Stitched up by Kwik-Fit – what can I do?

All chain garages are the same.

Arnold Clark are another shower of absolute monkeys.

Had they same problem as the OP, they broke my engine cover

Complained and got it replaced.

Next time it went in they didn’t replace the oil cap properly.

I won’t be back even though they are across the road from my office.

I use Black Circles for tyres and a good reliable local garage to fit them and an honest man with greasy hands called Gordon for any serious mechanical stuff I can’t do myself – like cambelts or messy stuff like fluid changes.

I got stitched up by a nationwide autocentr

Aye, my GF was getting conned by them as well. Kept having wheel bearings that needed replacing. The same wheel, not different ones, they also charged something like £80 more than a main dealer.

And on the showing you worn/broken parts. The only garages Ive encountered that do that are slippery con merchants IME.

Everyone should know a scruffy bloke covered in oil with a small garage in his back garden and a queue of taxis outside – who only takes cash!

Its the way forward!

Everyone should know a scruffy bloke covered in oil with a small garage in his back garden and a queue of taxis outside – who only takes cash!

Its the way forward!

Except where you have a warranty claim later on a car and its void as you havent used a vat registered or proof of vat in the servicing items and every main dealer will revoke the claim because of it.
My mates a scruffy hard working guy, but I still pay vat on his bills. He works 6 days from 8am to 8pm as known as good and thorough and always has work.

I feel your pain OP. You’ve now got to sort out a problem that didn’t exist before at your expense…I should imagine finding the screws would be quite straight forward.. just a pain.

never used them but..( and this wont help you )

years ago my sports exhaust dropped and was dragging along the road. Happened 10 yards from a quikfit. Limped into quikfit and they did a quick fix repair to get me home – for free.

re: garages showing you the broken/worn parts….i dont have an issue with this, but then i’m pretty fortunate as the garage owner went to school with me so knows me quite well and i trust him and his dad who works with him. when they have shown me parts its usually stuff like brake pads so i can see how much life was left in them when the dash warning light comes on…or to give me a bollocking for not getting a part replaced sooner…
they’ve never fixed anything without my consent and have always told me well in advance if something needed to be monitored and 9 times out of 10 they are usually right…even though i’ve now moved more than 20 miles away i still continue to use them…the bonus is that there is a tyre place next door to them which is just as honest and reliable…

You know. Thinking back. My old Subaru failed its MOT at a Kwikfit on a knuckle/join mid-pipe. I went under the pipe and the join was pretty rusted. Whether it was enough to fail, who knows?

They quoted me £1k but I managed to get a cat-back for £350/aftermarket unit fitted.

I wonder, if I’d taken it elsewhere it’d passed on that rusty looking join? The car was a 54 plate (6yrs old at the time).

hmmm.

Why do certain people have to doubt something that has happened to someone and doubt it to be true . ABS discs. Yes , OK its not the best terminology But you all knew exactly what I meant to say / was trying to say .
Is it because you werent driving in the 80’s when not every car came equiped with Anti Lock Braking Systems? Some were , some models of the same car were not .
My car was fitted with an Anti-lock Brake System , so used a slightly different disc thickness . I had to get a confirmation from Toyota GB stating this fact to show to KF . KF then fitted brand new discs for free .
Just because there is something that you dont about does not make it an impossiblity.

Everyone should know a scruffy bloke covered in oil with a small garage in his back garden and a queue of taxis outside – who only takes cash!

Its the way forward!

Everyone should know a well spoken gentleman mechanic, with clean overalls, a clean workshop, and a lathe and a clientelle who’ll bring their cars from Gurnsey to Glasgow to have them worked on. Busy enough not to have to invent work and thorough enough that you only need to visit them once a year.

Or, as the conversation I had at the weekend went….

(Guy works for a BMW dealership)

‘Most of the time a fault just means the software needs resetting’.

And I wonder how much they charge to do that? Probably one hell of a lot more than the 5 minutes it will take them to do it I bet.

Quick update.

tthew, exactly what had happened.
Cheers mate. I owe you one.

