Kwik Fit Rip Off?

[JanineG]

Took my car for MOT at Kwikfit - told me needed �350 worth of work to brake system. Got quote and had work done with another mechanic for �175. Took back to Kwikfit for the re-test - they phoned me and said that the wheel cylinders hadn't been changed, had now "gone" and were causing brake fluid leak - would cost �140 to fix. I phoned the other mechanic who fixed the car - he said he HAD changed the cylinders. Phoned Kwikfit back to tell them, they then changed their story and said that the brake fluid was leaking from inside the drum and was nothing to do with the cylinders. I'm taking it back to the other mechanic now and he's going to take it elsewhere for the MOT - said he'll get a full report done and that I should get Trading Standards on to Kwikfit. I trust the other mechanic as he's a friend's husband and wouldn't say he'd done work that he hadn't. Just wondered if anyone else had had any problems with Kwik Fit??

[Toureman]

Read your MOT certificate, it has full procedures for protesting the pass or failure of a vehicle

[clever trev]

Janine G . stopped using Kwik fit 30years ago matey. and it dos't apear that they have changed any by what you say, they can pull people in with their telly adverts, and when they have pulled you ,it KWIK RIP OFF. STAY CLEAR.

[ITVYORKS]

My friend took her car to Kwik Fit for her brakes checking.Told her they needed doing and the cost would be �445! She took it to another garage who confirmed the brakes weren't all they should have been and did them for �165. Rather cheeky of Kwik Fit don't you think?

[BillyBB]

I've had tyres and exhaust work at Kwik fit Grantham for a very reasonable cost.

[JOHNNYxCASH]

I had a new exhaust fitted at Crap Fit two years ago & the car never seemed to run right after that. The exhaust has just gone again and I used a mate who works for Ford this time. Turns out they'd fitted the wrong exhaust for my cars spec and he said it literally fell to bits when he took it off!! I'll NEVER use them again.

[Andyvon]

Kwik Fit changed my front tyres a couple of years ago just before I changed the brakes myself. When I got the car home to do the brakes, I found KwikFit had wrecked all ten wheel nuts by using an air wrench on them. The nuts just spun and they wouldn't come out. At least KwikFit didn't argue and they immediately paid up for two new wheel hubs (that I fitted myself!).

KwikFit explained that they use air wrenches to save time as they are under pressure to keep their weekly sales figures and performance up. I suppose that's also the case when they do other work on cars - weekly sales figures come before customer care.

[mr rusty]

Reading the original posting, have kwik-fit actually done anything wrong? If your mechanic didn't clean the drums out properly after changing the wheel cylinders, old fluid would still find it's way out of the brake mechanism, there may have still been some fluid on the outside of the drum or on the backplate-in this case the tester would be duty bound to fail it.

After all, no dimantling is allowed in the MOT test, so the tester can't see where the fluid has coming from, all he can see is some brake fluid: even if the brake is efficient enough to pass the brake test, it can also be leaking, and the tester must err on the side of safety and assume that it is. Don't forget, testers get regular unannounced visits from VOSA, and the testers job is on the line if he passes something which maybe shouldn't.

The answer is to go for an MOT is your local authority's testing centre- nearly all councils have them as they need to test their own vehicles, and I have always found them to be fair because they are not actually looking for repair work- all they do is test.

[jg96]

My 19 year old daughter had an exhaust fitted at Kwikfit Preston came apart at joint following night leaving her stranded on the M62 half way back to Uni in Hull Green Flag refitted the whole system in the dark on the hard shoulder pity Kwikfit couldn,t manage it on a ramp in a well lit workshop. All Manager had to say was these things happen Just about stopped myself ripping his head off.

[Littlejohn]

Never trust Kwik Fit, they are always out to sell you parts and services that you do not need.
My son had a complete set of tyres fitted at another suppliers depot which is about a quarter of a mile away from a Kwik Fit depot. He was looking for a custom exhaust sytem for his car, so on the way home he called into Kwik Fit to see if they could supply one (which they couldn't). The Kwik Fit fitter did however look at his car and promptly told my son that it urgently needed a complete set of tryes. So according to this "expert" the ones fitted 10 minutes earlier had worn out in a quarter of a mile!!!
"You can't get better than a Kwik Fit Fitter" (if fairy stories are what you are looking for.)

[chevrolet1.8]

i took my car to kwikfit as the exhaust was blowing, i was told to drive onto the ramps by the fitter. he got a quote for me ' about a grand mate'. i said i think not, i can get a stainless system for about �350. he lowered the ramps and as i reveresed off, the ramp flap caught my front valence and ripped through it. after months of waiting and phoning etc they finally paid me out �1300 for repairs. i wouldn't touch kwik fit with a barge pole now!

[Tit-4-Tat]

KwikFit have been exposed several times on TV programmes for doing all of the above rip-offs.