Kwik Fit Free Brake Check Any Good?

jazzy

Are there any catches with the free brake check offered by Kwik Fit? There is a dispute about the brakes on a car that I purchased recently, which just had a fresh MOT and a Service.
I will probably need a report if the matter is to be referred to Trading Standards and Vosa.

harveybobbles

KF will tell you the brakes are knackered and pull the car to pieces, basically.

If there is an issue with the brakes following an MOT, you need to be in contact with VOSA..

Out of interest, what is the issue?

jazzy

harveybobbles wrote: »

.

Out of interest, what is the issue?

Brakes are noisy and all of the brake discs are badly worn. MOT and service was carried out by a main dealer, 300 miles since the service/MOT.

I did an online MOT history check and the car has had MOT advisories since 2012 about worn brake discs. However, the MOT carried out recently in July 2014 (300 miles ago) had no advisories. The car was then in possession of the main dealer because it was a part exchange vehicle.

The main dealer then sold the car on to a local car dealer, which I purchased it from. Surely the brake problems should have been picked up on the service or MOT?

harveybobbles

When did you buy the car?

mgdavid

most brakes make a little noise and all brakes wear, I wouldn't call these problems. However I would expect these characteristics to be found by a prospective buyer as part of the vetting and test drive process.
If I wanted an independent check and report then Kwikfit is the very last place I would go to.

mrmot

The brake discs need to be in an extremely poor state to fail a MOT, which will be a state 10 times worse than Kwik Fits minimum service standard.

Kwik fit will tell you what you want to hear, whilst the DVSA (VOSA don't exist now) will rule that the discs are good enough for the MOT test.

jazzy

mrmot wrote: »

The brake discs need to be in an extremely poor state to fail a MOT, which will be a state 10 times worse than Kwik Fits minimum service standard.

Kwik fit will tell you what you want to hear, whilst the DVSA (VOSA don't exist now) will rule that the discs are good enough for the MOT test.

Surely though there should have been a MOT advisory like the previous two years, and the main dealer service should have replaced the brakes on the service interval?

facade

jazzy wrote: »

Surely though there should have been a MOT advisory like the previous two years

Not if in the opinion of the tester the discs were not significantly weakened.
The requirement for failure is excessively weakened, insecure or contaminated with oil or grease

If the previous MOTs came from Kwickfit/ATS then they often advise about brakes discs to drum up business.

jazzy wrote: »

and the main dealer service should have replaced the brakes on the service interval?

Brakes are never replaced as part of a service, only checked, then they 'phone you and tell you how much more it will cost.

Unless the 'pads were below 1.5mm or the discs were worn below the service limit they wouldn't touch them.


Best advice is to go back to the dealer complaining about the brake noise, they may change the brake pads as a good will gesture.

mrmot

jazzy wrote: »

Surely though there should have been a MOT advisory like the previous two years, and the main dealer service should have replaced the brakes on the service interval?

Advisories are not important, they just show that the tester has noticed something during the inspection that could need attention in the future. What matters is that the brakes have achieved the minimum standard which has been set by the DVSA, which means that the dealer hasn't done anything wrong by not replacing them.

Brakes aren't a service item where they're replaced on a schedule, they're a maintenance item where they get replaced as and when needed.

AdrianC

jazzy wrote: »

There is a dispute about the brakes on a car that I purchased recently

Tell us more about this.

KF's "free checks" - parking outside KF, even - are just an excuse for them to give you a largely fabricated long list of things that're so dangerously wrong they'll kill you five times over before you've even shut the car door.

jazzy

facade wrote: »

If the previous MOTs came from Kwickfit/ATS then they often advise about brakes discs to drum up business.

All of the MOT's and servicing have been done by the same main dealer. It's just strange that when the main dealer had the car back for a part exchange (to sell on), it received a stamp for the service and no advisories for the MOT, unlike all other previous MOT's. I just don't believe that the car was serviced or MOT'd correctly.

The other thing that I have found is that on the MOT certificate there is no signature of the issuer, field is blank, is this normal?