Feedback
We aim to carry out our work to a high standard, at a competitive price and to a timescale that suits the customer, and it's always nice when they write to us because they are happy with how we have dealt with their particular car. These are extracts from some of those letters:
Dear Steve and team,
I write to say how brilliantly the car drove last night after collecting her with the rebuilt engine. It was a very testing journey through London in wet conditions and although the journey took 1 3/4 hours to do 17 miles she performed perfectly and smoothly. All the gauges were spot on, temperature remained normal despite the painfully slow progress, and she pulled away after every stop without any fuss or hesitation.
The paintwork repairs are also very good indeed. Thank you to Phil for his hard work and it was a pleasure to drive.
All the best
Jim
Hi Steve,
Just wanted to drop you a note to say I've done a bit of driving over the weekend and the car is absolutely on the button. Really appreciated Phil and your team taking the time to shake everything out. Fantastic job, very happy.
Best regards,
James
Hi Steve,
Just a note to say how well the car ran yesterday. 2 hours of hold ups on the North Circular, in temperatures of 24 degrees, and she didn't miss a beat nor get above mid-normal temperature. No hesitations and slipped into overdrive perfectly - unlike before.
Really pleased and do please pass my thanks on to all that worked on her.
Kind regards
Jim
Dear Steve,
After collecting the car, leaving your works went well, I filled up with petrol and arrived home without any trouble and in one piece!!
Whilst writing, I wish to place on record how pleased I am to have found your company, and in particular, you. It was such a pleasant, friendly and professional experience dealing with you, Laurie and Keith, it made the process of bringing the car up to a good standard seem easy.
Thank you for all your help and advice, I really appreciate it.
Kind regards,
Michael.
Hi Steve,
The Aston V8 Vantage is back where it belongs, in our garage, and looking good! Thank you for sorting this out for us.
We would like to thank you and your team for the 1st class job that you did, it is very much appreciated.
Best wishes, Debbie & Steve.
Hello Steve and Laurie,
Thank you for an outstanding job of replacing the bonnet on my E-Type. Philip's attention to detail was exemplary.
Yes, it was a long time, but we worth the wait.
Kind regards
Jon
Hi Laurie,
We are really pleased with the job on the car, it looks smashing!
Thank you.
Barbara
S3 E-TYPE OTS March 2019
Steve Berry and his team have so much enthusiasm and passion that makes it so easy to work with them. Nothing is too much trouble and they always keep you in the loop.
I am really pleased with the new bonnet, it looks really nice. And now that you have got the front suspension and ride height sorted, it looks right.
The engine tuning, setting and adjusting the carburettors has made a vast improvement. No more popping, banging, spitting or misfiring. Starting is so much better too. It's so nice to drive - almost like a different car.
Thank you and your team.
Paul
Steve and his team have a well-deserved high reputation for the work they do.
Having purchased my S1 3.8 E-Type a couple of years ago, they have carried out meticulous work in overhauling its mechanicals front to rear whilst preserving originality.
The end results are visibly stunning (as highlighted when the car is displayed at show events) and the car is superb to use.
Both Steve and Keith have very extensive knowledge of the cars they work on which brings huge benefit when discussing the work with them. It is also a pleasure dealing with them, which counts for a lot these days. I could not recommend Southern Classics highly enough.
Phil K.
I'm delighted with the record pictures of the repair work to my X-Type that you sent to me, and I'm really pleased with the superb quality of your work.
Please pass on my appreciation to Kevin.
With many thanks to you and Steve. You've been super to deal with.
With best wishes
Martin
Dear Steve,
Many many thanks to you and particularly to Keith for the amazing job you have done with re-wiring my E-Type.
I appreciate that this was not a straightforward job as it involved the removal and replacement of many of the panels and linings, most of the electrical fittings and of course the entire dash board. Given that much is original on this 50 year old car, you would never have known that anything has been touched, and in fact many are now better fitted than before.
Every attention to detail has clearly been made and Keith has also gone that extra mile with little things that make it look and will run better in the future.
To say I am well pleased is an understatement!
With best wishes.
Robert
Steve,
Just got back from quick thrash around and it all seems much better - the handling is not nearly as skittish and no thumps/bangs over bumps (or, to be more accurate, I can now hear other, but minor ones!).
Superb work, as always, from you guys. Thanks also to Alan for a great job.
Regards,
C.D.
Dear Steve
Happy New Year.
Just a short note to thank you for such a great job on the E type before Christmas. I appreciate it was a long list of relatively minor jobs but as discussed they were all the minor niggles that now ironed out, make such a massive difference to my enjoyment of the car.
I made the most of the couple of sunny days that we had over the Christmas period to get it out of the garage and had two great runs.
Thanks again – I wish you all the best for 2016 and will be in touch come MOT and service time in May!
