National Tyres - AVOID
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laroc
Posts: 79 Forumite
My son visited National Tyres in Colchester for an oil filter and engine oil change
A few days later he complained the engine was very noisy on start up and the oil pressure warning light was slow to extinguish. Knowing nothing about cars, I told him to take it to his local village garage
Alarmingly, they found the oil level was so low it didnt register on the dipstick.
The engine noise was due to the hydraulic timing chain tensioner not having enough pressure to force it against the chain
The oil was topped up with a bill for £38
We have sent an email headed "Complaint" to National Tyres" requesting they pay this invoice as their work was not up to a satisfactory standard
On the web site they state they will acknowledge the complaint within one day and resolve the situation in 5 days, but it was:-
Ignored
Two weeks later, we sent a reminder
Ignored
Their Complaints procedure is a total farce !
They could have wrecked this engine, but it seems they couldn`t care less
A few days later he complained the engine was very noisy on start up and the oil pressure warning light was slow to extinguish. Knowing nothing about cars, I told him to take it to his local village garage
Alarmingly, they found the oil level was so low it didnt register on the dipstick.
The engine noise was due to the hydraulic timing chain tensioner not having enough pressure to force it against the chain
The oil was topped up with a bill for £38
We have sent an email headed "Complaint" to National Tyres" requesting they pay this invoice as their work was not up to a satisfactory standard
On the web site they state they will acknowledge the complaint within one day and resolve the situation in 5 days, but it was:-
Ignored
Two weeks later, we sent a reminder
Ignored
Their Complaints procedure is a total farce !
They could have wrecked this engine, but it seems they couldn`t care less
0
Comments
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I don't think everybody on here is going to avoid National Tyres because one person had a less than ideal experience with one particular branch.0
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I wouldn't trust any of the chains with an oil change.
Find an independent local garage who you trust, or do it yourself.0 -
We had tyres fitted by them and wheels balanced but the car still wasnt right , we took it elsewhere where they found all four alloys were buckled so could noy have been balanced at all even though we were charged for it !0
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My son visited National Tyres in Colchester for an oil filter and engine oil change
A few days later he complained the engine was very noisy on start up and the oil pressure warning light was slow to extinguish. Knowing nothing about cars, I told him to take it to his local village garage
Alarmingly, they found the oil level was so low it didnt register on the dipstick.
The engine noise was due to the hydraulic timing chain tensioner not having enough pressure to force it against the chain
The oil was topped up with a bill for £38
We have sent an email headed "Complaint" to National Tyres" requesting they pay this invoice as their work was not up to a satisfactory standard
On the web site they state they will acknowledge the complaint within one day and resolve the situation in 5 days, but it was:-
Ignored
Two weeks later, we sent a reminder
Ignored
Their Complaints procedure is a total farce !
They could have wrecked this engine, but it seems they couldn`t care less
Good lesson for your Son, some basic car maintenance. I always check the oil and oil level after a service. These should be part of his weekly checks with other fluid levels and bulbs etc.
Have used National in the past without issues but as a general rule wouldn't recommend any fast fit place for car servicing. Sounds like the oil sump plug wasn't replaced/tightened correctly. Oil pressure warning light coming on was a warning signal, stopping the car immediately and checking the dipstick would have been the correct course of action and topping up if needed to prevent any further engine damage.
Glad your local garage sorted it.0 -
Who told you that? For a buckle to be so bad that it can't be balanced would mean that the tyre couldn't seat properly so couldn't be inflatedall four alloys were buckled so could noy have been balanced at all even though we were charged for it !
I've had buckled alloys and the mechanic may mention it but the tyre has been replaced and balanced successfully0 -
I've used NT's a couple of times and found them great. Went in for a puncture repair on a Saturday afternoon and due to the fact they kept me waiting for 20 minutes due to being busy they did it for free.
Another time was for tyres and again very good service so one bad review won't put me off.
As above when I've had services done on older cars I've always found a good local individual as they can't afford to have local negative feedback.0 -
My son visited National Tyres in Colchester for an oil filter and engine oil change
A few days later he complained the engine was very noisy on start up and the oil pressure warning light was slow to extinguish. Knowing nothing about cars, I told him to take it to his local village garage
Alarmingly, they found the oil level was so low it didnt register on the dipstick.
The engine noise was due to the hydraulic timing chain tensioner not having enough pressure to force it against the chain
The oil was topped up with a bill for £38
We have sent an email headed "Complaint" to National Tyres" requesting they pay this invoice as their work was not up to a satisfactory standard
On the web site they state they will acknowledge the complaint within one day and resolve the situation in 5 days, but it was:-
Ignored
Two weeks later, we sent a reminder
Ignored
Their Complaints procedure is a total farce !
They could have wrecked this engine, but it seems they couldn`t care less
Cant see people avooding them, you do realise that despite 1 garage doing a pi55 poor job it doesn't mean all the others are as bad, they could have happy customers.
It serves as a lesson for your son to not use Nstonal Tyres, use an independant garage, personally I wouldn't use NT for tyres so choose to go to an independant thats very popular.0 -
I would wager, although it might well have cost a bit more, his local village garage would have done a more reliable job.
Add to that the advantage of, if anything did go wrong - they are local.:)0 -
Cant sing the praises highly enough for my local National Tyres in Braadford.
Used them for years and never had a problem. They always go the extra mile to provide good service.
As others have said. On poor experience doesn't mean the whole chain is bad.0 -
My son visited National Tyres in Colchester for an oil filter and engine oil change
A few days later he complained the engine was very noisy on start up and the oil pressure warning light was slow to extinguish. Knowing nothing about cars, I told him to take it to his local village garage
Alarmingly, they found the oil level was so low it didnt register on the dipstick.
The engine noise was due to the hydraulic timing chain tensioner not having enough pressure to force it against the chain
The oil was topped up with a bill for £38
We have sent an email headed "Complaint" to National Tyres" requesting they pay this invoice as their work was not up to a satisfactory standard
On the web site they state they will acknowledge the complaint within one day and resolve the situation in 5 days, but it was:-
Ignored
Two weeks later, we sent a reminder
Ignored
Their Complaints procedure is a total farce !
They could have wrecked this engine, but it seems they couldn`t care less
You should have contacted National straight away and given them the chance to sort the issue out.0
This discussion has been closed.
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