Are Kwikfit reliable? (I am doing an MOT with them)

[Milkyway]

(posting it again as a new thread rather than as a reply to my other old thread, since that has become too long )

I have managed to book an MOT test with local KwikFit for tomorrow. Phew!

It will be great if you can share any experience (good or bad) with them.
I read on various forums on this.. and some say they are good, and equally others say they are to be avoided!
The bad aspects were: they steal parts from your car, they force you into getting some work done on the work even though its not required at all, they fail the test just for the sake of asking more work done, etc.
I am more worried about the fact that they can steal parts from my car!
How am i to check it afterwards??
I am going to take a quick phone picture of the bonnet, engine et al, and compare it after I get the MOT done!

Also I am going to tell them I expect the car to pass the test straight-away (since my car is pretty much new), so please return it without doing extra work without asking me if they think it needs any, since I will then take it to Toyota later on.

Any bad experiences with them from any of you?

[cojak]

Yes.

They try to upsell to you every time you go to them.

You will never get a straight and simple MOT pass from them, and if you're a woman they will try and take you to the cleaners.

HTH.

[administrator]

You will never get a straight and simple MOT pass from them, and if you're a woman they will try and take you to the cleaners.

HTH.

Par for the course with a lot of garages, and not just women but anyone they think can be duped. In my early twenties I got had several times by shoddy mechanics

Had a good job done by Kwikfir earlier this month, new tyre had gone flat so took to them as easier to get to than my usual garage. Leaking around the edge of some old and corroding alloys. Patched them all up for a decent price and was happy with the service. I guess it depends who you get on the day, some of them will be honest and will sort you out, some won't.

[mackenzie99d]

I've used Halfords for my last 2 MOT's and thought they were really good. No upsell at all just advice that my front suspension needs keeping an eye on (car is 13 years old and I live in London so loads of speed bumps!)

I've used Kwikfit for tyres and found them great especially the mobile service. Mobile service was the same price, prompt and friendly
and they were by for the cheapest

[anonymouse]

I've used Halfords for my last 2 MOT's and thought they were really good. No upsell at all just advice that my front suspension needs keeping an eye on (car is 13 years old and I live in London so loads of speed bumps!)

I've used Kwikfit for tyres and found them great especially the mobile service. Mobile service was the same price, prompt and friendly
and they were by for the cheapest

Last time I used Halfords, they ran a car into a post with the door open, luckily it wasn't mine. Three of them swinging on the door to try and straighten back.

Kwikfit mobile for tyres, but they don't always get the balancing right, so had to go back and get them redone.

Most garage are the same these days, try and find an independent one. Had a last minute drive in MOT done in the past, they don't sell any other services so they were honest about it.

[AtW]

Yes.

They try to upset you every time you go to them.

You will never get a straight and simple MOT pass from them, and if you're a woman they will try and take you to the cleaners.

HTH.

FTFY

[MrMarkyMark]

How am i to check it afterwards??

If you hear scraping sounds, and have a huge amount of sparks coming from under the car, your wheels have been nicked.

HTH

[BrilloPad]

A big shout out for KwikFit New Eltham. They were brilliant.

I suspect every branch is different.....

[PurpleGorilla]

If it passes - no problem - if it fails, they won't be able to fix it Lol

[NickFitz]

I suspect every branch is different.....

WBPS.

If possible, wait and watch them rather than just dropping the car off and coming back later. There's usually some kind of customer waiting room from which you can see them work; don't just sit in there reading stuff on your phone or whatever. Stand at the window watching them work, and they're less likely to try anything out of order like pulling bits off or poking holes in it.

Also, when you arrive, make sure they don't get you to sign anything up front giving authorisation for any other work besides the test, or indeed get you to do so verbally. If they do, make it absolutely clear you just want the test done before considering anything else.

Remember, the process is:

1. The test is done, and the car either passes or fails;
2. If the car has failed, you get the faults fixed;
3. The test is done again and, assuming step 2 was done correctly, the car passes.

Note that step 2 doesn't say "they fix the faults", and step 3 doesn't say "they do the test again".

So firstly, if they start saying you need x,y, and z doing, you should check if they're actually saying the car has failed. An unscrupulous garage may tell you stuff needs doing on the assumption you'll just go along with it, when in fact the car has passed. So make sure they've actually failed the car; they're supposed to give you a printed notification of failure, so get that before you agree to anything.

Secondly, the printed notification will list the precise reasons for failure. You want to check that so that if, say, it failed because your front brake pads need replacing, but they're also saying you should get the rear shocks replaced, you can tell them to GTF and just fix the brakes.

Thirdly, you don't necessarily have to get them to do the work. Under certain circumstances, mainly involving the car not actually being unsafe to drive away, you can if you wish take the car elsewhere to be fixed. You'll lose out on things like a free retest, but it may still be worthwhile.

If, when you ask them for the printed notification, it turns out the car actually passed but they're trying to upsell you on stuff, you have confirmation that they're unscrupulous tulipbags. That alone is good enough reason to just pay the test fee and get out of there, then have the stuff they mentioned checked elsewhere at your leisure. If there's actually anything that needs looking at but isn't a reason to fail yet, such as corrosion that isn't yet affecting one of the "prescribed areas" of the car, it should be listed on the pass certificate under the additional notes section.

Quite honestly, unless you've been making a point of driving like a maniac through salt beds on a regular basis, there's very little likelihood of a three-year-old car legitimately failing if its been serviced regularly. My fifteen-year-old Toyota had its MOT a few weeks ago, and the only problem was that the number plates had started delaminating, so they fitted new ones for a tenner. A car one-fifth its age should be fine, but watch the bastards like a hawk

Also, read all the official info at Getting an MOT. Forewarned is forearmed, and having a good understanding of the procedures allows you to catch them out if they try to pull any stunts.

But also bear in mind that some branches of Kwikfit are absolutely fine - you may be lucky and get one of the good ones

Your last thread was only on its second page, which isn't too long at all - TPD is currently on page 28,542 and is only just getting started