Italian Job Auto Services is a Christchurch workshop with a clear calling: the care of Italian and European vehicles. Based at 437 Selwyn Street in Addington and calling itself 'The European Specialists', the team looks after Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Ferrari and Lamborghini models, handling everything from tyres to brakes and engines to interiors. An Enzo Ferrari quote front and centre on their site — 'You can't describe a passion, you can only live it' — sets the tone for a business built around a genuine love of these cars.
The service list covers the essentials a car owner needs: Warrant of Fitness inspections, vehicle maintenance and repairs, tyre fitting and servicing, and pre-purchase inspections for anyone weighing up a used car. The workshop has also made a name for itself in a particular niche — Fiat Ducato motor homes — which it services and repairs as a speciality, a welcome skill for New Zealand's many motorhome owners.
Parts are a point of pride too. Italian Job stocks a wide range of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia components, both new and used: oil, air and cabin filters, cooling components such as coolant tanks and radiator hoses, engine and electrical parts, brakes and clutch, water pumps, suspension parts for Fiats and Alfas, ignition components and fuel pumps. A new online store is in the works; in the meantime, parts enquiries are handled personally by phone or email.
Customers clearly return the loyalty the team shows. Reviews speak of more than 15 years with the workshop, honest advice, first-class work and reasonable prices, and a loan car is available for those who need to keep moving while their vehicle is in. The workshop is open Monday to Friday, 7am to 4.30pm, and bookings are made by phone.
On Selwyn Street in Addington, Christchurch, there is a workshop whose whole identity revolves around a line from Enzo Ferrari: 'You can't describe a passion, you can only live it.' Italian Job Auto Services has taken that sentiment to heart. Known around the city as 'The European Specialists', this is where owners of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Ferrari and Lamborghini vehicles bring their cars when they want them looked after by people who genuinely understand them.
What sets the team apart is focus. Rather than treating Italian cars as an occasional curiosity, Italian Job Auto Services has built its entire practice around them — and around European vehicles more broadly. With extensive experience across the marques, the workshop handles everything from tyres to brakes, and from engines to interiors, so a single visit can cover the full range of a car's needs.
The breadth of the list says something too. This is a workshop equally at home with an everyday Fiat or Alfa Romeo as it is with the exotic names at the top of the Italian car world — Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini. That is precisely the point: to this team, none of these cars are unusual, and none of them should leave the workshop anything less than right.
The service list is refreshingly practical. Warrant of Fitness inspections keep vehicles road legal. Vehicle maintenance and repairs cover the everyday work that keeps an Italian car healthy. Tyre fitting and servicing is available on site, and pre-purchase inspections give buyers an expert eye before they commit to a car — particularly valuable in the Italian and European market, where a knowledgeable inspection can save a world of trouble.
Then there is the workshop's signature niche: the Fiat Ducato. Italian Job Auto Services specialises in servicing and repairing Fiat Ducato motor homes — a service that matters to a great many New Zealand travellers, given how many motor homes ride on a Ducato base. Owners planning a trip are encouraged to plan ahead and book their servicing in with a team that knows these vehicles inside out.
Italian cars — especially older ones — can be frustrating when a part is needed. Italian Job Auto Services answers that problem directly. The workshop stocks a wide range of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia parts, both new and used, and the offering runs deep: oil, air and cabin filters for European cars; cooling components such as coolant tanks and radiator hoses; electrical and engine components for new and old Italian cars; brake pads and rotors; water pumps; suspension parts for Fiats and Alfas; ignition components; and fuel pumps.
A new e-commerce store is in the works to make ordering easier, but in the meantime parts enquiries are handled the personal way — call or email with what you need and the team will help you find it.
Booking is deliberately simple: the workshop asks customers to plan ahead and call to make a booking, which keeps each car's time in the shop predictable. Hours run Monday to Friday, 7am to 4.30pm, with the workshop closed on weekends. For anyone who needs to keep moving, loan cars can be requested while a vehicle is in for work.
The loyalty in the customer reviews says a lot about the place. 'Have used Italian Job for over 15 yrs now,' one long-time customer writes. 'Always the best to deal with. Good honest advice and service.' Another praises staff who 'go out of their way to be helpful', and others point to first-class work completed at very reasonable prices.
For Christchurch drivers of Italian and European cars — and for Ducato motor home owners in particular — that combination of specialism, stock and honest dealing is exactly what has made Italian Job Auto Services a fixture on Selwyn Street. If your car wears one of Italy's badges, this is the workshop its long-time customers would tell you to start with.