Do Halfords fit car bulbs ?

4743hudsonj

FYI the previous shape astras all have access panels in the wheel arch. Bit grubby but not to hard. Thats why there is no room in the engine bay.

philgr

Stoke wrote: »

While it's nice to know that you had a good experience, make no mistake, the muppets in Halfords are no different to the muppets who work in McDonald's and most people look down on. What? Just because they work in a vehicle retail outlet, you think they're somehow more qualified? Just because they don't flip burgers they're somehow more suited to work on your car? You wouldn't take your car to McDonald's and ask one of those guys to fit a bulb, would you? Most of Halfords staff are kids in college or sixth form dropouts. Some of them don't even have vehicles of their own, I bet half of them don't even have a license. I don't think I've ever seen a staff member over the age of 21. If they leave Halford's they'll be serving your next McChicken sandwich probably.

Halfords is fine if you're going there to pick something up for your own use. It's convenient (although that convenience comes at a price), open late hours and has a wide variety of products, but I would never ever trust them to touch my car. The way I see it, anything they can do, anyone can do.

I've also seen a radio that was dangerously bodged to fit in a car by a Halfords muppet. Just not worth the risk.

and when I was a Halford's "Muppet" ican confirm the following facts

1) I have never worked at Mc Donald's
2) I have an IMI certificate on the wall in front of me for training I received whilst working there
3) If you think that one bad stereo install is a fair yardstick for all Halford's Fitters then I feel sorry for you.
4) I was, as were many members of staff over 21
5) as best I remember there was ONE guy at our store who didnt have a licence.

Sweeping generalisations like this really do annoy me. Ask any one of the VW driving sales execs who came in to the store in a panic as their oil light had come on to be greeted by me holding the correct top up for their car. Try being the driver of the S40 Volvo who had both headlights blow at 5 pm on a saturday as they set out on a journey of over 100 miles that had to be undertaken so I changed them in quickly.

Or, try being the VW nut who came in to be greeted by my colleague who not only is an organiser for VW car club locally but has modified more Volkswagens than I've had hot dinners (and that's a fair few as my stomach shows!)

I could go on about the people who came to me asking me to remedy the stereo that "my mate who knows what he's doing" fitted only for me to point out that they didnt know what they were doing as they'd blown the amp up by feeding power in the wrong way, or used a 12v dimmer feed as an earth connection....

If you don't like them, don't use them. Don't berate those who do use them though, as they're exercising their free choice to do so. Also, don't forget that there will be people who aren't physicaly capable of doing such a job for numerous reasons and choose to use the service provided,

atrixblue.-MFR-.

philgr wrote: »

and when I was a Halford's "Muppet" ican confirm the following facts

1) I have never worked at Mc Donald's
2) I have an IMI certificate on the wall in front of me for training I received whilst working there
3) If you think that one bad stereo install is a fair yardstick for all Halford's Fitters then I feel sorry for you.
4) I was, as were many members of staff over 21
5) as best I remember there was ONE guy at our store who didnt have a licence.

Sweeping generalisations like this really do annoy me. Ask any one of the VW driving sales execs who came in to the store in a panic as their oil light had come on to be greeted by me holding the correct top up for their car. Try being the driver of the S40 Volvo who had both headlights blow at 5 pm on a saturday as they set out on a journey of over 100 miles that had to be undertaken so I changed them in quickly.

Or, try being the VW nut who came in to be greeted by my colleague who not only is an organiser for VW car club locally but has modified more Volkswagens than I've had hot dinners (and that's a fair few as my stomach shows!)

I could go on about the people who came to me asking me to remedy the stereo that "my mate who knows what he's doing" fitted only for me to point out that they didnt know what they were doing as they'd blown the amp up by feeding power in the wrong way, or used a 12v dimmer feed as an earth connection....

If you don't like them, don't use them. Don't berate those who do use them though, as they're exercising their free choice to do so. Also, don't forget that there will be people who aren't physicaly capable of doing such a job for numerous reasons and choose to use the service provided,

Halfords shop near me fits things under a gazebo, I sat there one day watching a pair "fitters" scratching their heads on how to remove a VW mk5 golf head unit, they had their flat blade din keys shoving them into the side of the dash scratching the interior trim as the were wiggling them about. I sat giggling to myself, thinking they have no clue its screwed in at the back/top and half of the top of the dash needs to come out even before they think of pulling the head unit. They then arranged to have it fitted by their contractors at the customers house for an extra charge!!.