Popped into my main dealer who confirmed the screws were from the heatshield over the filter cover.
No sign of the heat shield, which they seem to have removed.
They also managed to break the air intake and the air filter housing, both integral to the plastic engine cover.
Went back to KF, presented them with the evidence and they held their hands up and admitted full responsibility.
Original FIAT parts have been ordered to replace the broken and missing bits, along with fullsome apologies and a refund.

Will see how things progress from here.

Sincere thanks for all the responses.

Great result!

i have had a great service there, But then again my brother is the manger of the branch. every time i have been in there and watched them doing other peoples cars (i hang around and chat with them) i have never noticed any thing wrong/iffy. but my brother does love his tyre bonus (sell michelin to win a chance to win a ps3 etc etc.)

I knew a guy who had a Sierra XR4x4. He had bought an exhaust system from Krap Fit, (it may have been stainless?). It went at the rear box. He sent his wife in who acted ‘all blonde’ and instead of just replacing the broken section, they told her that it would all need doing… “Oh dear, well if that’s what you think, then I guess you’d better do it then…”
Apparently the change from the grin on his face to red rage was hilarious when instead of getting her cheque book out, she slapped the lifetime warranty on the counter.
Presumably he wouldn’t have hit his target that week…

Johndoh…

Praying on the ‘buy the best occasionally will present the odd high bill thinking’

The evolution of crap service all here…
http://www.kwik-fit.com/history.asp

“In June 2011 Itochu completed the acquisition of Kwik Fit. ITOCHU was founded in 1858 and has evolved and grown into one of Japan’s leading trading companies”

heatshield over the filter cover

Oh, that’s what it is! I thought it was just a hidey-hole to confuse the home mechanic on a first service. 😆

ABS rings on my old 106 gti were on the hub. It make sense to put them on the disc as after a good few years they fairly get a hammered with rust.

RS,

Wish my issue had turned out as well as yours looks like it will.

Good Garage Scheme man!

A good garage shouldn’t show you anything post-repair. Only if they are worried that you might not believe them.. a guilty mind?

Classic Hora logic there 😆

My Dad was offered a management job at KF after he left Michelin but turned it down after being disgusted at the ‘terms’ and what was expected. I wouldn’t take a car there unless there was no alternative.

The replacement shock ‘con’ seems to be closely rivalled these days by ‘corroded coil springs’. My GF was told that hers were dangerously corroded recently and her car is only 5 years old with 30k on the clock. After a check and clean-up, the only ‘corrosion’ I found is more commonly referred to as ‘dirt’ by those who don’t work in dodgy garages!

Martinxyz +1 my Puma’s sadly were on the hubs 🙁

Woody I’d sort your gf’s suspension out for her 😉

My wife works sub contract to British Cycling occasionally, they happen to use KF as their contact car fixers.

She had a team car to drive to Italy, but the 2 front tyres were worn to the markers so she dropped it in to get sorted before she left. came back to a £1400 bill, apparently all 4 needed replacing, at £350 each!! the rears had only been on a month and were far from worn.

My wife works sub contract to British Cycling occasionally, they happen to use KF as their contact car fixers.

She had a team car to drive to Italy, but the 2 front tyres were worn to the markers so she dropped it in to get sorted before she left. came back to a £1400 bill, apparently all 4 needed replacing, at £350 each!! the rears had only been on a month and were far from worn.

Nice to see my membership fees being used in such a positive way.

I had an incident with a main dealer last year who managed to crack the manifold on my car doing some other work(by dropping the engine after removing it). They tried to pursued me I’d like to pay for it to start with (£800), then we had a little chat…..Then they managed to persuade Renault UK to pay for it even though the car was out of warranty. It later transpired when I took it to another garage that they had pocketed the cash and just welded it up and they also damaged the engine mounts putting the engine back in. I reported them to Renault UK who sent investigators to the dealer. The dealer denied anything to do with it and claimed I must have had the work done elsewhere after they replaced it properly and I was lying. Renault UK said it was their word against mine and they would take no further action, but a couple of months later the garage lost its main dealer status. I’ve frequently felt like “levelling the playing field” with a litre or paint stripper in the forecourt.

So it’s not just just the KF spanners you have to watch out for – recommended independents only for me these days.

Nice to see my membership fees being used in such a positive way.

They do run a few nice cars (and vans).

So it’s not just just the KF spanners you have to watch out for – recommended independents only for me these days.