Cheers
Ian
Aston Martin V8 Fliptail
Dear Steve,
I went to see the car at Tim's place on Saturday as I said and I thought that it looked fabulous. There is still a lot to go back on the car but even so it looked great and I am very, very happy with the paint finish and the colour. Your guys have done a fantastic job and please pass this on to Adrian and the boys. The car is transformed and I can't wait to see the finished car in a couple of weeks' time. Thank you for working hard and fast to get it done for my deadline, it's much appreciated. Hopefully Tim can finish it all off in time, I'm sure he will.
Thanks again.
Kind regards,
Gary
Jaguar E-type S1 4.2 FHC
Steve,
Was at the top of Snake Pass in the Peak district yesterday.
The car was running beautifully and boy did I need those new wipers!
This wonderful trip is only possible because of you and your team
I really appreciate it
Paul
Lotus Europa
Dear Steve,
That sir is just perfect...yours and Alans help on this is more appreciated than you can imagine.
Service above and beyond expectations, but then based on past service it's not surprising.
You and the guys are just magnificent...
I will remember you all when passing through duty free...
Thanks and all the best
Mark(Hong Kong)
Dear Steve,
The car is wonderful - please thank your wonderful team and tell them the car is so good, I am now nervous driving it.
Thanks, Paul G.
Dear Steve,
My thanks to both you and Alan for all your help with my E-type on Tuesday. Hopefully all is now well. I will give you an update after a week or two, once everything has settled down. Very much appreciated - Thank you.
Simon Chilton.
Steve
Sorry this has taken so long since I picked the car up but I've been away working so much and going through moving etc that I'm only now catching up on things!
I just wanted to say how impressed I've been with the level of service I've enjoyed since bringing my 'E' to you. The attention to detail demonstrated by you and your guys - in particular Keith's knowledge of the car seems encyclopedic - was terrific. The replacement of the 'sugar scoops' and the associated refurb of the headlamp cover fixings definitely makes the front end look much better and the sealing of the gaps in the diaphragms inside the bonnet has almost completely eliminated the ingress of rain water into the covers. The headlamps do now actually do provide some viable lighting! Very happy with all the other items attended to including the radio, radio console etc and the job Keith did on balancing my rather worn carbs has transformed the way she drives! Carb overhaul a job for the winter?
Even more impressive perhaps has been the absolute straightforwardness of the way you do business i.e. no bullshit! In the world of classic cars it seems that is not always the case!
One thing I did manage to do back in February was to respond to an E-type club request for recommendations for a handbook they were compiling, as follows:-
"I have experienced great service and quality of work very recently from Southern Classics Ltd of Twickenham. The proprietor is Steve Berry and he was a pleasure to deal with. Their knowledge of the E-type's intricacies is extensive and attention to detail first rate. Considering their extensive facilities their hourly labour rate was pretty reasonable."
Hope you and yours are well - all the best to Keith too.
Cheers, Gary Fletcher.
Dear Steve,
I just wanted to write to say a big thank you for the excellent service I received from yourself and your staff at Southern Classics.
The work was anything but straight forward but was carried out to the highest standard, with a great deal of care and I am very happy with the results.
As important as the quality of work though was the level of service which I have to say was better than I have ever received in the industry. At all times I was kept fully informed and up to date of the progress of the work. But you went far in excess of that and even gave me a lift home late one evening (and this was over an hours drive from the workshop), which I really appreciated.
Your location is by no means close to where I live but I will definitely be making the effort to travel to you again in the future.
Thanks again and best regards,
T G
Hi Steve,
Many thanks, especially to Alan, for fitting the PinPointPal GPS tracker device to the Quattroporte III so expeditiously and expertly that even when I knew where it had been fitted I could not spot it ! It is working perfectly as I have now logged on to their on-line tracking service which shows it safely in the lock up garage.
Best regards
I G
This is just to let you know I have taken delivery of the Aston and can report that I am now happy with the repairs.
Given the circumstances I consider Southern Classics to have done a really excellent job in blending the paintwork, while the meticulous build standards set by Tim Butcher's team at Trinity Engineering are in my view nothing less than exemplary.
Many thanks again for your support in bringing about a successful closure.
Kind regards,
C E
Dear Steve and all the guys at Southern Classics,
I just wanted to drop you a brief note to say thank you for the wonderful work that you carried out for me on my E-type Jag, I have to say that you have blown me away completely by going far above and beyond anything that i was expecting. I came to you with a very tight budget and hoped that you might be able to put my car back on the road. Not only did you put it back together, you practically rebuilt it for me. Keith and yourself have fantastic knowledge and passion for keeping these old timers on the road and it really comes across in the quality and craftsmanship of the work that you have done for me. I came to you having read good things about Southern classics in testimonials and forums, and I have to admit that they are absolutely right to recommend you, Having picked up the car on Sunday, I have not stopped smiling, I have no hesitation recommending your expert and friendly services to anyone who asks and will definitely bring the old girl back to you for more TLC in the future as I have seen for myself that she is in the best of hands.
