£131 for one new tyre?
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Own a 2014 Fiat 500. Looking for advice and what I can do in my current situation and if said situation is a rip off and/or illegal in any way.
Had a flat tyre last night, front side passenger. Booked online with Kwik-Fit for next day fitting. Charged £16 for the slot and £106 total payed up front online (before any work performed) for two new front tyres (thought I would get both replaced so wear would be the same).
Get there and am told that they only need to replace the one tyre and can just rebalance it so they wear at same rate. Excellent now only ~£60.
However, I am then told that I need balancing on all wheels which comes to £20.25 and that I need to my tyres aligned also and they can do that for £49.95. To not have my tyres aligned is extremely dangerous also and will be very expensive if I do not have this done.
Given seconds to think about decision and on "advice" I was given said to go ahead. What a mistake. Thinking it would be a big job I sat down to wait for what I presumed would be an hour or so. Literally 3 minutes later they were done.
£50 for 3 minutes work - an eye watering £1000 per hour rate and im left with an already payed online £106 bill, and from what was a ~£40 refund I now owe an extra £25.20 for a total cost of £131.20
£131.20 for one new tyre.... How bad have I been had? What can I do in this situation? Obviously never going to Kwik-Fit again.
Had a flat tyre last night, front side passenger. Booked online with Kwik-Fit for next day fitting. Charged £16 for the slot and £106 total payed up front online (before any work performed) for two new front tyres (thought I would get both replaced so wear would be the same).
Get there and am told that they only need to replace the one tyre and can just rebalance it so they wear at same rate. Excellent now only ~£60.
However, I am then told that I need balancing on all wheels which comes to £20.25 and that I need to my tyres aligned also and they can do that for £49.95. To not have my tyres aligned is extremely dangerous also and will be very expensive if I do not have this done.
Given seconds to think about decision and on "advice" I was given said to go ahead. What a mistake. Thinking it would be a big job I sat down to wait for what I presumed would be an hour or so. Literally 3 minutes later they were done.
£50 for 3 minutes work - an eye watering £1000 per hour rate and im left with an already payed online £106 bill, and from what was a ~£40 refund I now owe an extra £25.20 for a total cost of £131.20
£131.20 for one new tyre.... How bad have I been had? What can I do in this situation? Obviously never going to Kwik-Fit again.
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Comments
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Yup. They saw you coming. Nothing you can do about it.0
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It's Kwik Fit. You got off lightly. They normally try and get you to replace your battery and exhaust too.0
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And discs and pads too.
"We couldnt possibly let you leave here in a car in that condition. We're doing you a favour really". :eek:
I recall my handbrake cable snapping on my Mk 3 Cavalier.
I had a back injury at the time so gambled on Kwik fit as I was passing.
I assume my hobble made them think I wouldn't be under cars working on them.
Told me I needed new rear discs & pads and they couldnt repair the handbrake cable without performing this 'urgent' safety work.
I requested the discs & pad measurements in writing as I had changed them under 12 months ago and would be lodging an issue with the supplier. :rotfl:0 -
Lots of stories of Kwikfit ripoffs
Find a well rated local tyre shop next time. I use one that was recommended by my garage. I use blackcircles to check pricing and they’d always price match with the online price. Smaller places tend to care a bit more about their image and reputation with customers.Mortgage remaining: £42,260 of £77,000 (2.59% til 03/18 - 2.09% til 03/23)
Savings target June 18 - £22,281.99 / £25,0000 -
M ycousin goes to halfords all the time,have give up telling her to try other places,A few weeks ago she had a slow puncture and that cost her £200 plus for 1 tyre:eek:0
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Years ago a old work mate of mine I think spent over £1000 trying to fix her car stalling problems, mechanics I feel its too easy to take advantage of people because its a skilled service for something that is essential in peoples lives, so people pay up.
We would end our shift, it would take her about 10 minutes to get the car to stay running, and then she would have to restart frequently as it kept cutting out, even when driving. So she would take it to the mechanics, come to work, and be happy she had her car fixed, only for it to play up again at the end of the shift, occasionally it would improve temporarily but always reverted to type, then one day I asked how much she had spent over the year, she didnt know, but after a week she said she checked all her receipts and it was over a grand, crazy, I am not even sure if the car was worth that.0 -
Why would all wheels need balancing considering they are already on the motor, unless you are getting alot of vibration whilst driving.0
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I am quite naive when it comes to fixing the mechanics of cars. One thing I do is look around the internet for prices before giving someone a call. When my tyre needed replacing, I went to Kwik Fit but got a price over the phone, compared it with others and confirmed the cost when I got there.0
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The price isnt actually that bad for the works done.
However the works may not have even been necessary. Unless tyres was wearing unusually or vibration felt at the wheel you may not have even needed it done.
Tracking is good to have done regularly but doesn't need to be done every time you change a tyre.0
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