Motoring Discussion > Kwik Fit - the price of convenience Miscellaneous
Thread Author: BobbyG Replies: 25
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 12:54 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - BobbyG
Had a couple of volunteers out in our Charity's van on Friday and they noticed they had a flat tyre. Conveniently they were in the next street to a Kwik Fit so they drove there.

Kwik Fit couldn't repair the tyre as they had driven on it whilst completely flat. So I told them just to get a new tyre fitted at the Kwik Fit.

So they got a "mid range" Marangoni tyre fitted, with all costs it was exactly £100.00.

A quick look online shows that if you had pre booked this at Kwik Fit, it would only have been £68.30. A Blackcircles Budget tyre would have been £58.25 fully fitted and for less than £100 I could have had any proper brand name tyre fitted.

So £30 or so for the convenience factor? Now if this was my own car I would have put the spare on, went home and shopped online etc but in this instance I feel that £30 extra was worth paying to get it done there and then and let them get on their way. I am sure that to have called the recovery company out to change the wheel with the spare, and then ultimately for me to eventually arrange and possibly take the van to get a new wheel would have felt more than £30 of hassle.

Thoughts? Would you pay extra to lessen the hassle?
Does Kwik Fit deserve its reputation of not being value for money?
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 13:03 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - R.P.
I think a word with a manager might be in order - ripping off a charity not good for image
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 13:15 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - sooty123
As long as it was the same price for all customers, I wouldn't see it as a rip off. High price yes but not ripping off a charity.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 13:18 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Focusless
I've found previously that although you can in theory only get the reduced price by booking a fixed time a day or 2 ahead, if you ring them up, they will do it there and then anyway. Worth trying.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 13:20 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Runfer D'Hills
Arguably it shouldn't be this way but in practice it is. If you don't ask for a discount they won't offer one but usually, if you do, they will.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 13:35 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - jc2
No need to book ahead-just walk away-price will drop!
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 14:04 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - VxFan
When I've previously dealt with a local company called Merityre, they quote me a price on the phone, I mention that I found it cheaper on their bestbuytyres website and they then match it.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 15:12 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Ted

The firm I work for has had an account with KF for years. I stopped using them about 3 years ago when they always condemned a tyre I took in and never had the right tyre in stock......unless it was a high cost one.

I was told to find someone else locally and ended up using National, who have a depot easily accessible from the city centre. They always have the budget tyres, which the office insists on, in stock. Nothing is too much trouble for the lads there. They do punctures and blow ups for free. More importantly, they do my own punctures for free.

The coffee from the machine is very good for 20p. I've watched the lads dealing with customers and their attitude and service is beyond the call of duty, unlike the sour faced lot in the other place !

They also do the odd MOT and service for us.

Ted
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 15:15 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - R.P.
I've used National regularly for the last few years. Local branch. They seem very fair - slightly more pricy than some places online, but convenience alone makes me go there. They saved te life of the Fiesta a few weeks ago - £30.00.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 18:59 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Bill Payer
I suppose if you look at it from KF's business point of view then it would be a bit stupid not to maximise the profit available from somebody on the premises with a flat tyre.

However one of the significant factors in me opting out of my company car is that it would mean I didn't have to go to KF anymore, such is the number of bad experiences I've had there and I tried several branches.

National - we have a branch a couple of miles away, far more convenient than anything else and have used them quite a bit when stuck. They're also utter muppets - but they are convenient muppets.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Mon 25 Nov 13 at 19:00
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 21:40 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Boxsterboy
My local (to work) independent tyre fitter (Queens Park Tyres) are great, always good prices and good service. On the occasional emergency when I've had to go elsewhere, like KF, I have always been disappointed.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 22:04 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - borasport
A chain is a chain is a chain, and there is probably more variation within any given chain than across chains, but given a choice between an unknown and KF, I'd give the unknown a chance every time
Unforunately they are the default provider for non-dealer work for our fleet managers.
When my last octavia was in for an air con regas, two weeks before it went to auction, they convinced the fleet managers it needed two new tyres, despites the fact that a) my tyre depth gauge disagreed and b) it had only been serviced a few weeks earlier, and the servicing garage saw nothing to comment about
And today, as for the last 25+ years, 'take a seat, we'll be with you in 5 minutes' means 'sit there while we ignore you for three quarters of an hour'
Last edited by: borasport on Mon 25 Nov 13 at 22:05
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 23:04 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Bill Payer

>> When my last octavia was in for an air con regas, two weeks before it
>> went to auction, they convinced the fleet managers it needed two new tyres,

My experience was always the opposite - doing 2-3K/mth I always found getting the timing right for tyre changes a right pain as KF would always say there was more life in the tyres than I did. On one occasion I had 3 tyres replaced and they said the 4th was OK and the lease company wouldn't authorise the 4th. So I had to go back shortly afterwards and get that one changed. I'm told it's because cars get crashed all the time so if it had been written off a week after replacing all 4 tyres they'd have wasted the cost of one of them.

