Bit of a long story but I am hoping someone here can help…

I am a total car noob – I dont know anything really. Which will have to change.

Last year I had some problems with car (W reg corsa 1 litre effort) making a knocking noise from the front wheels. I took the car into kwickfit and finally they tracked the noise down to the CV joints, and I replaced them in may. However we also had the track rod ends replaced in Jan this year, as well as the front springs and shock mounts in an effort to track this down.

Since then the car has been going through tyres (6!) and been a bit skiddy at the front when you drive. Kwickfit assured us everything was normal.

Then in April the car failed its MOT and needed the rear shocks and bearings replaced. Again done at kwickfit.

I put the car in for a service at a different kwickfit at the weekend and they have told me that the front track rod ends dont match (one might not be for this car) and that the springs are not quite right and fitted upside down.

I went to the first kwickfit to have words and get this sorted but they were closing and got the area manager to call me. (no call yet).

In the car park today I parked my corsa next to an identical W reg corsa and checked the spacing on the front from the wheel to the wheel arch. On the "good" corsa I could get three fingers in. On my corsa I can get a whole hand plus one finger so the front of the car is way higher than it should be…

My questions are:
– What would this cause wear on in the car?
– What can I expect kwickfit to do?

Ideally I want the front springs, shock mounts and track rod ends replaced, I would like some free tyres as I reckon thats whats been wearing them and I would like the whole drive train checked for wear and anything thats worn replaced free.

Also do you think thats why I needed the rear suspension replaced as the front of the car was too high?

Help!

David.

Alrigh David, long time no chat.

Your main problem there is Kwik Fit. Take it somewhere else and do not listen to their advice, never go there again.

My opinion of course!

Second glasgowdan's view. You wouldn't expect the guy on the till at tesco to know how to cook your steak and he's about as qualified as the kwikfit 'mechanic'. Take it to a decent local garage and build a relationship with them.They very rarely rip you off as they want your return custom.

Take all your receipts for the work done by the first Kwik Fit, copy them. Take one copy into the branch that originally did work along with the report from the bunch who told you the problems.

If no joy then send a copy of the report from the 2nd Kwik Fit along with copies of the receipts for the work to Kwik Fit head office in the form of an letter with your complaints detailed out. Never send your original documents away etc.

Request that they rectify all the problems they have caused & also re-imburse you for the cost of tyres due to the wrong componentry being fitted.

Once they've sorted it all out & given you as many free tyres as you can get etc etc…….

go & find yourself a friendly local garage man who knows one end of the car from another & who will charge you a fair price (more than Kwik Fit) & NEVER EVER grace theirs doors again.

I'd trust them for tyres & exhausts (at a push) but that's about all.

If it helps, my family use Graham Harper for car repairs. He specialises in Citroens but worth a try & wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.

1103 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G3 8ND
UK

T: 0141 248 7322

Suspension bushes stuffed probably.
Kwikfit = Halfords

Incorrect spring and incorrect trackrod ends can/will cause excessive tyre wear/odd tyre wear pattern and give odd steering feel/characteristics

Use a decent garage with qualified technicians not a tyre fitters for any work to your car that is not tyre/exhaust fitting. Especially if you are asking them to diagnose faults.

As other have said, take the report from second KFit to first and demand they recitfy. If they won't rectify recorded letter to head office (try to MD name)with copies of paperwork + copy to Trading Standards.
If still no luck get report from someone independant (AA/RAC) then get recitfied elsewhere and serve KFit with papers from Small Claims Court to recover costs, include the cost of the worn tyres if believe to be due to faulty workmanship/incorretly fitted parts.
The KFit that carried out the work have a legal duty of care for the work they carried out.

If I can be any more help, email in profile.

Cheers

Mike (Ex-Technical Engineer for a Motor Manufactuer)

kwikfit are, on the whole, useless. One that seems like a decent place, I've not tried yet but I've seen a lot of nice cars in there for work and heard good things, is Byres road garage (not on byres road amazingly lol). He seemed very competitive on price too.

If they have actually done the work, and I'd not put it past kwikfit to "forget" to do the work, there are not too many other parts that can be replaced on such a simple car. CV's are very obvious when they fail, they have a very obvious sound to anyone who has heard it before.

You need to get it to someone with skills. And if kwikfit had replaced those parts and not cured the problem I certainly wouldnt be paying for them.

Michael Bowden gives good advice there – thats the way I would be heading.

get pics of current state

go CAB

Get it looked at by a Vauxhall Garage or the AA.

Thanks for all the advice!

I have found and spoken to a local garage who say that the car is not safe drive to drive as the front springs have shifted all the weight to the back of the car and its handling is compromised.

Kwickfit's final position is that they will replace one track rod end (its the wrong one for the car anyway!) and turn the springs the right way up.

That will fix it then…

Anyway – thanks for all the advice here – especially the garage recommendations. I'm not keen on using the local dude as a few people I know have been stung by him but he was handy for a quick non kwickfit view of the car.

Cheers,

David.

Give kwitfit the chance to replace the incorrect parts and mount the springs the right way around.

Get a receipt of the work they do, and assuming they are doing it for free, then they are also admitting liability for getting it wrong to begin with.

If It handles fine afterwards, looks fine and sounds fine, then maybe get them to fit 4 new tyres and off you go as a happy camper.

It'll be a lot less stress than dragging them through the courts and all that polava…. even if it might be necessary in the end anyway.

Good luck… and I hope the knocking goes away, the handling improves… and everyone is nice to each other!

Ham.

Sounds like they've done an absolute balls of a job on it, how you can get springs so incorrectly positioned is beyond me. The higher front end will not cause massive handling problems (it doesnt transfer all the weight to the rear) but if the springs are free to shift they may cause unexpected handling if they do shift.

I'd not be taking the car anywhere near kwikfit ever again.

If it's as high as you explain it may well be adding extra stress on teh CVs, which is never good.

they are useless in the Inverness branch too. i took the car in to get valves replaced and i returned to find the young lad twirling away at the bolts.. only to find out what other garages have done in the past. Over tightening them! he went over to the manager and had words, then they told me the hub was stripped.I told them that there was no way it was stripped when it came in as i check them quite often and that i only had them off at the front less than a month ago and only used the supplied spanner to tighten them by hand.. in a x-cross tightening pattern.

the older guy started to swap around the bolts to try and get things to magically fix (also spinning them on with an air gun with fek knows what torque setting lol)and he said that i needed to get around to the nearest pug garage to get 2 new bolts. couldnt believe it. I told him that i would NOT be driving anywhere with 2 bolts holding the wheel on that had 4 bolts holding it on when it arrived, and asked him to go around to buy me two new bolts.the manager was out at this point and he semi stormed off back to the office after telling the guy to go buy 2 new bolts.

once this was sorted i only noticed a week later that the tyres were removed more than one at a time.. and the numpty kid fitted the directional tyres on back to front.unfortunately on the way home from work one night there was a flash flood that had cars on the A9 down to 40mph on the Dual carriageway and fek me, what a dog to drive in with tyres on the wrong way around.

so dangerous.

keep away from kf.

Kwikfit = Halfords

Very unfair on Halfords IMHO.

+1 on the avoiding Kwikfit completely – I feel uncomfortable even driving past!

take it sumwere else get the garage to point out whats wrong and then ask for a refund from kwick fit…they shouldnt of replaced that many parts…i regulary use quick fit in swansea and i find they do a good job…i cant complain…but it depends on were u go.