kwik fit rip off!

[Piggy]

Friend asked me to look over a bill she had

Stratford Kwik Fit....stay well clear

2001 Ford focus 1.6

They replaced the cat, the center and rear exhaust sections.

Whether they needed replacing or not is questionable and the fact they took all afternoon and made her miss an important meeting is annoying...

But they charged her..




Wait for it.....








£600!

[bigcheez2k3]

:o

I only paid £180 for a full system on my first carat Kwik Fit.

[Connor]

Yes they are rip off merchants, but why did she agree to it? And also request it was finished by a certain time otherwise she would have to rebook.

---

Also if you pm me the reg ill price up genuine parts for you. Can go back and at least have something to argue with then?

[PartyJas]

i cant understand how they are still trading. You never hear anything good about them. I haven't used them since 1991. Needed an exhaust for my mums sierra so i called to check stock. Drove 30 miles to the nearest branch. They hacked off the old system, then told me they didn't actually have a system in stock. Had to then drive the car away with just the manifold and downpipe. Needless to say I haven't given them a second chance. Useless rip off merchants.

[bigcheez2k3]

i cant understand how they are still trading. You never hear anything good about them. I haven't used them since 1991. Needed an exhaust for my mums sierra so i called to check stock. Drove 30 miles to the nearest branch. They hacked off the old system, then told me they didn't actually have a system in stock. Had to then drive the car away with just the manifold and downpipe. Needless to say I haven't given them a second chance. Useless rip off merchants.

I guess they do a lot of business with company cars and Motability. I know if my mums car needs a tyre she just goes there and it's all taken care of FoC.

[Connor]

Their fleet contracts are keeping them up, especially motability. They have to use Kwik Fit

[Dum-Dum]

£600 isn't terrible. If your stupid enough to take a car there then you deserve it.

I'm guessing £300 for the cat, £100 for the mid section, £30 for an exhaust fitting kit and the rest in labour?

[Paul_13]

£600 isn't terrible. If your stupid enough to take a car there then you deserve it.

Totally agree!

I had a mate who worked there years and years ago, he even said himself tell your friends and family not to go there

[Orta]

DSFunny I had a marketing call from them yesterday telling me the mot was due on my vauxhall Astra... Which i sold 3 years ago! I'd gone there as they had an offer on mots for £25 and it was the car's first mot and I knew it's go straight thru. Haven't had a call in all the intervening years and then one now... Just seems odd. Maybe desperate for business??

[Toms306]

£600 isn't terrible. If your stupid enough to take a car there then you deserve it.

I'm guessing £300 for the cat, £100 for the mid section, £30 for an exhaust fitting kit and the rest in labour?

You can get a type approved cat for a Mk1 petrol Focus new for under £100 on ebay, and the rest for under £100 again. £600 is ridiculous imo.

But as said, if people are stupid enough to pay it Kwik Shit will keep doing it! Especially if they see a clueless female unfortunately.

[C.A.R.]

High street prices.

Go and get a phone contract from EE / 3 / O2 on the street.

Then have a look on MoneySupermarket and realise you're being a mug.

Kwik Fit is no different. The retail price on a catalytic converter won't be cheap. The rest of it will be 'cheaper' but the convenience of having several hundred Kwik Fit units open all-year-round is what contributes to the cost. Go in with your eyes open and they are rip-off merchants. To the man on the street, they are a reuptable garage, where they can turn up and have their car 'made better' again.

I don't have a massive problem with Kwik Fit, but then I'm a salesman, and up-selling is what you do to increase your margin. And it's all about margin. So if you can take advantage of someone for your own personal gain without remorse then so what? Intelligent people (like you and I) will never be taken advantage of. Screw the man on the street, if he's too bloody thick and has deep enough pockets then its' his own lookout.

The way you moaners go on about it suggests that you think they should sell parts at 'eBay prices' and charge 'mates rates' for labour, to everyone. That, my friends, is why you aren't working in management roles!

(harsh, but true!)

