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Kwik Fit!! Kwik my *rs* !!!
Hebejebe_3
Posts: 24 Forumite
The centre of exhaust system fell off this morning so DH took it to Kwik Fit because it was closest to were he was and the garage we usually use (very trustworthy) is fully booked and we need the car for this weekend.
Anyway not only do we need a new bit for the exhaust but the catalytic converter has gone (??!!) so they duly ordered the part. "It will only take half an hour to arrive mate" they told DH. Part arrives 90 mins later (it came from Leeds to Scunthorpe - was it supposed to be coming in a lear jet??) and IT'S THE WRONG ONE!!!!!!!!!!! ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
AND
the supplier they ordered the part from did exactly the same thing yesterday!!!
So DH mills around town for 2 hours and goes back to Kwik Fit and it's still not ready. Finally they offer him a lift home and another hour and a half later they phone him. "There is a crack in the manifold the car is undrivable but we will fix it at cost" an extra £140 on top of the £280 rip off price anyway. So we still have no car it won't be ready til tomorrow now.
I am absolutely fuming and I am the person they are going to deal with tomorrow because DH absolutely hates complaining or making a fuss. Any pointers?? Advice?? Is a car undrivable with a cracked manifold or is that just a load of rubbish??
Anyway not only do we need a new bit for the exhaust but the catalytic converter has gone (??!!) so they duly ordered the part. "It will only take half an hour to arrive mate" they told DH. Part arrives 90 mins later (it came from Leeds to Scunthorpe - was it supposed to be coming in a lear jet??) and IT'S THE WRONG ONE!!!!!!!!!!! ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
AND
the supplier they ordered the part from did exactly the same thing yesterday!!!
So DH mills around town for 2 hours and goes back to Kwik Fit and it's still not ready. Finally they offer him a lift home and another hour and a half later they phone him. "There is a crack in the manifold the car is undrivable but we will fix it at cost" an extra £140 on top of the £280 rip off price anyway. So we still have no car it won't be ready til tomorrow now.
I am absolutely fuming and I am the person they are going to deal with tomorrow because DH absolutely hates complaining or making a fuss. Any pointers?? Advice?? Is a car undrivable with a cracked manifold or is that just a load of rubbish??
Inside me there is a thin women screaming to get out.................so I shut the !!!!!! up with a biscuit.:D
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Comments
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Exhausts are parts of cars that can have unforseen problems.
It may be that the cat was an integral part of the central section of the exhaust. If it's not, ask them what was wrong with it, they might say it's cone was cracked (ask to see it). Which they saw when they took off the pipe, you should have told them (if you wanted to) to "leave it, if it fails the MOT then that's when I'll have it changed."
The crack on the mani, could have been where the new part connects to the down pipe. If it is on the mani body, well, it may not make it undrivable, but it might have made it "not road legal" ask them what 'costs' were involved to fix it? Was it really noisy when it went in? Ask them where the crack was and what caused it, and why it meant it was undrivable. If they replaced the mani ask to see your old one.
Overall, you just had a few hidden but not totally unexpected costs. As you know KwikFit is not the cheapest place to get work done.0 -
From my experience of Kwik-Fit in the past (I won't use them anymore) I wouldn't be surprised to find that there is no crack in the manifold at all. I laugh at the advert on TV where they are supposed to treat women (supposed to be non techie/mechie) with respect I have known several cases in the past where they just downright lied to get more business. I believe the fitters are on a parts related bonus where they have an incentive to find faults. typical so called faults are tyres / brake linings near the limit, when they are not, leaking shockers when they aren't, and worn brake disks when they are still ok. They are sometimes honest and reliable but on the whole out to get as much money out of you as they can. They rely on customers (especially women) not having the knowledge or ability to be able to inspect and check so called additional faults. Every time the AA or channel4 investigates these 'centres' they usually end up heavily criticising 90% of those surveyed. But of course we dont see too many of these programmes now, as Kwik-Fit spends so much on TV advertising!
If I were you I would ask for the old parts just before you pay.They are still legally yours, except in 'exchange' cases like batteries.. Tell them your brother is a mechanic and you'd like him to see the parts. I'll bet you get some sort of evasive answer or excuse like "oh the skip has just been collected" or "they are on the bottom of a big pile"
Remember the TV ad's that said "You can't get quicker than a Kwik-Fit fitter" ? Well, I think they should have stuck with the dancing, and left fixing cars to others!Light blue touchpaper and stand well back !0 -
If the exhaust manifold IS cracked and leaking gas/fumes you need to be very careful about the fumes possibly entering the passenger cabin.0
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Always Always ALWAYS ask to see all of the parts they remove/replace - cracks etc are obvious - and they'll find it hard to lie about the absence of a crack.There are 10 types of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't
In many cases it helps if you say where you are - someone with local knowledge might be able to give local specifics rather than general advice0 -
Thanks for all your replys.
Quizzed manager on why they hadn't noticed the Manifold had gone until they had been under the car at least 4 times. He did show the old one and it did have a massive crack in it. So I asked him the question again. Upshot is they didn't bother charging us for the manifold cover so the bill came to £280 after all. Funny eh??Inside me there is a thin women screaming to get out.................so I shut the !!!!!! up with a biscuit.:D0 -
They wouldn't have noticed it maybe because after fitting the exhaust and expecting it to be nice and quiet, it was still blowing, so they had to find the source of the blowing.0
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Or that manifold is the one they keep out the back just in case some awkward punter asks to see the evidence - would you recognise the manifold from your car?Wig wrote:They wouldn't have noticed it maybe because after fitting the exhaust and expecting it to be nice and quiet, it was still blowing, so they had to find the source of the blowing.Their - possessive pronoun (owned by them e.g. "They locked their car").
They're - colloquial/abbreviated version of 'They are'
There - noun (location other than here e.g. "You can buy groceries there") OR adverb (in or at that place e.g. "They have lived there for years") OR adverb (to or towards that place e.g. "Go there at noon") OR adverb (in that matter e.g. " I agree with you there").0 -
I would, dunno about you, and if I had any doubts, I'd compare it with the *shiny new* one on my car.0
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Just remember the jingle
#You can't get slicker than a Kwik fit fitter#Four guns yet only one trigger prepare for a volley.Together we can make a difference.0 -
You bunch of sceptics you, thinking that your friendly Kwik-fit-fitter could possibly be lying!!! ha ha.
Reminds me of when I took my car in to Nationwide Autocentre for a service. Give us your number they say and we'll ring you when its done. 4 hours later I get a call, your back brake drums are leaking and your front discs are broken (forget the exact problem with front discs) I tell them thats fine, my uncle is a mechanic i'll get him to fix it "oh, we don't advise you move it, its not safe to drive" i tell them to just put it back together and bill me for the service only.
Get the car back, drive it to my uncles who really is a mechanic and ask him to check the brakes. his verdict - nothing wrong with them. 3 years later and the back drums are still going fine (touch wood) and the front discs are just a bit pitted now so need replacing, but for the last 3 years they have been fine - surprise, surprise!!!
M0
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