I need a backbox, middle section for my Felicia or everything from the CAT back.

KF quoted £160 (excluding discount card)

Parkside quoted £99 for the system.

No prizes for guessing where my Felly is going.

I had quite a good experiance with my dealer recently... but then they have always looked after me (unlike the skoda dealers used to)

I need new front discs and pads... went into my local dealer, and was almost too stunned to speak..... £99 PER disc £97 for the pads... would have been £400 to get new fron brakes.....

sooo, I said... er no. not paying that, its silly... I can get pads off e-bay for £27...... the service manager agreed, said he'd see what he could do, and would phone me later that day (by the way, when I had a skoda, and the dealer said they would phone me, they NEVER did, in two years of ownership!)

anyway, got the call later that day, service manager has found a different supplier, that would supply "pattern" parts.... got the discs for £40 each, and the pads for £30 RESULT!

he basically (when given a little push) matched the internet prices...

I cant compair with the "fast fit" places, as my cars brakes are not listed at kwick-fit... I asked.... (front brakes for a grande punto what? what engine? you mean the 1.3? 1.9?!?!? no 1.9 here.. no pads , no discs, cant help you.)

so cudos to my dealer

I took the work van (Vauxhall Combo) to Kwik Fit yesterday to sort out a pull to the left. Their guy said he adjusted my right track rod by 7 degrees, should sort the problem but it's difficult to get right with a load of tools in the back:eek:.

Got onto a straight road and discovered the steering wheel is now slightly to the left and the pull is worse.

Going to the dealers in the morning.

KF quoted £160 (excluding discount card)

No car of mine has been in KF for more than 10 years: they're usually sh!te.

dealer everytime for me.

I once took my pug 309gti to KF for x4 new tyres as they were the cheapest around for the make I wanted, but they refused to let me have the car back until I had replaced front and rear disc's and pads, they kindly helped my out with a Credit Card to pay for it though. I managed to sneak back into the workshop after they had shown me the excessive wear and pop them in the boot ready for my complaint to Head Office. Managed to get 1/2 of the cost for the brakes back.

KF - give them a miss.

I misguidedly thought that the role of KF was to offer the busy motorist a service whereby he could drop his car off to save time by not doing the work himself. I was pressed for time and wanted a new exhaust fitting to my Rapid so off I went to KF.

Took the car in and collected it 3 hours later - only to drive away hearing the sound of the exhaust blowing. Looking at the (non-genuine) exhaust they had fitted it and it did not have the correct stud/hole alignment and had got jammed halfway down the studs. Took it back, but then the stud sheared off. Not to be defeated they took a gas torch to the exhaust manifold and blasted a hole through it to pass a nut and bolt through. Not only this but they overfilled my cooling system with what looked like mud mixed with pi$$. They returned my car in a filthy state with bird lime, dirty handprints and the engine bay caked in grot. I complained to head office, but only got a £40 KF voucher:mad::thumbdwn:. Used it on a load of wiper blades.

Well, I ended up doing all the work myself - costing £250 (genuine exhaust, new manifold, gaskets and studs). Took a day off to do the work. Still makes me angry thinking about it.

TH

Well my exhaust is done and the car sounds quieter on starting from cold.

I have a Free MOT voucher at KF I'm going to use this year.

Neither - I get the parts myself and have my local indy garage fit them for cash in hand (and maybe a couple of car radios fitted by me for him).

KF will find imaginary work, and what genuinely needed work they do is done to an appalling standard. As for the dealer, the labour charges (I think) are ridiculous.

.....

anyway, got the call later that day, service manager has found a different supplier, that would supply "pattern" parts.... got the discs for £40 each, and the pads for £30 RESULT!

he basically (when given a little push) matched the internet prices...

I cant compair with the "fast fit" places, as my cars brakes are not listed at kwick-fit... I asked.... (front brakes for a grande punto what? what engine? you mean the 1.3? 1.9?!?!? no 1.9 here.. no pads , no discs, cant help you.)

so cudos to my dealer

I'd have a guess they were probably genuine parts as a dealer by me cut the price by about 60% on brakes. Huge mark up on the consumables I was told.

I'd have a guess they were probably genuine parts as a dealer by me cut the price by about 60% on brakes. Huge mark up on the consumables I was told.

hhmmm interesting..... maybe they are OE, I'll see if I can find out, they are being done tomorrow....

Got the van back from the dealers after they carried out a proper wheel alignment. The van now drives properly.

BTW wouldn't use KF by choice but the van is Lex fleet and have no choice.

Last time I called a dealers I think it was over £80 for just the centre section. Took it to an independent fast-fit style place who used a pattern part and did it all in for £40.

hhmmm interesting..... maybe they are OE, I'll see if I can find out, they are being done tomorrow....

Be interesting to find out, other option is that the supplier who supplies OEM parts supplies the OEM parts minus the name.

deffo pattern parts, it says "unipart" on the back of the brake pads, and service manager said he gort in trouble for not using fiat parts, even though he explained I would have gone elsewhere had the cost not come down! I also got the "these are not genuine fiat parts, and are therefore not covered by fiats warrenty" speech!

bloody nice to have my pedal back now

I use these if I just want OEM parts:

SN Autohaus

I got front 312 discs and pads for about £80 less than the Skoda-branded parts from the same place. They're exactly the same, made in the same factory, they just don't have Skoda packaging

alot of stuff is... I bet the brakes I now have were made in exactly the same place as the fiat items.... (or possiby alfa items, as they share bits...)

