I had some strange brake rubbing noises yesterday plus an unexplained slow puncture. In desperation - I went to Kwik Fit. Now before I go any further, I must say I have used KF a lot in the recent past for tyres and bulbs - plus balancing/tracking; all great jobs and well done at a decent price.
I have, however, shied away from using them for more technical repairs; image problem? Perhaps.
Well - here’s how I rate my experience at Kwik Fit in Ramsgate today.
On arrival, having booked the 5 in, the chappy behind the counter welcomed me by NAME and assured me the work would be done that day. He offered to call me with a no obligation quote once the mechanic had had a ganders at the brakes/tyres - and he called within the hour with the ‘diagnosis’: front tyres advisory - one with leaking valve. Pads at front advisory plus brake fluid needed changing. New safety valves (they look like Frankenstein monster bolts - chrome finish…epic coolness) also needed. £270.
Car finished within three hours - lovely service on arrival and lots of banter about how much the guys liked the sound of my car. One waggish type even suggested I now only needed a turbo kit to make it a real car!
Anyway - I can’t speak for Kwik Fit service inside the M25 but, since arriving in Kent, they have been epically awesome in Ramsgate and Deal. Well done lads! Thumbs up from me.
PS - I know you lot on the forum will tell me you could have got the jobs done for under £270 - but same day - no parts to be ordered and within three hours? Really?
Lets just say, my local motor factor would have delivered the pads within an hour for around £16 inc VAT, the brake fluid is around £10 max, labour for changing the pads, fluid and re-seating the tyres with new valves added and another bottle of red for Mrs. Eunos would have meant you would have had £200 change from the £270 spent at least.
Kwik-Fit rely on trusting customers who do not question the scare-tactics the managers use, especially where braking systems are concerned my friend, convenience is one thing but deliberate fleecing is is the way they meet their daily/weekly targets, its a shame it couldnt wait till the next time I was in Sandwich old pal:
The £270 I thought included about £120ish of tyres. £150 for pads and fluid is a reasonable garage price. OP has a 1.8, not 1.6, so the pads will be a bit more than mates rates. £20 and up. SE labour rates as well.
For comparison; Dandycars:
Brake fluid; labour only; £72
Brake pads, labour only; £36
Dandy charge £60 per hour, which is cheap for the South; my local Mazda dealer will charge about £90 an hour. The Alfa specialist I use in Hertfordshire goes for £65 an hour.
So Dandy will bill you £138 using cheap parts.
Some Kwik Fits are very good. My local has helped me out on occasion, and not charged a penny. I wouldn’t worry; some well known so-called MX5 specialists have been shown to have been incompetant when it comes to routine spannering. And I’m not naming names.
Be it noted that Kwik Fit in Deal fixed the diesel pre-heater for my Passat a few months back for FREE as it was an emergency and the guy who helped us out didn’t want us to go up in flames. If the ‘Taff Eunos School of Machiavellianism’ rule were applied here, they’d have told me to have a new exhaust and fuel tank and fed me graphic lies about an imminent fireball!
Also - I used the local KF - as I said - in desperation. Lady Byron is due to give birth in two weeks and I had a three hour window away from work.
I agree with AT above; Kwik Fit get a bad rep but they are sometimes great. As this was the point of my post, I thought I should ‘drive’ the point home!
Dr Taff: you are always welcome in Sandwichshire and your good lady wife can sup red at the Baron’s castle any time she likes. Tell me when you’re on the way through again and we’ll have a pint!
This post sounds like most Kwik Fit used to be like, but nowadays finding a trustworthy one is so difficult and hit-or-miss, and when you do the manager does not seem to last long. Sad, really, since the days when what’s his name (Farmer?) used to give his personal guarantee.
I’ll agree with Taff here 100% . Beware any national company that pays there staff bonuses to scare little old ladies into buying tyres, discs, pads, shockers etc. its there job to sell sell sell, and lots of main dealers are just as bad. OK there are lots of honest people out there and if you find them i’d stick with them. In my opinion you can’t do better than a small independent with his own name above the door and pride in his own work.
I seem to remember it used to be owned by a Mr Tom Farmer, and quite correct they were a pretty reputable company way back in the day.
What Kwik-Fits current leadership seems to have done is destroy all the good will and good reputation by caning the backside and wallet of every poor non-technical motorist (and even more often his wife...) just to make a quick buck and then to keep the firm sustainable` they impose financial targets on every branch which, if the local manager wants to keep his job, have to be met.
Net result is they produce a long list of potentially dangerous items that really ought to be repaired while the car is in their workshops (and while the hapless motorist is under-contract to them, having signed the sheet when handing over the keys) to be safe, basically they try to scare people into parting with more cash than they need to, and I consider that practice totally abominable.
If Kwik-Fit don`t like what I have posted then let them sue me, the above mentioned practices are widely published on many websites and forums all over the land already…
As posted earlier if Lord Byron is happy to hand over £270 for two tyres, generic front pads and a pint of cheap brake fluid then happy days it really isnt my problem, it isnt my money after all…
Back in the day I bought a Sierra (stupid I know…), it was just over 3 years old at the time I bought it. Another stupid mistake I made was to take it to Kwik Fit because they were advertising a “free brake check” at the time. Can’t be bad I thought, instead of spending a couple of hours thoroughly checking the car myself in crap weather I decided to take up the Kwik Fit generous offer…
To cut a long story short, I was presented with a list of things that apparently needed doing which totalled 50% of the car value, at 3 years old!!! I was told that the car wouldn’t pass an MOT etc etc. I left, deciding not to take up their offer of financing the cost of the work with one of their credit cards.
Due to their advice, I booked the car in for a MOT the following week & it was absolutely fine. The independent garage owner could not believe the list of things that Kwik Fit suggested needed doing.
I am currently on the look-out for a decent family-run-type garage as the one I have frequented locally is getting a bit pricey. It also has a silly website: obvious evidence, to me, of dodgy practices. Plus the owner drives an R8; hmmm…
What do people make of the super cheap MOTs offered by Kwik Fit? They did our Passat for a budget online price (£30 ish - I think) and the German tank passed with flying swastikas.
Thanks for all your comments, guys; I learn more here than in my day job…which is saying a great deal - I promise you!
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