kwik fit rip off

[darrenwall]

my sister in law went out to her car this morning to find her tyre nearly flat , around the corner is the local kwik fit so she drove round slowly and went in .
she told the bloke behind the counter that she was really stuck as she needed to be in work very soon and his eyes lit up ( she might as well gone in there with a sign round her neck that said " take my money please " ) .
In no time he had the tire off and advised her it was against company policy to re fit the tire if they could repair the puncture as she had driven on it and they couldnt see if the sidewall had been damaged, she drove less than 100 yards at 5 mph with a half inflated tire
They charged her 80 quid for this privelidge ( its only a fiesta with 14 inch steel wheel on for fucks sake ) and informed her that the other 3 tires were down to 3 mm of tread and they recommend that she changes the 3 tires right now as anything below 3mm is considered dangerous by them and she could lose control very easily in the wet with her " worn " tires .
she then declined thier kind offer of another 3 tires at 80 quid a piece and told them she would leave it a few weeks .

how the hell can they get away with charging prices like that and scaring customers into buying expensive new tires when thiers are perfectly safe

[teamster1975]

You said those infamous words Darren, kwik sh1t!
I bet they'd try to sell on the old tyres as part worns as well

Hope life is getting a bit better for you mate!

[DaiRees]

I don't know how they survive, everyone with half an ounce of sense knows they're a rip off.

[turbolag]

... and informed her that the other 3 tires were down to 3 mm of tread and they recommend that she changes the 3 tires right now as anything below 3mm is considered dangerous by them and she could lose control very easily in the wet with her " worn " tires .
she then declined thier kind offer of another 3 tires at 80 quid a piece and told them she would leave it a few weeks .

How the hell can they get away with charging prices like that and scaring customers into buying expensive new tires when thiers are perfectly safe

Au contrare - Kwik Fit Up are absolutely correct on this one.

RoSPA, the IAM, Roadsafe, the Police, The Police federation, The TRL and nearly every tyre manuafacturer (inc Conti, Avon and Michie) recommend tyres be replaced at 3mm. Once a tyre reaches this point they no longer tread water, and the stopping distance in the wet over a new tyre from 60mph can be as much as 40 metres.

3mm...chuck 'em son. Your life's worth more than the pennies saved trying to squeeze a few more miles out of unsafe hoops.

PS...80 sovs a piece is a bit steep though. The Avon 225/50 17s on my 308 were only £85 a boot.

[mrmetalman123]

Im in the "trade" and have heard all sorts of horror stories about certian country wide establishments,like "I only went in for a tyre and they put two shock absorbers on aswell because my car was unsafe".They have obviously found a loop in the law to use these sort of practises.My worry is that unfortunatly their so called "technicians"are no more than fitters and would be supprised if many actually have any recognised qualifications,dont include any in house training bullshit mind!
Dealers are very expensive for the normal man off the street but at least they do have a little bit more knowledge and some nice tools to boot(thats one of the reasons they are so expensive,the manafactures insist that they keep up to date with diagnostic tools etc or they lose the franchise.No I dont work at a dealers lol).
WARNING: I would be very carefull about posting what could be seen as slanderous material though.All sorts of people browse these sites and in this day and age of no win no fee sh*t anything is posible.Wolksvagen will come and make you take any signs down you have if it has thier logo on it(if they find out that is)such is the world we live in.
The best way to get revenge is just to bycott these scaming bast***s and if you get any good work done anywhere promote these people instead.
Be careful out there.
Regards.

[steve_earwig]

Indeed, other sites won't let you name and shame, so you have to say stuff like "certain country-wide establishments". Maybe "a well-known chain of garages that feature poorly-trained mechanics who have a reputation for poor work and ripping people off and you'd be daft to go there even in an emergency" would be more recognizable, bit wordy perhaps but I think you'd know who I was talking about. I suppose it depends on the likelihood of them getting hold of a solicitor to sue your ass (or donkey perhaps), I'm sure Joe's Backsteet Garage and Forgery Service wouldn't be up for it.

I get the point about the 3mm Turbo, aquaplaning and all that, if my other half could be trusted not to drive my car like a dodgem I'd be worried about her driving it in the winter with the tyres approaching their limit. I think the point is we're not actually sure if this was the case. Garages have always done this though, they're instructed to drum up business and they rely on the fact that the majority of people will take their word for it. Those that don't are a minority and not the sort of repeat customers they're looking for, so they don't give a stuff if you don't come back.

[omega]

look at this way
they repair puncture on your tyre but the sidewall is damaged as the tyre was driven on in a flat state[yes i know its a short distance but its been turning and had heat and the weight of the car on it]
a short time later the cars doing 70mph and the tyre goes bang.............
think of what might happen
then you will want to sue

but the price for the tyre does sound a rip off

i sell and install a product called puncture safe that repairs punctures before you get them [pm me for prices] but any damage to the sidewall and the tyre is scrap

[mjb]

£80 for a Fiesta tyre? WTF?

My coupe's 16" Firestones only cost £90 each balanced and fitted, and they've got a W (149mph+) speed rating!!!

[Welly]

I agree on the 3mm too.

The wear limiters across the tyre are screaming at you that the tyre is absolutely shagged at 1.6mm and illegal too. Most car supermarkets run a 2.5mm policy on their stock and wont let a car leave otherwise.

I've just binned 2 x tyres on the back of her indoors' Astra with at least 6mm on them but they were old, hard, cheapo nasty tyres and I had the back step out on me on a wet roundabout so off they came within a couple of days.

Tyres are soooo important, they are the only thing between you and the road but so many people neglect them.

The £80.00 Fessa tyre was probably a Premium brand where the prices have shot up this year.

You could probably break the bill down:

£7.50 valve and balance?
£3.50 disposal costs
£69.00 (Tyre)

[highlander]

I went to BlackCircles and ordered up a set of Bridgestone B250s for £65 each (including fitting, wheel balancing, and disposal of my old tyres).

Kwik-Fit are the bunch of scamming arse wipes that tried to sell me a complete new exhaust system for my old Mk.1 Clio (1.2) when all I actually needed was a weld on the pipe just before it entered the back box. They said my Cat and my back box were knackered - bollocks; there was nothing wrong with either of them. They were going to charge me £450 (excluding VAT and labour) for the privilege of replacing the whole system, too (the whole car only cost me £800).

There are so many horror stories from that place it's unreal - my mate knows someone who went there once, and she happened to walk in to see her car up on the hydraulic lift, with a fitter literally hanging off his exhaust and pulling down with all his might, in an effort to sell her a new exhaust on account of hers being broken.

In this case, they are right; even with a short run at low speed, the sidewall could be severely damaged. £80 per tyre is a complete joke though. BlackCircles, all the way.