Thank you
Best regards JT
Hello Steve,
Hope all is well with you and business is looking good.
Sorry for my slowness, but I just transferred your final payment. Do please let me know that all is ok and balance is cleared.
Many thanks for working the numbers, very much appreciated.
I will swing by in the summer and let you know how things are going with my Austin Healey 3000.
Best regards and many thanks for all the fantastic work on the old girl.
M S
Dear Steve,
I am extremely grateful to you for your wise counsel, which was very helpful. You know I will highly recommend you whenever I can. You are a proper decent person, and it is a pleasure to know you.
Kind regards, T.A.
Steve,
Thanks for cutting and polishing the marks out of the boot lid. I wasn't expecting you to do it today, but I really appreciate it that you did it whilst I was over.
You finally have the premises that do your business justice. You've got a good name and I'm sure you will continue to do really well. I think that you have made a good investment and I'm sure that it will pay you back.
Thanks again and all the best,
Andrew.
Steve,
I wanted to thank you and your excellent team for your magnificent response to my recent predicament.
As you know I had urgently to travel to Perth, Australia to attend a funeral.
Two days before my departure I arranged to get an MOT locally (Ealing) for my beloved 12 year old XKR whose tax was due for renewal .
In the event, after 8 faultless years of MOT's, the car failed it's emissions test.
Following my panic call to Southern Classics, you very kindly agreed to take a look even though your workshop was busy.
This led not only to Keith, your Jag expert, diagnosing the problem of a coked up catalyst / fuel injectors, he took the initiative by giving the car a proper run out and then sorted the MOT the same day.
This enabled me to immediately tax the car and leave for Australia 24 hours later knowing the car was fully sorted and available for my return - 12 days later.
I consider the response to my problem was exemplary and the initiative taken typical of my experience with Southern Classics.
I wanted to record this outcome and to formally thank you again for your sterling efforts.
Best wishes to you and the team.
R M (satisfied customer)
Hi Steve
WOW - what more can I say!
The E-Type S3 drives superbly now - no misfiring at all and the gearbox is positive and smooth.
A huge Thank you for what you have done and I now know where to come if I need work done on the old lady.
Thank you once again
Best regards
P. M
Steve,
Just wanted to let you know how pleased I am with the car.
The screen looks great, with those re-chromed hockey sticks and the gutter trim isn't hanging off!
Not only that but it runs and idles so much better than it ever has done. I always had to use the choke to start it if I left it for more than 30 mins, now it just starts, and runs AND idles properly from cold!
Small as it may seem the convenience of a properly working door lock makes all the difference when using the car.
I appreciated your comments on how well I had restored the car, but it definitely required your professional services to make those finishing touches.
Again, many thanks & I look forward to hearing from you when the carb trumpets arrive.
Please pass on my thanks to the rest of your team.
Kind regards
A. T
"I came to Southern Classics after my series III E Type had been butchered by another company attempting an engine management and injection upgrade. I have nothing but praise for Steve and his team for their efficient repair and restoration of my car. They thoughtfully and painstakingly worked through the problems they inherited, kept me up to date throughout the process, and above all delivered what they promised. It wasn't cheap, but the results have been outstanding.
C. G"
From MD:
"Southern Classics did a great job of restoring my E-type S3 Roadster. They really cared for the vehicle and kept me fully informed at each stage about progress and costs" MD, London.
Dear Steve,
Just a short note to thank you and Keith for fitting my car in at such short notice yesterday. You did a great job, at a very reasonable price, and she's running beautifully.
From the marvellous cars in your workshop, I can see that you're used to dealing with more rarified models than my humble XJ40. I'm particularly grateful therefore that she obviously received the same TLC !
I look forward to doing business with you in the future.
Best Wishes,
I. L
Hi Laurie,
All done and paid. Please pass on my thanks to Steve and the team. A brilliant 'properjob'.
Thanks
P. G
P. D: I have used Southern Classics for many years. The guys have just changed the gearbox on my series 1 3.8 e-type. As usual the work and attention to detail is second to none. BUT the other reason i use this company is for their Honesty.!
Geoffrey Laycock, Ottershaw .. Steve, wanted to say a huge thanks for all the work on my now finished E Type. It's been a long, painful two years for me but the wait was worth it. Fabulous car exactly how I wanted it.
Glenn Ford sent in the photographs of his Series 1 E Type Roadster, a 1965 car restored totally to original specification except for uprated brakes, Kenlowe fan and a pearlescent pale blue paintwork.
