Alfa front tyre was down to 10psi Sun am so on a garden centre trip in her car Mrs F dropped the wheel off at KwikFit for a puncture repair. A hefty £24-50 (inc the £1-50+vat nitrogen inflate!). Fair enough though as it got us out of trouble on a Sunday.
However 4 of the 6 self adhesive balance weights had come off the alloy wheel just on the run home in the C3 boot! You could see they'd done no more than wipe a dry rag over the brake dust coated wheel and there wasn't a chance in hell the weights were going to stick for more than 5mins. Idiots.
As I have to make a 20ml round trip to get them to do it properly we'll see if they'll refund the charge, at least for the balance.
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Wow. £24.50 for a repair - not really worth it, is it. (£10 for rebalancing.)
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Not had a puncture repair for perhaps 5yrs plus. Had no idea what to expect except that my previous garage of 20+yrs charged £6-£10 inc balance back then.
I'd have been happy with £24-50 on a Sunday if they'd actually done a proper job. I see if I'd had more time National only charge the valve and balance.
Note this repair yesterday was on an £80 tyre with another 15,000mls left to run.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 4 Nov 13 at 11:34
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Few weeks ago I came out on Sunday morning to find rear offside tyre very low. I inspected the wheel and could not see any obvious nails or suchlike so used the mini compressor to pump it up and drove carefully to local Kwik Fit fully expecting similar sort of repair charge.....
The upshot was a leaking valve , replaced there and then with a smile and free of charge.....
Some Kwikfits are obviously better at customer service than others....
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For future reference FL, doubt he'll be working at the weekend, but you will get a professional vulcanised repair.
www.facebook.com/pages/REPLY-TYRE-REPAIRS/108472552656354
Useless twerp, sticking balance weights on dirt...in the words of my late Mum (Irish lilt applies) 'he needs a blooming good kick up in the backside.'
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 3 Dec 13 at 13:01
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Had various slow punctures over the years, so I just bung in a can of jollop and forget about it. Never let me down so far.
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>>I see if I'd had more time National only charge the valve and balance.
I think that (some) garages are (have been/have become) reluctant to charge for puncture repairs. I guess if they don't charge then they don't have the same warranty issues. Potentially the liability issues around a faulty repair will be lower too?
My nearest Kwik Fit semms pretty good at the moment. I watched like a hawk as he did the nuts up and *correctly* used a torque wrench (rather than a gun).
Moved a tyre onto the spare too (which was borderline illegal), balanced it and didn't charge.
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Since the local 'quality' tyre bay sheared a stud on the CRV tailgate wheel carrier by overtightening the nut, I have always taken the wheels in and refitted at home them myself. It also means the paint stays on the holes in the wheels as I can use a slim socket instead of the fat impact ones on the guns.
There's another local place that will do a puncture for £10 or £15 cash, depending on how they feel and how well dressed the asker is. I have some very scruffy clothes.
It's about time to put the w----- wheels on, and when I do that I'll get the slow puncture on the current left rear mended ready for next year.
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>> I have some very scruffy clothes.
That's my policy too. And I wear them most of the time just in case I get a puncture!
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>> My nearest Kwik Fit semms pretty good at the moment. I watched like a hawk
>> as he did the nuts up and *correctly* used a torque wrench (rather than a
>> gun).
>>
I have seen them over tighten wheel nuts / bolts with an air gun and then "click" a torque wrench on them to prove they are over tightened.
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>> I have seen them over tighten wheel nuts / bolts with an air gun and then "click" a torque wrench on them to prove they are over tightened.
So have I. The air spanner should be set to a low torque, and the nut or bolt should move when the torque wrench is used. I always watch closely. The nearest tyre place does a proper job though as a rule.
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>> I have seen them over tighten wheel nuts / bolts with an air gun and
>> then "click" a torque wrench on them to prove they are over tightened.
So have I. And then I've watched them untighten them and do it properly...
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Once man band place near me just marks the wheel and tyre with yellow crayon and remounts it in the same orientation, so no need to balance. £10 last time I went a couple of years ago. These days, I repair my own witha repair kit.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Safety-Car-Bike-Auto-Tubeless-Tire-Tyre-Puncture-Plug-Repair-Cement-Tool-Kit-/330718501563
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Sooty:
"Please note that this repair kit should not be used to fix tyres with punctures bigger than 1/4' and should only be used as temporary fix, to allow you to reach your destination safely then you can repair your tyre permanently "
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I thought that this type of string repair was made illegal in the UK a long time ago, or was it dealers spreading FUD? I did have a repair done like this in France about 10 years ago, but made sure that the tyre went on the rear until done properly.
www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=40349&page=2 shows that various people also have this view, but no definitive authorative link.
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>> However 4 of the 6 self adhesive balance weights had come off the alloy wheel
>> just on the run home in the C3 boot! You could see they'd done no
>> more than wipe a dry rag over the brake dust coated wheel and there wasn't
>> a chance in hell the weights were going to stick for more than 5mins. Idiots.
>>
Playing devil's advocate you gave them a wheel you knew didn't have a chance in hell of retaining the weight why send it in in that condition? They offered a puncture repair service not a wheel cleaning service. They stuck the weights on as best they could with the wheel they were given.
I'll bet gb's wheels are as clean on the inside as the outer show surface ;-)
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>> I'll bet gb's wheels are as clean on the inside as the outer show surface
>> ;-)
oof i'll go to the foot of our stairs, you're such a leg pull Gmac..;)
But now you mention it, when i take my work tractor unit to the main dealer workshops for inspection/service every 6 weeks, without fail i drop the trailer off and steam clean the chassis throughly almost to annual MOT standards, i also keep the chassis and running gear of my tank clean too.
