pslewis

Apparently, Kwik Fit have been telling customers that they need work doing when they don't need doing AND the work is shoddy.

Kwik Fit have been doing this for decades ...... has it taken WatchDog this long to catch on?

Please tell me no-one on here uses the cowboys at KwikFit?!

jods

You can't get sh1tter than a KwikFit Fitter !

ScoobyJawa

Popped in coz it was convenient to get my front wheels balanced - 4.95 each plus vat.

Ok I thought, till they came back telling me there was no point as I need new tyres soon anyway so might as well just get the new tyres and have them balanced. My old tyres still had over 3mm tread on them - thats several thousand miles! To$$ers. They were told exactly where to shove it!

Jaybird-UK

As a fleet driver I have to use them, I always get their mobile tyre service out to my place of work and have had no issue with them at all.

Always a good job done

dpb

its the monkeys ( no dissrespec ) i feel sorry for

the management doctrine is the problem

SRSport

I had this done before I was educated to their ways and they made the car worse, so at least they tried, bless them, the useless muppets.

pslewis

25 years ago I took my Sierra (yes, OK, laugh if you want!) into our newly opened KwikFit as they had issued vouchers for free wheel alignment .... good I thought.

It was taken in, popped on the ramp and I was ushered into the warm waiting room and given a free coffee .... all good this!

Mechanic came in to see me within 10 minutes ...... "Waste of time doing the alignment Sir, your front shocks are done in, come and have a look - it's dangerous!"

Fukc me I thought .... it seemed OK to me when I serviced it a month earlier!!

Went out and he showed me a shocker weeping fluid ..... oh, my god!!! I wiped my finger over it and smelled it .....................

WD40!!!

They had squirted the WD40 up into the shocker!!!

I made my excuses and left!

I kept track of that old Sierra as a friend bought it ...... 10 years later it was scrapped, with the SAME shockers on!!!

Conmen ...

Steve vRS

Snap. the mobile guys are fine but then again they know that the only business they get is the tyres so they never try and up sell brakes, suspension etc.

Steve

EddScott

Local Kwik **** boys took my old Impreza for a burn around the town. Someone said they saw me and said I was driving too fast - I was at work.

I didn't know this when I picked the car up and after being told about their joy ride I complained to the head office. For my trouble when the boys caught up with me in town on a night out I was lucky not to get a pasting from them. Ganging up on me for ragging the **** out of my car, um yeah.

EddScott

Amusingly a local tinpot garage got caught recently for doing similar things. Failing cars MOT and charging for fake repairs. He got caught because a customers car was MOT in the morning (the MOTs weren't actually done by this garage and sent to another garage) the customer was called to say the car had failed and required work. The work duly done, a fresh MOT issued. The customer then noticed that the time of the passed MOT was before the garage called to say the car had failed. Guess no one thought to ask for the faild sheet.

Dude is facing time http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/ne...y_of_MOT_scam/

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I took my girlfriends car there for a tyre .. it was an old clio, one where you needed to lock and unlock with the remote to disarm the immobiliser ...

I gave him the keys and said make sure you lock and unlock or it'll cut out ..

I watched him go over and try to start it .. of course it cut out .. he then started it again, foot flat to the floor and burnt the clutch as he slowly moved it in ..

Never been back ... Impreza has never and will never see the inside of their **** hole garages ..

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I took my girlfriends car there for a tyre .. it was an old clio, one where you needed to lock and unlock with the remote to disarm the immobiliser ...

I gave him the keys and said make sure you lock and unlock or it'll cut out ..

I watched him go over and try to start it .. of course it cut out .. he then started it again, foot flat to the floor and burnt the clutch as he slowly moved it in ..

Never been back ... Impreza has never and will never see the inside of their **** hole garages ..

Gregsti01

iTrader: (1)

After my car was broken into the lowlife scum sidewalled my front tyre so the manager of local Kwick shyte who I have known for sometime gave me a price for two Polenzas saying I will do a good deal,went round to another tyre place who quoted me £70 cheaper so they got the sale. Who supplied them yes kf.Saw the kf boss couple days later told him what I had done,his reply we could have done it for same price !!! w@nker

micaredwrx

iTrader: (3)

I worked as a manager for Kwik Fit in the early 90's and some of the stuff that I was told to do was beyond belief!
Spraying customers shock absorbers with WD40 and swapping out good for bad brake pads was common place to meet targets! This was only the tip of the iceberg and I'm too embarrassed to say what else went on. Seldom to say, I resigned and went to work in the dealer network (which isn't much better).

SRSport

Did you report them to trading standards?

StudentScooby

I use them for my company car, the rear brakes started grinding. I took it in and they replaced the front and rear pads and discs and fitted new tyres. They car was only about 6 months old lol.

tony de wonderful

I wouldn't find that acceptable and would take it too the top.

...and if the ******* threaten me I'd make 'em pay.

corradoboy

I was stood behind a girl (quite cute BTW ) in a queue a few days ago who was sternly telling her friend how they weren't going to rip her off as she'd asked for a fully itemised bill, but was moaning about the two new tyres for her KA costing £180 (£25 Linglongs would be good enough) and grumbling about the £300 of brake repairs they picked up on in the FREE brake inspection. FFS, I could replace every braking component on the car for £300.

