Kwik Fit and tyre profit margins

[MillsyVRS]

I rung my local independent tyre place yesterday and asked for a quote for some tyres. Said quote was £472 for tyres, fitting, VAT etc, which I agreed to as after ordering tyres from online and then paying fitting costs, the difference was minimal.

Out of interest today, I called the local Kwik Fit which is just a minute away from the first garage and asked for a quote for the same tyres. £580 was the price! I quickly thanked the guy for his time but said I wouldn't be going ahead as I'd had a much better quote. They asked who from and what the quote was, and after telling them, within 30seconds or so he agreed to drop the price to £450! Took £130 just like that!

I presume with the first quote they were just trying to mug me off, but I'd be interested to know what sort of profit garages make on tyres. Obviously factoring in labour costs etc, I was fairly pleased with the new price. I'd usually go to the independent but they're always busy anyway and I've never had a problem before with my previous car at Kwik-Fit so have gone with them. Saving was equal to about a weeks petrol.

Guess moral of the story is to just ask around and get a few quotes! Just thought I'd share.

Edited 27 April, 2016 by MillsyVRS

[999pooch]

Mmmm......Indy garage give you a decent, no bull quote.

Kwik Fit try to rip you off with a cheeky inflated price, & then immediately knock off £130.

I can't believe you still went with them.

[john999boy]

Mmmm......Indy garage give you a decent, no bull quote.

Kwik Fit try to rip you off with a cheeky inflated price, & then immediately knock off £130.

I can't believe you still went with them.

I can think of 22 reasons why he did! ;-)

[MillsyVRS]

I can see why you said that but at the end of the day, the contents of my wallet is the most important thing to me. I know the independent are always busy and have had lots of business from me before so on this occasion I thought I'd give Kwik fit ago. And if the service isn't spot on or they try and tell me my alignment/tracking is miles out when I know it's not I won't bother again

Heard some of the Kwik fits in near by towns can be a bit rubbish but the one where I live seems fine, seen plenty of expensive cars in there before.

Edited 28 April, 2016 by MillsyVRS

[Kenny R]

For the sake of £22 I would have gone with the independent, I wouldn't let Kwik fit anywhere near my car.

[999pooch]

I can see why you said that but at the end of the day, the contents of my wallet is the most important thing to me. I know the independent are always busy and have had lots of business from me before so on this occasion I thought I'd give Kwik fit ago. And if the service isn't spot on or they try and tell me my alignment/tracking is miles out when I know it's not I won't bother again

Heard some of the Kwik fits in near by towns can be a bit rubbish but the one where I live seems fine, seen plenty of expensive cars in there before.

That's fair enough, I know the lure of the cheapest price can be strong.

However, believe it or not, I don't always choose the cheapest supplier. Other factors weigh in with good measure. Their customer service, their ability not to damage my alloys, not trying to upsell me tat and useless products etc, etc....

I also have a real problem with Hi / Lo pricing policies. That is, pricing high at list price but discounting heavily when pushed. As a small retailer myself I see this all the time, and much prefer a business offering fair prices to all. Kwik Fit are basically ripping off anyone who isn't aware of the proper, honest price. This then allows them to offer a reasonable discount to anyone whi asks as they have already made a packet from those who haven't. Don't likey :(

Anyway enough of my rant!! Hope they fit your tyres well

Edited 28 April, 2016 by 999pooch

[MillsyVRS]

Well, that will teach me for trying to save £20 and using Kwik fit..

[LGM]

Well, that will teach me for trying to save £20 and using Kwik fit..

Now why doesn't that sound good?

Edit : maybe I should read it all first

Edited 7 May, 2016 by LGM

[MillsyVRS]

Now why doesn't that sound good?

Edit : maybe I should read it all first

Long story short, they ordered and fitted the wrong tyres, despite when I called them me saying the ones I wanted and confirming they had ordered the right ones several times. They even had an advert on the wall for the ones I wanted right next to the front desk!

I checked the tyres when I was there after they were fitted and was a little suspicious but still unsure, so checked the invoice and went online as soon as I got home. The ones they fitted were Goodyear Eagle F1 GDS3's I think they're called, not the Aysemmetric 3's like I asked for. They have completely different ratings and the ones they fitted are a lot cheaper elsewhere. I don't know why I didn't confirm they'd got the right tyres while I was there.

When I called them at home they didn't seem to understand why I was unhappy or what the problem was. I said that I'd mentioned the ones I wanted several times on the phone and the guy replied well we can't get those tyres? And I said yes, but you told me you had to order them in from Goodyear as they were a new tyre. And why are you advertising them if you can't get them yet?

So they reluctantly agreed to let me come back and refit my old tyres and give me a full refund despite them saying a couple of times, 'I'm not sure what you want us to do then'

And once they'd fitted my old ones one of the guys said, I don't know what the issue is, these ones are much better than the asymmetric 3's anyway..

So I told him exactly what the issue was.

So before anyone says I told you so, I know I know, you were all right and I was wrong and I've learnt from my mistake! All hail Briskoda wisdom!

[MillsyVRS]

Haha just realised the 'long story short' was a bit silly as I gave pretty much the whole story anyway

[LGM]

Haha just realised the 'long story short' was a bit silly as I gave pretty much the whole story anyway

Bloody hell! You'd think they'd atleast mention it to you before actually doing the job.... "sorry we've messed up and ordered the wrong tyres, would you like these at a reduced rate? "

[MillsyVRS]

Bloody hell! You'd think they'd atleast mention it to you before actually doing the job.... "sorry we've messed up and ordered the wrong tyres, would you like these at a reduced rate? "

They didn't seem to think they had got the wrong ones! In which case the price I paid was disgusting as they're much cheaper most other places, AND that was after they'd lopped £130 off the price after I'd said I had a much better quote elsewhere! The tyres they put on had a rating of F for fuel economy, B for wet grip and 69db for noise. The new goodyears I wanted to try are A for wet grip which is obviously very important, C for fuel economy and about the same noise rating.

[MR G]

Gds3's are an old design tyre...had them on my car back in 2005!

[999pooch]

Oh dear :(

I'm dying to say it.......but won't!!!!

I once had the same with an Audi main dealer, so it happens. They fitted Continental Sport 3's instead of 5's.

They were pretty good after I pointed it out, as it said 5's on the invoice. Took them 4 weeks to get the right tyres. Suited me OK as I put 1500miles on their tyres before they swapped them

[niceyellow vrs]

On the flip side, I've just recently used my local Kwik Fit as they were the cheapest by far for the Michelin Pilot Sport 3's I wanted, plus they had an offer on so I got a free set of Michelin goodies with some very worthwhile items in. Booked an appointment, they took the car straight in on time, fitted the tyres quickly with no issues and I left very happy.

Suppose with any chain store, each outlet is only going to be as good as the people running it.