on the glass, the wrong washer fluid and tired wiper arms all cause the same smear - which is why a new set of wipers sometimes fixes nothing.

Our new article covers what a garage should actually check, why smearing wipers can cost you an MOT, and the quick habit that keeps your screen clearing properly all winter.

Read it here: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/wipers-smearing-in-the-rain-what-your-garage-should-check/

17/09/2026

A scraping sound when slowing down is useful information for a garage. “It needs new discs” is a diagnosis that still needs checking.

Before your visit, note when the problem began, whether the engine was cold or warm, what the car was doing and any warning message. Keep recent repair invoices with your notes. If another regular driver noticed something different, include that too.

An intermittent fault may disappear before you reach us. Your description still helps. Never film while driving or recreate an unsafe fault to prove it exists. If the car may be unsafe, seek advice before setting off.

When booking, establish what the first investigation covers and leave a number you can answer so further work can be discussed.

More about this: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/how-to-describe-a-car-fault-before-your-garage-visit/

0151 733 3134 | [email protected]

08/09/2026

When is your MOT due? If you would have to go and find the certificate to answer that, this one is for you.

The rule is simple once you see it. A new car needs its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration, then every year on the anniversary of the last pass. It has nothing to do with when you bought the car or when your tax and insurance renew, which is why the date creeps up on so many of us.

Checking takes less than a minute on the free government MOT history service. Number plate in, and you get your expiry date, every result since 2005, the mileage at each test and the advisories building up. There is a free reminder service too, a text or email a month before the test is due.

Best bit most drivers never hear about: you can test up to a month, minus a day, early and keep your original renewal date. With new plates arriving every March and September, autumn MOT slots fill fast, so that window is worth using rather than leaving it to the last week.

And no, there is no grace period. Once it lapses, the car cannot legally be driven or parked on the road and the fine can reach 1,000 pounds. If yours has already gone over, we collect and drop off across Liverpool for free, so the car gets tested without you risking the drive.

The full guide, including what happens at the test and how to give your car its best chance, is on our website:
https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/when-is-my-mot-due-how-to-check-book-early-and-stay-legal/

29/08/2026

A light appears on your dashboard. How worried should you be? Read the colour first, because it works like a traffic light and tells you how urgently to act even if the symbol means nothing to you.

Red means stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Amber means something needs attention but you are usually alright to drive on carefully. Green and blue are not warnings at all, they simply confirm that a system such as your sidelights, main beam or cruise control is switched on. Manufacturers change the symbols between models, but the colour convention stays the same.

The red lights that genuinely mean pull over rather than press on: oil pressure, usually shown as an oil can, which means the engine may not be getting oil where it needs it, and engines can be destroyed in a very short distance without it. Coolant temperature, meaning the engine is overheating, where carrying on can warp a cylinder head. The brake warning light, particularly if the pedal feels different underfoot. And the battery or charging light, which means the alternator may not be charging, so the car is running the battery down and will eventually stop.

Here is the rule most people do not know: a flashing warning light is more urgent than the same light showing steadily. A flashing engine management light usually signals a misfire, and a misfire can damage the catalytic converter quickly.

If a red light comes on while you are driving, stop somewhere safe, switch the engine off rather than leaving it idling, and never open a hot cooling system. Check the obvious, oil level, coolant level, and anything leaking underneath.

Most amber lights can wait until morning, but do not let one become permanent. Drivers get used to seeing it, stop noticing it, and then a second fault appears with no way of telling. A diagnostic check reads the codes the car has actually stored rather than guessing from the symbol.

Not sure what yours means? Ring us with the registration, describe the colour and the symbol, and we will tell you honestly whether it is safe to move. Free collection and drop-off across Liverpool.

Read more: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/dashboard-warning-lights-which-ones-mean-stop-now/

20/08/2026

Run a van for work? Two things matter: when it needs looking at, and how long you lose when it does. Here is what light commercial owners should know.

On MOTs, most vans up to 3,000kg design gross weight are tested as class 4, the same class as a car. First test at three years old, then annually. Light goods vehicles between 3,000kg and 3,500kg design gross weight fall into class 7. The figure that decides it is design gross weight, not the load in the back on the day. The test covers similar ground to a car MOT, but load related items get closer attention because they take more punishment.

Vans wear differently because of weight. Everything that carries or controls a load works harder for it. Brakes get hotter, so pads and discs wear faster. Rear springs and bushes carry far more, so they sag and deteriorate sooner. Tyres run at higher pressures and take more abuse at the sidewall. Clutches suffer from pulling away loaded.

The way vans get used matters just as much. Short local drops, constant stopping and starting and heavy town work are far harder on a clutch and gearbox than steady mileage. Short runs also mean the engine and exhaust rarely get fully hot, and that is where trouble with filters and emissions equipment starts. If your van does local work rather than motorway miles, that is the harder life for it.

On servicing, go by whichever comes first, the mileage interval or the time interval. On a working van the mileage almost always arrives first, so servicing annually by the calendar can quietly mean running well past the intended point. An interim service partway through keeps the oil and filter fresh, with the fuller list handled at the annual visit.

We work on all makes and models including light commercials, we test on site so your service and MOT happen in one visit, and we collect and drop off free across Liverpool. Clear price before we start, and same-day repairs where we can manage it.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/van-servicing-and-mot-in-liverpool-what-light-commercial-owners-should-know/

12/08/2026

Asked to choose between an interim and a full service, with no explanation of the difference? Let us fix that.

An interim service is the shorter of the two, designed to sit between full services rather than replace them. The core is fresh engine oil and a new oil filter, because oil is the item that degrades quickest and causes the most damage when it is left too long. Dirty oil stops carrying heat away from the engine and stops protecting the bearings. Around that we do a safety and condition inspection: brakes and tyres, fluid levels checked and topped up, lights, wipers, belts and hoses, and a look underneath for leaks or anything working loose.

