AX
Auto-XL
Family Garage · Est. 2008
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Portobello · Edinburgh · Since 2008

Edinburgh's
family garage.
Since 2008.

Andrew, Caroline and the team have been quietly looking after east Edinburgh's cars for seventeen years. Fixed workshop in Portobello — never mobile, never rushed. BG Products specialists for engines that need more than an oil change.

Call 0131 657 6285 Book your visit
17
Years trading
4.9★
36 Google reviews
2
Generations
BG
Products stockist
Specialist Service
BG Engine
Performance Restoration
BG

Tired engine? Sluggish diesel? BG EPR cleans the entire fuel system, restores compression and lifts MPG — all without lifting the head. Tested by The Stig himself, Ben Collins.

DFC+
Diesel
EPR
Engine
GFSS
Fuel save
What does BG actually do?
★★★★★ 4.9 stars · 36 Google reviews ● Family LLP since 2008 ● BG Products stockist ● Fixed Portobello workshop ● All makes & models ● MOT class 4 ★★★★★ 4.9 stars · 36 Google reviews ● Family LLP since 2008 ● BG Products stockist ● Fixed Portobello workshop ● All makes & models ● MOT class 4
The Wallace Family

Two generations.
One Portobello workshop.

Auto-XL was founded as a family LLP in June 2008. Andrew Wallace runs the workshop day-to-day; his mother Caroline keeps the office and the books straight. Between them they've built a garage that east Edinburgh quietly recommends to friends and parents — and very rarely loses a customer to anyone else.

We're a fixed industrial-estate workshop on Fishwives' Causeway, not a mobile van. That means proper ramps, proper diagnostic kit, and a covered bay when the Edinburgh weather does what Edinburgh weather does.

  • ✓Independent — we recommend the work the car needs, not the work that ticks a franchise target.
  • ✓Quotes before we touch a spanner. No surprise invoices.
  • ✓Full digital service history kept on file, ready for resale day.
  • ✓Same two faces every visit. The same hands on your car.
See what we do Call the workshop
Mechanic working on engine
Car on workshop ramp
Workshop tools
Andrew Wallace
Managing Director

On the ramps every day since 2008. Diesel-systems specialist and the reason the BG range lives on our shelves.

Caroline Wallace
Designated Member

Front office, bookings, and the steady voice that's answered the phone for seventeen years.

What we do

Everything your car needs
under one Portobello roof.

From an MOT and a set of tyres to BG Engine Performance Restoration on a tired 200,000-mile diesel — we handle it all in-house, on our own ramps.

MOT Testing

Class 4 MOTs booked around your week. Honest pass / advisories explained at the counter — no upsell theatre.

Servicing

Interim, full and major services to manufacturer schedules. Genuine or OE-quality parts, digital history kept on file.

Specialist
BG

BG Engine Restoration

EPR, DFC+ and the Guaranteed Fuel Saving Service. The treatment most garages don't carry — and the reason a lot of our regulars stay regular.

Tyres

Budget through to premium — fitted, balanced and aligned. Same-day fits on most popular sizes.

Exhausts

Cat-back replacements, DPF cleaning, lambda diagnostics, full systems and section repairs.

Clutches

Clutch kits, dual-mass flywheels and concentric slave cylinders fitted on most makes — quoted up-front, every time.

Brakes

Pads, discs, calipers, fluid changes and full ABS diagnostics. Quality-brand friction or OE — your call.

Diagnostics

Multi-make scan tools across petrol and diesel. We read the codes, then read the car — guesswork stays at the door.

Specialist Differentiator

We're a stockist of BG Products.
Most garages aren't.

BG is the professional-only fluid maintenance range used by the manufacturers who actually build engines. Tested and recommended by racing driver Ben Collins — the man behind The Stig — and trusted by main dealers worldwide.

We carry the full Auto-XL favourites: BG DFC Plus for diesel injectors that don't atomise like they used to, BG EPR when compression has dropped and the engine smokes when it shouldn't, and the BG Guaranteed Fuel Saving Service for fleets and high-mileage cars.

Ask about BG for your car Speak to Andrew
DFC+
BG DFC Plus
Diesel Fuel Conditioner

Cleans injectors, restores spray patterns, lifts MPG and reduces black smoke on tired diesels.

EPR
BG EPR
Engine Performance Restoration

Frees stuck rings, restores compression and quietens lifters — the closest thing to a top-end refresh, in a service.