I have a Free MOT voucher at KF I'm going to use this year.

I got pulled in by that one too...well, I booked an MOT at one KF, only to find out when I arrived that they hadn't actually made a note of it anywhere so they "couldn't do it".

Taking the MOT at another branch, they managed to find lots of dangerous faults that they could rectify (strangely all the usual things they sell - brakes, tyres, exhaust, etc.). They told me that they couldn't issue the MOT until it was sorted, so I declined the MOT and went elsewhere - only work that ended up being done was headlight alignment.

My experience was an annoyance, but I know people who have had their cars back to find things like holes in their exhausts - possibly coincidence, but strange how an exhaust system quite bereft of serious rust develops a hole within a day of coming back from somewhere that fits exhausts... :rubchin:

Ultimately a company can't give away freebies, they're getting you in for the "free" MOT because they're looking to make the money back on other work - if they can't find anything that needs doing, you have to wonder if the less ethical ones will either a) makes up problems with the car, or create problems with the car.

Personally, I'd rather pay the £40 to get an MOT done by someone I trust!

Rob.

A few years ago I was told by a fitter in a branch of ATS that one of my rear shocks was leaking oil. Quite a good trick for a gas shock. :eek:

I'll be sure to keep a vary eye on my car and the tester then when it goes in as I don't want no cowboy messing with my Felicia

I normally pay £30 at a garage I've been to for years.

Sometimes it fails on some points but it passes after that's been rectified.

A few years ago I was told by a fitter in a branch of ATS that one of my rear shocks was leaking oil. Quite a good trick for a gas shock. :eek:

Gas shocks do contain oil AS WELL AS gas. However, these fast fit places have been known to spray oil on, and then call you over to show how your shock absorber is "badly leaking" and the talk of how dangerous it is and how they can replace it for £100 etc....

I got pulled in by that one too...well, I booked an MOT at one KF, only to find out when I arrived that they hadn't actually made a note of it anywhere so they "couldn't do it".

Taking the MOT at another branch, they managed to find lots of dangerous faults that they could rectify (strangely all the usual things they sell - brakes, tyres, exhaust, etc.). They told me that they couldn't issue the MOT until it was sorted, so I declined the MOT and went elsewhere - only work that ended up being done was headlight alignment.

My experience was an annoyance, but I know people who have had their cars back to find things like holes in their exhausts - possibly coincidence, but strange how an exhaust system quite bereft of serious rust develops a hole within a day of coming back from somewhere that fits exhausts... :rubchin:

Ultimately a company can't give away freebies, they're getting you in for the "free" MOT because they're looking to make the money back on other work - if they can't find anything that needs doing, you have to wonder if the less ethical ones will either a) makes up problems with the car, or create problems with the car.

Personally, I'd rather pay the £40 to get an MOT done by someone I trust!

Rob.

on this subject, i once worked in the parts department for a major car dealer and EVERY car that came in for a service got the breaks knocked - pads, discs and sensors all around...which adds up when youre buying a service, pads and discs and anything else that needed doing.

thankfully, it WASNT skoda !

Had a bit of a co-incidental day today.

Went for the free MOT at Kwik Fit.

In the waiting room got talking to two woen, one with a Honda who has having a new tyre and another whose Peugeot was overheating but she was sure it "only needed water.

A few minutes later a silver Felicia pulls in.

Got talking to the owner whilst mine was having its MOT test.

His Felicia (Silver well kept 1.6 SLXI with alloys) was having the exhaust (centre and backbox's) and he usually gets it serviced by Parkside and this time he came to Kwik Fit. £160

Told him I got quoted that from KF and Parkside quoted and done the work for £100 so he probably hadn't been quoted off them.

Think he'll always get quoted off Parkside before anyone else now I wpoke to him.

Mine failed on one minor point, the right front offside tyre they said was wearing on the inner edge (which got checked when I had the rears done in July and was fine then.

Will get the spare on for a free retest.

Got the MOT off comes the spare. I've looked at the tyre and it is worn a little bit more in places on the inner edge but other parts the tread is still good.

Edited 27 October, 200817 yr by Captain Sisko

on this subject, i once worked in the parts department for a major car dealer and EVERY car that came in for a service got the breaks knocked - pads, discs and sensors all around...which adds up when youre buying a service, pads and discs and anything else that needed doing.

thankfully, it WASNT skoda !

A North Manchester Peuget dealer tried that with my Uncle's 407. Told him his pads were 90% worn. They had actually been replaced a month before along with the discs. Last I heard trading standards department were involved.

As for exhausts, now go to dealer every time. Kwik-Fit (an oxymoron if ever there was one, quick? people do marathons faster) are useless anyway, unhelpful, inept, slow, ignorant, surly, rude, and their places stink. I had a Polo 1.4 TDi, needed middle and rear sections and had it done by ATS. From that point it made a whistling sound, like there was a turbo fitted under the back seats. They tried 4 middle sections and two rears - no good. Went to VW, it cost a hundred pounds more but was perfect. Got refund from helpful but embarassed ATS manager.