If tyres were replaced near the end of lease then they'd put the scariest crap tyres on imaginable.
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New Mon 25 Nov 13 23:31 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - CGNorwich
"as KF would always say there was more life in the tyres than I did. "

I think you perhaps misunderstood. A small contribution to their pub expenses is normally sufficient for them to see your point of view.
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New Tue 26 Nov 13 00:43 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - rtj70
I always find/found asking them to accept all responsibility for anything that happens because:

- Tyre on one side is directional (they fitted it and I got a puncture later) and the other not
- Tyre one one side has a new tyre and max tread and the other will need replacing soon....

Usually got my way. Only because that is what I thought was safe and argued a point.

Annoyingly on this car I cannot argue to get tyres replaces early either. But the 36 months mileage is assumed to be 36,000 so a few tyre changes. But I've only done 16k miles in 2 years.
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New Mon 2 Dec 13 17:43 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - scot22
I would never use KF. In my first post I wont risk describing the two occasions that led to this opinion : also now difficult to prove. Out of interest after I had recently had 2 tyres fitted by local garage I rang KF for a price - only £1 per tyre cheaper. I know why people go there but I repeat I will never, never use them again. I use places I can trust.
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New Tue 3 Dec 13 23:13 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Stuartli
Always found National very honest and the employees genuinely interested in their work.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 17:08 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Avant
Agreed - National Tyres in Henley-on-Thames are excellent. They treat you like a customer, whereas most Slow-fit branches I've been to act as if they were doing you a reluctant favour.

The only problem for National in Henley is that there is a very good independent, Thamesview Tyres, literally a few hundred yards away from National down a side road, and they are just as friendly and can be cheaper.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 17:23 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - R.P.
National Tyres in Caernarfon gave the Fiesta a recent reprieve....they are pretty good.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 17:30 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Fullchat
Must say I noted a good customer experience at National Tyres when I had a couple of tyres fitted which were ordered through My Tyres in the summer. Polite and engaging staff who also appeared to do the job with some care.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 17:33 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Robin O'Reliant
Kwik Fit used to be excellent, I had a few punctures repaired free of charge by various branches over the years with no questions about where I'd bought the tyres and their prices were hard to beat.

Sadly now they are overpriced compared to other fast fit centres and not very efficient.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 17:43 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Zero

>> Sadly now they are overpriced compared to other fast fit centres and not very efficient.

At Kwikfit I can get branded tyres fitted at the same cost as any online discount source, and I can book a slot on the net, convenient to me. Whats not to like. Used them recently for nicoles polo.


Did not use them however for my car, because I wanted a certain brand and type, and KF do not provide such choice.
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New Wed 4 Dec 13 21:55 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Ted

Just ordered 6 Yaris tyres from ' my ' National. No, we don't have a 6 wheel Toyota, I've got 3 cars to take in next week for front tyres.

They'll probably be Barums. The firm specify budget tyres on the fleet.

They couldn't do me a pair of tyres for my Vitara for less than £180 but they said they'd fit me any I managed to get cheaper. Plenty on EBay, saw a matching pair with 7mm tread on bin at £70 the pair.

I'll leave it 'til the new year now.

Ted
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New Thu 5 Dec 13 07:32 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - madf
Kwikfit
Do my MOTs for £30
Refill aircon - offseason- £25

Good at that.

But wheel alignment on Yaris? Could not fix it. Said they had.. but did not.

National sorted out tracking - used to do a free check - ..great job.

Guess who gets my new tyre business..
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New Thu 5 Dec 13 11:11 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - DP
National are fitting new rear boots to the 320d today.
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New Thu 5 Dec 13 17:57 
 Kwik Fit - the price of convenience - Fullchat
And fitting 4 new Barums to replace the Hankooks tomorrow on the Focus. Want some good tread for the winter.
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