GFSS
BG GFSS
Guaranteed Fuel Saving Service

A documented MPG improvement service — measured before and after. Popular with our taxi and small-fleet customers.

Inside the workshop

A real workshop.
Not a forecourt.

Pop in for a chat
Engine bay diagnostics
Car on lift
Mechanic at work
Tools and tyres
Brake disc service
OBD diagnostic
Customer reviews

4.9 stars on Google.
Mostly people who came back.

★★★★★ 4.9 / 5 · based on 36 verified Google reviews
★★★★★

"Andrew quoted, did the job and rang me before lunch. Found my old Touran a third stop-light bulb that the franchise garage 'couldn't source'. Honest, family-run, fair prices."

— Fiona M., Joppa
Service & MOT · Touran
★★★★★

"Booked the BG engine restoration on our 180,000-mile Octavia diesel. Genuinely smoother and the MPG ticked up by about 4 over the next tank. First time I've ever felt a fuel additive actually do something."

— Ross K., Leith
BG EPR · Octavia
★★★★★

"Caroline knows me by name and Andrew remembers my car better than I do. We've taken three family motors here over a decade. They've never tried to sell us anything we didn't need."

— Mhairi D., Portobello
Repeat customer · 10 years
★★★★★

"New clutch on the Fiesta. Other place quoted me a number and a wait. Andrew was £180 cheaper, in two days, and threw in a fresh set of wipers because mine were 'a disgrace'. Class act."

— Greg P., Musselburgh
Clutch replacement · Fiesta
★★★★★

"Finally a garage where the price on the phone is the price on the bill. We send all our small-business vans here. They diagnose first, recommend second, never the other way round."

— S. Aitken, Craigentinny
Fleet servicing
Join 36+ Edinburgh families

who already trust their car to a fixed Portobello workshop with seventeen years on the clock.

Book your visit
Common questions

Things people ask before booking.

What exactly is a BG engine restoration? +

It's a workshop-only service that cleans the entire fuel and combustion system from one end to the other. We pre-soak the upper cylinders, run a circulation flush through the rails and injectors, change the oil with a system-cleaning additive and finish with a tank treatment. Most cars come off the ramp running quieter, smoother and a couple of MPG better. It's particularly effective on high-mileage diesels.

How does the MOT testing process work here? +

Drop-off from 08:30. We're a Class 4 testing station. You'll get a phone call the moment it passes — or, if there are advisories or a fail, a clear quote before any further work goes ahead. Nothing is started without your okay. Most cars are back with the keys by lunchtime.

Why does family-owned actually matter? +

It means the same two people are accountable for your car every single visit. There's no rotating service-advisor with a monthly quota, no off-site call centre, no "head office" to escalate to. You get Andrew on the spanners and Caroline on the phone — for seventeen years and counting.

Do you offer a courtesy car? +

For longer jobs (clutches, full diagnostics, BG restorations) we can usually arrange a small courtesy car if booked in advance — please ask Caroline when you book. We can also drop you at Brunstane or Newcraighall station if your car is in for the day.

What payment methods do you take? +

Card (contactless, chip & pin, Apple/Google Pay), bank transfer or cash. We can also invoice business and fleet customers on agreed 14-day terms — speak to Caroline about a trade account.

What types of vehicles do you work on? +

All petrol and diesel cars, light commercial vans up to 3.5t, hybrids and a growing number of EVs. We're multi-make — German, Japanese, Korean, French, British, Italian — there's almost nothing under 3.5 tonnes we haven't worked on at some point in seventeen years.

Service areas

East Edinburgh
and a fair bit beyond.

We're based on Fishwives' Causeway in Baileyfield Industrial Estate. Most of our customers live within a fifteen-minute drive — but plenty travel from across the city because they trust the workshop.

EH15 1DF · Portobello / Craigentinny
Portobello Craigentinny Joppa Restalrig Lochend Easter Road Leith Newhaven Trinity Bonnington City Centre Musselburgh Brunstane Niddrie Craigmillar Liberton
Contact / quote

Drop us your details.
Caroline will call you back.

Easiest is the phone — but if you'd rather pop your details in below, we'll get back to you the same working day. No automated chasers, no marketing spam.

Phone
0131 657 6285
Workshop
3a-5 Fishwives' Causeway, Baileyfield Industrial Estate, Edinburgh, EH15 1DF
Hours
Mon–Fri 08:30–17:00 · Sat 08:30–12:30 · Sun closed
Companies House
Auto-XL LLP · SO301948
Registered in Scotland · Incorporated 26 June 2008

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