I Also saw one "fitter" trying to fit a 065R battery (there are two type of this battery 065L for left side positive and 065R for right hand positive) to a 065L vehicle and this was on the battery he took off and didn't click to the extra letter on the new battery that it meant he had the wrong one, needless to say he put both terminal on and then a bang and the car was towed away by RAC.


As a running joke at the motor factors I used to work with (Halfords had a IFA account with us) we would say "book and send double of everything because they always break the first and bodge the second", as they always asked for another of what was sent because "its faulty" or "we lost it".

Stoke

philgr wrote: »

and when I was a Halford's "Muppet" ican confirm the following facts

1) I have never worked at Mc Donald's
2) I have an IMI certificate on the wall in front of me for training I received whilst working there
3) If you think that one bad stereo install is a fair yardstick for all Halford's Fitters then I feel sorry for you.
4) I was, as were many members of staff over 21
5) as best I remember there was ONE guy at our store who didnt have a licence.

Sweeping generalisations like this really do annoy me. Ask any one of the VW driving sales execs who came in to the store in a panic as their oil light had come on to be greeted by me holding the correct top up for their car. Try being the driver of the S40 Volvo who had both headlights blow at 5 pm on a saturday as they set out on a journey of over 100 miles that had to be undertaken so I changed them in quickly.

Or, try being the VW nut who came in to be greeted by my colleague who not only is an organiser for VW car club locally but has modified more Volkswagens than I've had hot dinners (and that's a fair few as my stomach shows!)

I could go on about the people who came to me asking me to remedy the stereo that "my mate who knows what he's doing" fitted only for me to point out that they didnt know what they were doing as they'd blown the amp up by feeding power in the wrong way, or used a 12v dimmer feed as an earth connection....

If you don't like them, don't use them. Don't berate those who do use them though, as they're exercising their free choice to do so. Also, don't forget that there will be people who aren't physicaly capable of doing such a job for numerous reasons and choose to use the service provided,

Cool story bro, tell it again... :dance:

It's very easy to say, "oh I worked at Halfords and I'm not a !!!!wit, so therefore, Halfords is full of clever people", just like it's easy for me to say the exact opposite. Both are somewhat stereotypes, but mine seems to hold more clout, and the fact that you've got dozens of people posting similar experiences and one or two saying their Halfords geezer was actually half decent says it all. I'll address your points in order:

Ignoring the first two, I'll quickly point out that I don't judge Halfords fitters based on a single experience. It really doesn't take much to find horror stories of people who have had their radios improperly installed, bulbs improperly installed, various stuff poorly installed by these clowns who are supposed to be 'engineers' (a term used far too loosely nowadays).

The age thing is just an observation. I don't frequent Halfords enough to gauge the age of the staff from a micro perspective, but I can say for a fact that every time I've been, I have found a plethora of young, fairly inexperienced employees who know very little about cars whatsoever. That is purely my own experience of course.

Finally on your initial points, the remark about a license was the fact I once turned up at 8:55 one morning at the Newcastle-under-Lyme store as I needed to pick up some lithium grease and half the staff turned up on bikes and the rest got dropped off. I didn't see a single staff member in their own car.

OK, so a couple of points:
1. Anyone and everyone should know the correct oil viscosity and grade and even specification for their vehicle, so you being able to point out they need 5w40 PD oil means nothing apart from a view chumps who didn't read their spec. Also, if an oil pressure light came on a VW, I'd be recommending they get it checked for oil leaks. See, an oil pressure light doesn't tell you that you have low oil. It is saying the oil pressure is low. That can be caused by more than just someone not topping up their oil. VW's (especially older engines) can run on ridiculously low amounts of oil. In fact, someone once demonstrated that an SDI engine could actually operate correctly with an incredible 2 litres less than the correct amount (4.7 being the proper amount, 2.7 being the amount they ran it at). On VW forums, they're known as 'retard' lights because for one to light up either requires a seriously low amount of oil, or a serious leak or oil pressure issue. Just giving them the top up doesn't mean you've solved their problem does it mate? Your IMI certificate should back that up!