I was annoyed last week when my MOT garage charged me £12 to align my headlights. It takes less than a minute whilst the car is still on the testing rig, yet they raped me for 1/2 hour labour ! They'd passed it last year and the car was unmolested between, so how can they become 'miles out' as they stated ? The place is run by a family friend, but he was away on holiday That £12 has just lost them ALL my future repair work Doesn't anyone understand the term 'good will' any more

hodgy0_2

as has been said they have been doing this crap for years

years ago a fitter bent my sisters steering column tying to get a manifold to fit -- the car was just plain dangerous to drive

and they have 12 month warranties of products that are designed to last 14 months

isn't the free market supposed to sort cowboys like these out

Steve vRS

Tragically most people whith little understanding of cars go to Kwack Fat thinking they are in good hands, avoiding the independant garages because Quentin Bloody Wilson says so.

https://www.scoobynet.com/non-scooby...ete-idiot.html

Steve

Coffin Dodger

Thought everybody knew they were sh*te by now Anyway what's the problem with businesses who's model is to prey on the naive and stupid, buyer beware

pwhittle

I've never been to our local Northern Tyres and exhausts without being told there's loads of work needs doing.
In winter I got quotes for some tyres for the 4x4. They didn't have the ones I wanted, and theirs started at £100.
I ordered the ones I wanted online, and got them fitted at the local Northern Tyres and exhausts...

Mind you, I went to one of the other national,who advertised a good deal on a paur I needed. When I got there they didn't have them (they did when I phoned), but had some equivelents (decent brand still). Once they were on it turned out they were twice the price.
There will be lost of companies going under now, blaming the recession, who just deserve it due to ripping people off for years. It won't be their fault though.

Coffin Dodger

That was a big annoyance of mine recently, bought some tyres through BlackCircles and selected a local Formula 1 Autocentre to fit them. Drove down there during my short lunch break and they got under way fitting them, all good I thought, but then just when I thought I'd be getting my keys back and be on my way it's being moved onto the lift. Next thing the tracking gear is on there and then finally ten minutes later the bloke wanders over, "mate your tracking is out, £20 to sort it", me "but I didn't ask for a tracking check and I had to be back at work five minutes ago". So after warning me that the tyres would wear unevenly (the last set hadn't), I finally get my car back and I'm away. Twenty minutes wasted for something I never asked for

billythekid

Years ago my then GF had her car serviced at a local main dealer. She took the car in and when we went to pick it up I went with her and as we drove in she commented "ha, does not even look like its moved since this morning"....

Was about £150 IIRC for a fairly basic oil and filter service. Car had only done a couple of thousand miles. Anyway, she paid and gave me the keys to the car. I went out and had a look at the engine.. oil filter still covered in crap, oil filler cap still covered in crap - no finger marks etc.

I went back in and the guy behind the counter told me that it had been done... would you like to take a walk with me then.... showed him the oil filter and the filler cap. He started to back track saying that the oil filter was only changed every other service (not what it says in the book pal) and that the oil had been changed. How they got the new oil in I dont know.. perhaps down the dipstick???

The GF reckons the car was exactly how they had left it and had moved an inch. In the end they took it back in and did the oil change and filter, never went back.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

I thought the same. Lost count of the times people have been to kwik fit and been told they needed something they hadn't asked for over the years, just surprised it took so long.

That said, I've used a few local franchises of other companies and done well. National Tyres near me did a good job on a new tyre and swapped the directional spare round for me for nothing so I could fit that and have a new non directional spare tyre instead.

Farmer Autocare, never going to be super cheap but have only ever done what was asked, including MOT stuff and replaced a needed numberplate bulb. McConnechy's Hi-Q same thing on MOT, bit pricer on the tyres sometimes though.

I think the main reason people use these places is because they are convienient and there is no waiting or having to book in like you often need to at a good independent. People go because their exhaust just fell off and they need a new one right then.

Main stealers tried the WD40 trick on my Gran's Pug once. Car lasted another 7 years on the same shock and passed every MOT with it. Mind, my dad used to take it for test to a decent independent. Gran only used the main dealer because of course 'they'd know best'

5t.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Thats ******* disgraceful
Personally, I'd have shopped them after leaving

EddScott

There was no actual proof apart from a friend who saw my car. I'd also be interested to know how you would "make 'em pay" as theres 3 or 4 of them and 1 of you?

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

He'd show them his *****

Gregsti01

iTrader: (1)

In the 90s quite a few motor outlets appeared like Kwick Shyte,one near my garage had a good mot guy so they did my mots,one day I was waiting for mot just wasting time watched a young lad beating calipers up on a Citreon trying to get new pads in,I spoke to the manager about this who said he was a trainee.Well I showed the lad how to screw h/brake piston back adj h/brake cable etc.From that day on anytime they had a problem I got a call,still I did not mind cheap mots!! The problem is the motorist gets ripped because of their lack of knowledge,computers the same

Mark'sWRX

The chains are all the same.

Got a couple of tyres for my MR2 once from Formula 1 (cheapest in town) and got a free service voucher. Used it on the wife's sh1tter and was told it needed £500+ worth of repairs (pads, brake cylinder etc..).
Checked everything myself: It needed nothing. 6 months later, serviced it myself and the spark plugs were rusty. God knows what other crap they had used?

Couple of weeks later, the gears were stiff and the wife popped in and they said it needed a new clutch slave cylinder. Quoted £100 + labour. I phoned the main dealer for a price: £46 or £9.95 for a seal kit. Changed the seals myself that evening.