[r3k1355]

Thing is with cheap cats they're full of cheap metal, so you do get some that after 12 months can no longer pass emissions.

[Toms306]

That's true but unless you buy a genuine cat (which would've cost £500 or so itself) all the cheaper ones will be just as bad anyway...

---

I don't have a massive problem with Kwik Fit, but then I'm a salesman, and up-selling is what you do to increase your margin. And it's all about margin. So if you can take advantage of someone for your own personal gain without remorse then so what? Intelligent people (like you and I) will never be taken advantage of. Screw the man on the street, if he's too bloody thick and has deep enough pockets then its' his own lookout.

How does anyone do that though? I couldn't/can't and always sell myself short....and still feel bad about it.

I do envy good salesmen haha.

[C.A.R.]

That's true but unless you buy a genuine cat (which would've cost £500 or so itself) all the cheaper ones will be just as bad anyway...

---

I don't have a massive problem with Kwik Fit, but then I'm a salesman, and up-selling is what you do to increase your margin. And it's all about margin. So if you can take advantage of someone for your own personal gain without remorse then so what? Intelligent people (like you and I) will never be taken advantage of. Screw the man on the street, if he's too bloody thick and has deep enough pockets then its' his own lookout.

How does anyone do that though?  I couldn't/can't and always sell myself short....and still feel bad about it.

I do envy good salesmen haha.

I'm not talking about depriving some starving person their only source of food here - I'm talking about taking advantage of a situation to increase your own profit. That's the part about the remorse - as long as you can justify it to yourself that what you did was morally responsible then it's all good. We do it every day

[Eeyore]

Just dont go there... simples... ive never had a good experience both in cost and customer relations.

[cully]

only ever let Kwik fit near the AC on my car no fill no fee
IE free vacuum test

[THE_Liam]

High street prices.

Go and get a phone contract from EE / 3 / O2 on the street.

Then have a look on MoneySupermarket and realise you're being a mug.

Kwik Fit is no different. The retail price on a catalytic converter won't be cheap. The rest of it will be 'cheaper' but the convenience of having several hundred Kwik Fit units open all-year-round is what contributes to the cost. Go in with your eyes open and they are rip-off merchants. To the man on the street, they are a reuptable garage, where they can turn up and have their car 'made better' again.

I don't have a massive problem with Kwik Fit, but then I'm a salesman, and up-selling is what you do to increase your margin. And it's all about margin. So if you can take advantage of someone for your own personal gain without remorse then so what? Intelligent people (like you and I) will never be taken advantage of. Screw the man on the street, if he's too bloody thick and has deep enough pockets then its' his own lookout.

The way you moaners go on about it suggests that you think they should sell parts at 'eBay prices' and charge 'mates rates' for labour, to everyone. That, my friends, is why you aren't working in management roles!

(harsh, but true!)

Ok, few points that need to be made here. I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm in management, and I'm sat here having a good old laugh at "That, my friends, is why you aren't working in management roles! (harsh, but true)" Get over yourself lad, you aren't Don Draper. You literally couldn't come across any more patronising.

First, charging someone more than cost price is called mark-up, not up-selling. Up-selling is recommending and promoting a product of a higher value. Mark-up is adding your profit and costs onto the product cost as the retailer. What Kwik-Fit do is add a large mark-up which they can do due to the perceived brand value of Kwik-Fit (no, I can't understand how they've got that either).

Secondly, I have seen your sales model in action before, and it isn't sustainable. I hope you don't rely on return business because here's the thing, at some point people look to cut costs, and if they find out they're being charged a lot more than they have to they'll go elsewhere, and (rightly or wrongly) badmouth the company.

Thirdly, no-one is saying Kwik-Fit should charge eBay prices, they're just using that as an example.

Anyway, back to KF. What they do isn't illegal, but it obviously works for them because they are bloody everywhere. However, it does mean that both prices and the general poor standard of workmanship that they are known to provide means that I wouldn't EVER take my car there unless I was literally stranded without tools, and even then I'd be looking over their shoulder and haggling.

