Servicing
Logbook and general servicing for most makes and models, done properly and explained in plain language before anything gets signed off.
Beaufort, Victoria
The shed on Racecourse Road that gets you moving again.
Johnston's Auto Care has been servicing, repairing and re-shoeing the cars of Beaufort and the district for more than thirty years. Chris and Cheryl Johnston run it, the VACC accredits it, and half the Western Highway seems to have Chris's number saved.
- Google rating
- 4.7 out of 557 reviews
- In town for
- 30 years and counting
- Accredited by
- VACC
Stuck on the Western Highway
Most people find this place on the worst day of their trip.
Beaufort sits on the Western Highway about halfway between Ballarat and Ararat, so when something lets go at a hundred kilometres an hour, this is the shed that answers. After heavy rain opens up the road surface near Trawalla, it happens a lot.
In September 2025 the local paper counted more than a dozen cars stopped near the Trawalla overpass in a single weekend, and named Johnston's Auto Care as the business called out to them. Chris got to as many as he physically could.
“I had four calls, and I was able to help out physically three people.”
One of the drivers he helped that weekend was heading home to Melbourne. He wrote afterwards that Chris rang him the next day, just to check the family had got back all right.
What we do
Servicing, repairs, tyres and batteries, under one roof.
Most makes and models, plus the four wheel drives that do the real work around the Pyrenees. Everything below happens in the workshop on Racecourse Road.
4WDs
Four wheel drives serviced and repaired alongside everything else in the shed. Plenty of them out this way, and they get the same attention as the runabouts.
Mechanical repairs
General mechanical repairs across the board. If it can be sorted here it gets sorted here, and if it cannot, you will be told straight away.
New tyres
New tyres supplied and fitted on the machine in the workshop, balanced and back on the car before you head off.
Tyre repairs
Punctures plugged and damaged rims straightened where they can be saved, which is more often than people expect.
Bond batteries
Bond batteries stocked, tested and fitted. Handy in the middle of a Pyrenees winter when a car has sat over a cold week.
Diagnostics
Fault codes read on a scan tool for the newer cars, so the problem gets found before parts start getting replaced on a hunch.
Not sure whether something is worth fixing? Ring and ask. You will get a straight answer either way, which is the whole reason people keep coming back.
Tyres and batteries
The tyre machine is right there in the shed.
New tyres supplied and fitted, punctures repaired, and rims straightened back into shape when they have taken a hit. Around here that last one matters more than it should, because a pothole at highway speed will fold a rim as easily as it shreds a tyre.
Bond batteries are stocked, tested and fitted too. If a car has sat through a cold Pyrenees week and will not turn over, that is usually the culprit.
- New tyres supplied and fitted
- Puncture and tyre repairs
- Rim damage assessed and straightened where possible
- Bond batteries tested, supplied and fitted
The workshop
Chris and Cheryl Johnston, and a shed that has not moved in thirty years.
Johnston's Auto Care is locally owned and operated, and has been for more than three decades. Chris does the spanner work. Cheryl runs the job sheets and knows whose car is whose before anyone has said a name.
The workshop is VACC accredited, so the standards are not a matter of opinion. The newer cars get put on the scan tool, the older ones get the treatment they have always had, and either way you get told what is actually wrong with it.
Outside the shed, the pair of them have spent years volunteering across the town's community groups and have backed most of them at one time or another. Thirty years in a town of this size is not just a trading record, it is a reputation you cannot hide from at the supermarket.
4.7
from 57 Google reviews
VACC
Accredited Automobile Repairer
30+
years in Beaufort
Newer cars go on the scan tool before anything gets replaced on a hunch.
What people say
Four point seven from fifty seven reviews, and a running theme.
Read a few of them and the same thing keeps happening. Somebody breaks down, Chris opens up whether the shed was meant to be open or not, and they get home.
Chris is a total Legend. What an amazing and caring guy!! He saved my car after I stupidly, accidentally put unleaded petrol in my diesel car. Chris came to my rescue even though it was his day off. He was so reassuring and settled my stress level right down. Several hours later I was back on the road with my car running like a dream. 3 weeks later and it is still running smoothly. Thank you so, so much Chris. I will be forever grateful for your help and glad that I stopped in Beaufort and not somewhere else.
Chris came in on his day off after we broke down in the middle of nowhere, spent countless hours fixing an extremely complex problem and got us back on the road. Both communication and professionalism were second to none, I honestly could not recommend this business more highly.
Chris was amazing. My car had broken down he was very helpful and fitted me in. He went above and beyond to fix the problem so I could get back on the road. Within an hour and a half all fixed. Very grateful.
Fantastic service provided by Chris, he went out of this way to help us quickly and with no fuss. Super friendly and explained things in a way that was easy to understand. Highly recommend.
Chris was our Yuletide saviour on Christmas Eve when we blew a tire on our Subaru between Warrnambool and Kyabram. His calm, reassuring, larrikin spirit was the tonic for our frayed nerves as he expertly set our wheel rim back into shape so it could take a new tire. We are so grateful that Chris answered the phone as he was about to close up for family dinner on Christmas Eve. Would award 6 stars if I could, with the extra star being for the follow up call he made later that evening to check how the new wheel was going. This man is a legend.
Find us
Racecourse Road, Beaufort.
Opening hours
- Monday
- Closed
- Tuesday
- 9:00am - 6:00pm
- Wednesday
- 9:00am - 6:00pm
- Thursday
- 9:00am - 6:00pm
- Friday
- Closed
- Saturday
- Closed
- Sunday
- Closed
Those are the workshop's trading days. If you are stuck on the highway outside them, ring anyway.
Where and how to reach us
- 20/22 Racecourse Road, Beaufort VIC 3373
- 0407 349 680Mobile, best number for Chris
- 03 5349 3066Workshop landline
Get in touch
Ringing is quicker.
If the car is off the road, pick up the phone. Chris answers it himself and you will know where you stand in a couple of minutes.
0407 349 680Not urgent? Leave your details and what the car is doing, and you'll get a call back on the next workshop day.