kwik fit and Halfords for servicing

[gaz6963]

My IS250 is due a 50,000 mile service. Do I take it to my Lexus dealership which would be in Norwich UK, or do I take it to either Kwik fit or Halfords for a service? Has anyone got any feedback on either of these, are they any good? 

Thanks for your replies in advance.

[bernieeccles]

I once took my other car, a VW Bora TDI to KwikFit for an oil change about 4 years ago. I normally do it myself but was a bit lazy at the time so thought I would let them do it. I asked the guy behind the counter if he knew it needed oil specifically for Pumpe Duse engines and he said yer, we have all sorts of oils.

They proceeded to put it on the ramp and after about 20 minutes, the manager came to me and said "did I know that the starter motor is faulty and that the exhaust needed replacing?"

I played dumb and asked how much. I can't remember how much he quoted but it was in the hundreds. Now, I had owned the car since 2005 and knew it intimately. It had never failed to turn over and start and it had recently been through an MOT and I am one of those people that work on my own cars having been professionally involved in car repairs and plant machinery on an LPG plant in Algeria. I knew he was talking cheval merde.

After that episode, I could not stop thinking had they used the correct oil or just put some bulk type stuff in. I changed it a week later myself for oil of the correct spec. I would not go near a KwikFIt again!

[Texas]

+1 on Not going to KwikRip or should that be -1.

Question back to you, 

How much do you prize you car, it (Lexus) is one of ( if not THE) most reliable cars out there and if you look after it then it will look after you! 

Yes, undoubtly Lexus are going to be the most expensive for a normal service, but you get what you pay for. 

But what you should do ( if you can't/Don't DIY) is try to find an independent garage and build up a relationship with them for all your motoring needs and it should pay dividends, you ain't gonna get any type of relationship with the chain stores, that's for sure! 

paul m.

[olliesgrandad]

1 hour ago, Texas said:

+1 on Not going to KwikRip or should that be -1.

Question back to you, 

How much do you prize you car, it (Lexus) is one of ( if not THE) most reliable cars out there and if you look after it then it will look after you! 

Yes, undoubtly Lexus are going to be the most expensive for a normal service, but you get what you pay for. 

But what you should do ( if you can't/Don't DIY) is try to find an independent garage and build up a relationship with them for all your motoring needs and it should pay dividends, you ain't gonna get any type of relationship with the chain stores, that's for sure! 

paul m.

Totally agree. When I ran BMW and Mercedes I had local specialists for servicing and repairs. 

[scudney]

I am always baffled by people who take their cars to the kwik steal places and the likes,who half the time haven't got the foggiest idea, I stay well clear of them,use my trusted independent garage I have used for the last 20 years 🙁

[Linas.P]

As for simple oil change... I am sure Kwikfit and Halfrauds can handle it... What you need to understand however, simply replacing oil and filters that is not = service. There is the difference between knowledge as well - even the dumbest employee in Lexus dealership will know more about Lexus cars than one in Kwikfit and Halfrauds. Makes no difference when simply replacing fluids (at least most of the time)... 

But the reason why I would not go for Kwikfit and Halfrauds is because as pointed out by others they will try to "up-sell" you, so be prepared. God forbid you do service + MOT, because they will call you and say you have to spend £900 or it will fail MOT. It ranges from "lipped disks", "low pads", blown LED lights which are lifetime, tyres which needs changing because edges are worn, faulty batteries etc. When these shenanigans starts happening I really don't want to visit place anymore - they are fraud, they suggest to replace things which are not even broken.

My recent story about Halfrauds was with A/C... I trying to avoid the place, but it does not help when one is literally in front of my house. They have "free A/C" check so I though it can't hurt. So I booked free check and first thing the guy asked was - "so what is wrong with it". I should have said - "go figure, because it is free check", but made a mistake and said that it does not blow cold air. Straight away he said there are no point in free check and what it actually needs is £45.99 A/C service a.k.a. re-gas. Well I though it is probably correct anyway so I agreed... few hours later received the call that car is ready to pick-up and that A/C works excellent "blows freezing air". It was winter time ~ 7C outside, so I have picked-up the car and tested A/C on my way home. Turn re-circulation on, set temp to max (32c) when it go hot turn it to min (16c) and A/C was blowing same hot air. Got back and told them that A/C does not work and the guy in the workshop pretended to be surprised - got into the car turn the air from outside and was trying to tell me it works fine - blows 7C air. When I pointed out that it is 7C outside he had to admit defeat and booked for free diagnostics next day. Concluded that "potentially, perhaps" air pressure sensor is faulty and quoted me £640 to replace it.

If you like to experience such stories yourselves - go ahead and book a "surprise". 

[rich1068]

2 hours ago, gaz6963 said:

Do I take it to my Lexus dealership which would be in Norwich UK, or do I take it to either Kwik fit or Halfords for a service?

Can't believe those extremes are your only option. You don't even need a Toyota/Lexus specialist. Just a decent garage that knows what it's doing. Ask friends or colleagues who they use.

And I wouldn't let Kwik Fit or Halfords anywhere near my cars. jack of all trades, masters of none. Just stand outside Halfords and watch them trying to fit bulbs and wipers. It's comical.

[Hadrian]

12 hours ago, Linas.P said:

.. I trying to avoid the place, but it does not help when one is literally in front of my house.

 

Same here. I also often walk through their car park and see their employees struggling to change wipers and bulbs.

The son of a chap I used to work with worked at this place. He was saying (and this no doubt applies to a lot of these outlets), that the fitters

working there are on a relatively low wage. They get bonuses according to the extras they can impose on customers...

[Linas.P]

They are pretty much like sales assistants in Halfords retail, just with spanner. Do not actually know much about cars and are train probably for 5 limited cases, change tyres/balance wheels, change batteries, re-gas A/C, change brake pads and maybe change fluids. If you do those 5 things it most likely be fine, but if your case falls out of the textbook case they won't have any clue. Further, whereas in Lexus or any decent garage they would let you know if something else needs attention, in halfrauds they simply do not have the clue themselves.

As said previously, my biggest issue is that they will tell you that something is broken what isn't actually broken, most of the times random things.

[Texas]

If you really want to know why you shouldn't go to KwikRip, have a read of Post #1 and #4 ( same person!) here!!!!

https://talkford.com/community/topic/390591-front-and-rear-discs-and-pads-change/#entry3112803

paul m.

[rich1068]

I once ordered a couple of (I think) Pirellis from Kwik Fit because their price was the best I'd seen. When I went to have them fitted they were an entirely different speed rating and the branch manager didn't seem to think that was important. Walked away.

[Texas]

Here's the latest reason why not to let them get their hands on your pride and joy, Simple enough job you think, gives owner a headache now!

https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/119027-help-request-for-part/?tab=comments#comment-1085134

Paul m.