Very true. I’ve usually got a decently quick car, and it seems to tempt garage staff into giving it a wee test run, “just to check everything is OK, sir”.

The two times I’ve had my cars into a national chain (one tyre, one main dealer), my cars have been thrashed.
After dropping my then pride-and-joy off at the tyre place opposite Flying Ox Towers, I see the car absolutely hooning down the main road about half an hour later. Garage denied this having happened, despite me pointing to my living room window from where I watched their chicanery. Never used them again, and in a totally unrelated event the garage burnt to the ground about 10 months later.
Second time was the same car, in for 4 new tyres and brake pads. Spanner monkey decided he liked the look of it and took it for a spin. I ended up with a very sheepish main dealer manager explaining that my car had been driven into a skip, and they’d like me to put some money towards the repair because the front end required a special order. I don’t think he liked my reply.

As mentioned above, it’s now goodgaragescheme.co.uk for the big stuff, my driveway for everything else.

and they’d like me to put some money towards the repair because the front end required a special order.

😯 😕 👿

goodgaragescheme.co.uk

Thanks for the tip – it’s nice to see the garage I normally use is number 2 on my local list (sadly they’re not specialists in the car I now have, hence thinking about other options).

Thanks for the tip – it’s nice to see the garage I normally use is number 2 on my local list (sadly they’re not specialists in the car I now have, hence thinking about other options).

They must buy a lot of Forte engine flush!

The Good Garage scheme is NOT independent. It is run and administered by Forte Lubricants. Members are ‘encouraged’ to add a Forte product with every service.

Word of mouth is always the best recommendation.

Take the ‘good garage scheme’ with a healthy dose of cynicism.

I used one that was an affiliate and they were rip-off merchants of the highest order. More than a few times, i’d take it in with a problem, they would mis-diagnose, fix the wrong thing empty me of a couple of hundred quid only for the original problem not sorted and back in it went.

They also never fixed but always replaced. 😐

goodgaragescheme?

Reminds me of ‘Voted best Curry restaurant in Hampstead 2011’ certificates that you see in windows of ALL ropey restaurants.

I ended up with a very sheepish main dealer manager explaining that my car had been driven into a skip, and they’d like me to put some money towards the repair because the front end required a special order. I don’t think he liked my reply.

Was it along the lines of “No, and you’re going to compensate me for the time my car’s out of action”?

The Good Garage scheme is NOT independent. It is run and administered by Forte Lubricants. Members are ‘encouraged’ to add a Forte product with every service.

Never been entirely convinced by ratings sites like these – particularly after that tradesman website that removed negative reviews.

Second highest rated garage for my area is one I’d never use again. Quality of work might be okay, but their attitude stinks.

Fairy nuff – the garage I use which is on there is very good (and has never tried to sell me any Forte products). The higher rated one I’ve also heard good things about. Though the place I use for my MOTs which I’d also rate (they’ve fixed stuff rather than replacing) isn’t on there.

Everyone should know a scruffy bloke covered in oil with a small garage in his back garden and a queue of taxis outside – who only takes cash!

Ours takes cheques ever since HMRC caught up with him. Won’t touch cash at all!

I don’t see what the issue is with showing you the old parts, my current garage is excellent, everything they add or take off the vehicle they keep, or keep the packaging and show you what and where. They say it is for their piece of mind as they want customers to leave the premises secure that everything has been done. I like it personally.

Re. sucking oil out: a lot of American places do this as they do those quick oil change services which are just oil swaps. I believe one reason is they don’t want to risk the sump plug coming loose and them being sued. But when cars have undertrays that need removing (2 minutes work) I can see another excuse.

Re. ABS discs: I suspect the case mentioned involved a car where one version (possibly a small engined low spec model) that didn’t have abs had solid discs fitted but the ABS version might have had vented. Hence the pads could be more likely to fall out.

Changed the brakes on a friends car in the summer. No idea who fitted them but the front discs were too narrow (still solid but too narrow) and the wrong shape pads had been jammed in and the result was one side had lost all the pad material on the inner pad and the other had lost half the pad material bot not worn, the material had broken in half so there was only half a pad touching the disc. Car came from a 2nd hand dealer in Bristol and had not been touched since.