The way i look at it, apart from taking a pride in ones work is that my lorry is a pleasure to work on compared to most, and doing my bit to make the mechanics life easier and more pleasant pays me back times over, every time i ask for any jobs to be done they are without fail.
Lorry alloy wheels polished to mirror finish too, takes minutes to keep 'em clean once finish established, but there's another reason, can you guess?
Oh and yes my car wheels are clean inside, about once a month when washing the car i shove a soapy sponge inside the wheels and work it all the way round.
Picked up the MB's winter wheels from my handy little one man and his dog bodyshop today, looking a bit shabby so had them painted, they'll be going on at the end of the month and the brakes will get a quick strip service at the same time, summer set will go in during the winter for painting...
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Tue 5 Nov 13 at 20:22
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>> Lorry alloy wheels polished to mirror finish too, takes minutes to keep 'em clean once
>> finish established, but there's another reason, can you guess?
>>
So you can see up a young ladies skirt as she climbs into the cab while you pretend to examine your shoes? ;-)
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>> So you can see up a young ladies skirt as she climbs into the cab
>> while you pretend to examine your shoes? ;-)
No wrong, good wheeze though something i'd not thought of..;)
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>>>They stuck the weights on as best they could with the wheel they were given.
No they didn't.. they have the solvent and rag near the balance machine to clean an alloy before sticking the weights on.... they just didn't use it. Bear in mind they only have to clean a tiny patch.
So you expect a driver going in for a set of 4 tyres to remove all the wheels and clean the whole inner surface to enable the weights to stick in any possible position... of course not.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 5 Nov 13 at 20:23
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>> So you expect a driver going in for a set of 4 tyres to remove
>> all the wheels and clean the whole inner surface to enable the weights to stick
>> in any possible position... of course not.
>>
In that example probably not.
In your case though you had the wheel off and looked at it before you sent it off. I would have cleaned it to stop the brake dust dropping off inside the other car.
Different people, different ideas.
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Ahh yes one might have chosen to have cleaned the wheel... but the onus was still fully on the fitter to do a proper job. If he couldn't see his way past self adhesive not sticking to dust hate to think what he's like on a full brake overhaul.
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True.
When I take my car in for service I always make sure it's as clean as reasonably possible. I hope it makes the mechanics job easier. Consequently he takes care to make sure he does not leave any oily boot prints in the carpet or hand prints on the steering wheel, gear lever and handbrake.
If you are presented with a shed on wheels to work on you might reasonably think if the owner doesn't give a stuff I'm not going to knock myself out over it.
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£26 to repair a puncture! I'd expect them to clean the damned wheel!
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£26 does seem a lot for a puncture repair! It did remind me of something that the dealer told me about when I bought my car though; the Ridgeway group, who seem to have MB dealerships covered round here, offer a 'complimentary' benefits package for their customers:
www.ridgeway.co.uk/ridgeway4life/benefits/
Free puncture repairs for life :-). Only outweighed by the promise of free dust caps for life as well. I'm almost tempted to remove them all every time the car goes in to see if they actually check ;-)
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In truth the inside of my alloys are quite clean compared with many. When I buy a used car I always clean the insides with squeezy, jif and or a green scourer/scrubbing brush. Then every time they come off for brake work, perhaps once or twice a year I do them again.
So mine were nothing like the mess you sometimes find on a fwd where driveshaft gaiters have been left split a creating a ghastly mix of grease and brake dust.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 5 Nov 13 at 21:44
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Not tyres, but relevant to comments about thoroughness of dealers......The local Toyota group, RRG Motors, always remove the after market floor mat on the driver's side and chuck it in the boot every time I take a car in for service. Comment is left on the service checklist ' Dangerous driver's mat removed '
I think the original mats are velcro fastened but the lease company will only supply cheap shop bought ones which can be pushed up under the pedals by the driver's feet. I leave them in the boot but the mobile valeter seems to like to replace them for some reason ! I care not.
Ted
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Sooty Tailpipes.
Any repair using one of those plugs is not in accordance with the relevant BS. Whilst I do not know whether a BS has the force of law, I do know that I wouldn't want to be in the dock having caused death by dangerous driving on account of my own non-BS compliant DIY repair.
www.btmauk.com/data/files/Minor_repairs_to_passenger_car_and_light_van_tyres_31_May_2011.pdf
I'd also rather you weren't using roads I might be using.
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>>
>> I'd also rather you weren't using roads I might be using.
Careful, ban him from the road and the next thing you'll know he'll be wiping his dirty brompton on your strides on the train.
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>> Sooty Tailpipes.
>>
>> Any repair using one of those plugs is not in accordance with the relevant BS.
>> Whilst I do not know whether a BS has the force of law, I do
Mapmaker, of course BS has no force of law, but that is a lie pedalled by ignorant tyre shop workers.
BS 6008:1980 is the standard for brewing tea, but that doesn't mean you have to always make tea to this standard, even if you are a seller of said tea.
I have only ever had nail and screw punctures and the hole on these closes up when you pill the nail out. These tyre repair kits are find for that and used daily all over Europe and USA. It's only in nanny-state britain where people have had the 'Pay this or you might all die' philosophy drummed into them.
Last edited by: sooty tailpipes on Thu 7 Nov 13 at 08:40
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I'm glad i still have my own tyre machine i'm not paying £26 for a repair and still have plugs to repair with.
Next job some all season tyres to fit.. come on snow were ready. :-)
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Puncture repair - lazy tyre fitters. - Mapmaker