A full service covers all of that and adds the items that run on longer intervals. The air filter, which quietly costs you performance and fuel economy as it clogs up. The fuel filter on many cars. Brake fluid tested for moisture content, because fluid absorbs water over time and that lowers its boiling point just when you need the brakes most. The inspection is far more thorough as well, taking in suspension, steering, wheel bearings, exhaust condition and the battery and charging system.

How to choose? Mileage first. If you cover a lot of miles, an interim partway through the year keeps the oil fresh and the full service handles the deeper list annually. If your mileage is modest, one full service a year is usually all it needs. History second: if you have just bought the car or the record is patchy, a full service gives us the whole picture.

One thing worth clearing up. A service is not an MOT. An MOT is a legal roadworthiness test and the tester cannot repair anything as part of it, so a car can pass with filthy oil and a blocked air filter because neither is tested. We do MOT testing on site, so you can have both done in one visit.

Tell us your mileage and we will recommend the level that actually fits, not the bigger one. Clear price before we start, free collection and drop-off across Liverpool, all makes and models including light commercials.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/interim-or-full-service-which-one-does-your-car-need/

10/08/2026

"Do I really need the water pump doing as well?" We get asked this every time a cam belt job comes up, so here is the straight answer: on most engines, yes, and it is not an upsell.

The water pump on a great many engines is driven by the cam belt itself and sits behind the same timing covers. To reach either part, the same things come off. That means the labour to do one is nearly all the labour to do the other, so replacing both in a single visit means paying for that strip down once rather than twice. If we fit a new belt and leave a pump that has done identical mileage, and that pump then weeps coolant or seizes, the whole job is repeated from scratch. A seizing pump can also shred a brand new belt and take the engine with it.

What the belt does, in plain English: it is a toothed rubber belt linking the bottom of the engine to the top, holding the pistons and the valves in step to within a fraction of a turn. In most engines those two pass through the same space at different moments, and the belt keeps them from being in it together. If it snaps, the valves stop and the pistons keep going. That means bent valves, often a damaged piston, a cylinder head off at minimum, and frequently a replacement engine.

On timing, go by the manufacturer's interval for your specific engine. It comes as a mileage and a time in years, and whichever arrives first counts. The years part is what catches people out, because rubber hardens with age even on a car that barely moves. And no, a cam belt is not checked in an MOT or covered by a standard service. It sits on its own interval.

Send us your registration and we will look up the correct interval for your engine and tell you honestly where you stand. If it is not due yet, we will tell you that too. All makes and models including light commercials, free collection and drop-off across Liverpool, and a clear price before we start.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/cam-belt-and-water-pump-why-we-replace-them-together/

28/07/2026

Diesel feeling flat this summer, or a DPF light glowing on the dash? Nine times out of ten it is down to short trips. Your diesel particulate filter (the DPF) traps the soot from the exhaust, and it only burns that soot away when the car gets a good hot run. All those summer school runs, quick errands and slow Liverpool crawls never let it warm up enough, so it slowly blocks.

Here is how we do it honestly: we read the filter before we touch it. If it is caught early, a forced regeneration clears it at a fair price. If it is heavier, a professional clean restores the flow, and we only ever clean or repair a DPF, never remove it, because a missing filter is illegal and an MOT failure. An amber light on its own usually just wants a steady twenty-minute drive on a faster road. Same-day on most jobs, free collection and drop-off across Liverpool, all makes and models welcome.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/dpf-problems-in-liverpool-why-short-summer-trips-clog-it/

Arrow Car Repairs
0151 733 3134
[email protected]

21/07/2026

Ever noticed the car drifting to one side when you relax your grip on the motorway, or one front tyre wearing down faster on one edge? Nine times out of ten that is your wheel alignment (the tracking) knocked out of true. Potholes, a clipped kerb, or a car loaded up for a summer trip are the usual culprits, and once the angles are out the tyres scrub away fast and you burn a bit more fuel.

Here is how we do it honestly: we check your tyres and steering before we touch a setting, because aligning to a worn part is a waste of your money. Then we measure the toe, camber and caster with laser equipment and set every angle back to your car's factory figures, and we road test it to make sure it runs dead straight. Most alignments are same day, with free collection and drop-off across Liverpool, all makes and models welcome.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/wheel-alignment-liverpool-is-your-car-pulling-to-one-side-this-summer/

0151 733 3134 | [email protected]

14/07/2026

Think a flat battery is a winter problem? Think again. Summer heat is one of the hardest things a car battery has to deal with. Warm temperatures make the fluid inside evaporate faster and the plates corrode more quickly, so heat wears a battery out sooner than the cold ever does, and under the bonnet in stop-start Liverpool traffic it gets hotter still. The catch is that a battery weakened over summer often only fails on the first cold morning afterwards, which is why winter usually gets the blame. Watch for slow, sluggish starting, dim headlights, a battery warning light, or having needed a jump start recently.

Here is how we do it honestly: we test the battery and the charging system together before we fit anything. If it is simply worn, we fit the correct battery for your car and set it up. If the alternator is not charging properly, we find and fix that first rather than fit a new battery that just goes flat again. And if the battery is still healthy, we tell you straight. Same-day on most jobs, free collection and drop-off across Liverpool, all makes and models welcome.

Read more in our blog: https://www.acrliverpool.co.uk/car-battery-failure-in-summer-why-heat-kills-batteries-in-liverpool/

0151 733 3134
[email protected]

Address

6-8 Waterloo Street
Liverpool
L158JW

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	8am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441517333134

Website

http://acrliverpool.co.uk/

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