2. No idea about a Volvo S40. Never owned one. The fact you changed the bulbs in only a few minutes though (timeframe assumed by the fact they had to get on a 100 mile drive) makes me think it wasn't a massive job and anyone with the [STRIKE]skill[/STRIKE] balls to do it, could have.

3. What kind of modifications? Actual relevant modifications? Listen mate, no offence to your pal, but slamming some random Polo on cheap coilovers is mickey mouse. Anyone can do it. Unless he's done some genuinely good modifications I'm not convinced your mate knows anything more than the next Barry Boy who gets his hands on an unmolested Polo.

4. A bit confused as to how anyone could confuse a dimmer feed with an earth. I suppose it's possible, but if you were willing to let 'your mate' touch your expensive audio equipment, I'd expect a proper wiring diagram or a harness which converts OEM to aftermarket including colours (Such as those that Halfraudo's sells). I suppose it's possible you had a few in, but in reality, aren't they just as stupid as most of your colleagues? You just happened to note they'd perhaps blown their 30 quid amp up, whoopie doo! By the way, most good amps have short circuit protection, so wiring up to a dimmer should blow a polyfuse which takes an hour or two to reset. Funny that.

Finally, I'm not berating them. In fact, the person I replied to replied to my comment first questioning why I'd made such an 'odd' response. I merely pointed out a number of the reasons as to why I feel that way about Halford's. It is you who is berating me for giving my opinion on what I think is a fairly shoddy company. Sorry about that mate. Doesn't mean I don't use Halford's. No doubt I'll be there in a few weeks on a Sunday at 3:50 picking up something I desperately need. That I can admit.

Oh and by the way, anyone who is not physically able to do the job themselves can take it to a half decent reputable garage for a similar if not better experience. If you took it in my local garage, and he had no jobs on, assuming the car bulb change wasn't complicated, he'd probably fit it for the cost of the bulb. Genuinely.

Confusedandneedhelp

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

I believe certain Renault models require you to remove a front wheel and the wheel arch liner to change a headlight bulb. Not something every driver could - or should - attempt.

I believe it's the battery that needs taking out, which then requires the radio code. But that is newer models, older models you might be right (so far had 3 renaults)

datostar

Buellguy wrote: »

between 1 and 2 hrs to do on a Megane

An aberration confined to Mk 2 models. Mk 1 accessible from the back of the unit. Mk 3 - the whole headlamp unit slides forward to allow rear access. They learned their lesson!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Renault megane myths. 1. Bulb fitment doesn't require battery removal. 2 bulb fitment doesn't require bumper removal.


On all the meganes although tight the bulb can be removed through the inner wheel arch removable inspection plates. newer megane not familiar with but people are saying its easier to remove the light unit than try and access through the wheel well.

salubrious

There is a Homebase next to a Halford depot where I live, they have car park spaces dedicated to the while you wait bulb/wiper fitting service.

I dropped into Homebase one Sunday, and one of the Halfords experts was fitting a headlight bulb to a KA - 30 minutes later I went back to my car, and the Halfords expert was still trying to fit the bulb.

I went and did it for him, more so because a young lad had been left there to fit something he clearly didn't know how to and the bloke who owned the car was either sunburned or about to blow his own head gasket.

Needless to say the young lad had bent the bulb retaining spring out of shape and had the access panel retaining spring in his hand with not a clue how it had ended up there. Admittedly it is very tight on a KA, but that's where experience comes into play.

On saying all of that, Halfords never check headlight alignment on a beam setter after they have had one of their experts fit a headlamp bulb - If they did I wouldn't spend so much of my time fitting them correctly at mot time

Poppy9

I've used Kwik Fit to change bulbs on my Fiesta as I couldn't access them. When I had a Corsa I was expert at taking my rear lights panel out as I had a dodgy connection and often it only needed a tap!

rustyboy21

Havent come across this at all, with my dealings with Halfords.


Halfords Stoke fitted a bulb and 3 wiper units for me at no charge whatsoever. I asked the lad, he said no charge, so I just gave him money for a pint after work.


Halfords Preston, same thing, brake light. No issue at all.