[Poodle]

While i agree wholeheartedly with all the points made in your post, this is just a bit daft. You're talking to a salesman, of course he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread and everybody else is an idiot beneath his shoe, that's how they live with themselves. 

Although i have to agree with his point about people who go to kwikfit, if you're daft enough to ignore the advice of others who know better, that's your look out lol.

[THE_Liam]

While i agree wholeheartedly with all the points made in your post, this is just a bit daft. You're talking to a salesman, of course he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread and everybody else is an idiot beneath his shoe, that's how they live with themselves. 

It doesn't have to be like that. Sales through service is a much better idea, the idea of thinking "How can I make this persons life easier? What product would be right for them?", rather than "I'll flog this poor fucker the most expensive thing we sell, even though I know it isn't right and they'll have to come back and bUy something else next month, but THINK OF MY f*cking BONUS!!!"

[C.A.R.]

This is why money is made in the south, not in the North.

There, how's that for patronising?! :p

Fair play I got the terminology wrong, but the principle I got right. You talk about sustainability, you must realise therefore that a business model for an industry like Kwik Fit would not be sustainable if it were run off of 'doing favours' be them financially or otherwise. Somewhere, money has to be made, else the system doesn't work. There's millions to be made extracting money from idiots - look at the football ticket industry.

[WiNgNuTz]

You can't get shitter than a kwik fit fitter!

[puglove]

I think you have to use a bit of common sence. If you go in and they come out with a mad number like £600 and you say "ok then off you go crack on" your an idiot and its your own fault. Or you have to much money and it doesnt matter anyway.

And any sensible person weather you know about cars or not Would think. " £600!! Hmmm id better go away and get another quote or ask family/friends who know about this sort of thing"

If you dont think that your a total moron and deserve to pay that sort of money. Beacause at the end of the day they are just trying thier luck incase you are that moron

[THE_Liam]

This is why money is made in the south, not in the North.

There, how's that for patronising?! :p

Fair play I got the terminology wrong, but the principle I got right. You talk about sustainability, you must realise therefore that a business model for an industry like Kwik Fit would not be sustainable if it were run off of 'doing favours' be them financially or otherwise. Somewhere, money has to be made, else the system doesn't work. There's millions to be made extracting money from idiots - look at the football ticket industry.

Where did I say that Kwik Fit should do favours? I said they were a poor business in terms of service, which if they charge £600 for that work, they are.

As another point, people who go to watch football are willing to pay what they pay for entertainment, much like people who go to the theatre or cinema, or myself going to the rugby. That doesn't make any of us idiots, it just means we are happy to pay for that entertainment - there's more spare money floating around up here in the third world north (due to cheap housing and cost of living) for us to do stuff like that to take our minds off a long day in t' financial services mill, or down t' customer service mines, but you guys in the south wouldn't know about that, because your so much more successful at making money  *doffs cap to the passing lord of the manor*

I can do patronising too mate.

[puglove]

Finially a northener that understands!!!!!! Thank you!

[Piggy]

Just fyi this friend and her husband are retired and have no knowledge of what would be expensive/cheap.

They just trust too much

[puglove]

Harsh taking advantage of older people. But the point still stands if they have no idea why did they not get a second qoute or ask you before commiting??

[Toms306]

As Piggy said, they trust too much... Old people tend to be surprisingly naïve in my experience.

Moral of the story, never trust anyone, ever, always expect they're trying to rip you off!

[tigerstyle]

I don't feel so bad now, sister had the same experience last week at a halfords autocenter on her 206cc, £398 to do all the work.

[puglove]

Moral of the story, never trust anyone, ever, always expect they're trying to rip you off!

Thats the theroy i work on tom. Except family & friends. Most business are usualy out to get top doller off of you 

[THE_Liam]

I don't feel so bad now, sister had the same experience last week at a halfords autocenter on her 206cc, £398 to do all the work.

What was that for then?