My Local Formula One Autocentre = Gitbags

[Mauler]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but as it directly involved my IS250 I figured here would be the best place but I'd hope that Lexus quality control extends to all models and ages.

 

I recently took FO Autos up on an offer that I received in my mailbox to have an MOT for just £25.  I figured that as my workplace in Chelmsford was a 30 seconds drive away from the local branch it was a cheap and convenient way to get the rapidly approaching MOT done.  Now I'm no stranger to MOTs having generally owned Fords in the past (I still have my 3.0S Capri though, although I need it sold soon!) so I'm used to working on them myself and have a rough expectation of what should and shouldn't fail at certain ages on a car in general.

So I drop my '07 IS250 off at the place on the day and head back to work.  While I was at the counter I told the guy that due to a knock on the front in a car-park one headlamp was almost certainly out so could they please check the alignment and correct it before the MOT.  The chap said they'd do it as they went.  Cool.

I got a call over an hour later saying that my car had failed it's MOT.  I was quite surprised at this because the only advisories from the previous year (shortly before I owned the car) were for rear tyre tread depth and low front pads: the latter the previous owner had replaced before I bought the car and the rear tyres were still not on the wear indicators, so with the headlamps being true I shouldn't of had anything serious to worry about.

They claimed that it had failed on the front headlamps being out of line, but had noted that they'd adjusted them - what's the point of failing the car on that if it's no longer going to cause a failure?!  That was irritating more than anything, especially as I'd asked for them to be attended to before the test.  The chap also claimed that the car had failed on a leaking rear shock absorber and a front wishbone rear bush splitting causing excessive movement.  The chap went on to say that they'd "done me a favour" and phoned some places but the only place they could source a new wishbone was from Lexus; Lexus UK had none so they'd have to order one from Lexus Japan to the tune of a four-week wait and the part cost of £600.  I politely passed on that helpful offer, got my car and on the drive home I arranged another MOT at my usual place local to where I live.

 

So the next day at 9am I was £40 lighter and in my usual garage talking to the mechanic as my car was MOTed again.  He said that the headlamps were now fine and would pass, but was also mystified as to why the previous tester had failed them if he'd been asked to adjust them beforehand.  When it came to the rear shock I could see what he pointed out - it had leaked at some point but wasn't currently leaking or wet to touch, still performed it's job and while wasn't a fail it was certainly an advisory.  The wishbone bush was the biggest pee-take of all.  He showed me the chunky rubber at the back of the wishbone, which looked pretty good for a 12 year old bush constantly exposed to road grime and use.  There was a tiny maybe 5mm crack on the front facing surface, away from the inner and outer edges, when the guy gave the car the horizontal movement test on the ramp there was next to no movement in the parts at all.  He also pointed out that the opposite wishbone bush was exactly the same, which they hadn't even mentioned and neither was anywhere near an advisory, never mind a failure.  So that was a lesson learned and an MOT pass for me.

My mechanic then explained that it's been heard for some chains to lure motorists in with a special offer, exaggerate issues with the vehicle to fail an MOT test to pull in extra work and additional profit from that and the tester gets a bonus for performance.  While I'm sceptical of this personally it would explain why Formula One seemed to try to pull a fast one and extort me for cash for work that wasn't required.

So...last week I learned to avoid Formula One Autocentres, or the Chelmsford one at least, and stick to a trusted garage despite any inconvenience caused.  Beh.

[johnatg]

A sad and cautionary tale. MoT places have to be quite careful now as VOSA do a lot of mystery shopping and come down like a ton of bricks if they find this sort of thing. But a lot of MoT testing is down to the opinion of the tester and I suppose they could argue that they had followed the letter of the testers' manual.

The headlamp alignment thing is outrageous - they obviously ignored the request to adjust the lights then found they were out during the test and then they have no option but to fail - most of the items like that involving special equipment are on line now - not sure if headlamp aligners are actually on line yet but they soon will be. Anyway this place was obviously looking for excuses to fail the car.

You don't get 45 minutes of a mechanic's time for £25 with no strings. Even £54 is actually a bit of a bargain. I pay £35 at a trusted local garage.

[scudney]

Totally agree with you John especially on the no strings,what tends to wind me up even more is the silly and sometimes irrelevant notes like "corrosion underneath,corrosion on coil,brake disc pitted etc etc,when there's no need for it except to show seeds in the owners mind that x,y,z need doing when they actually don't ☹🤔

[olliesgrandad]

52 minutes ago, johnatg said:

 

You don't get 45 minutes of a mechanic's time for £25 with no strings. Even £54 is actually a bit of a bargain. I pay £35 at a trusted local garage.

Or £39 in my case at my Lexus Dealer who maintain the car. 😊

[Paul Brooksbank]

I once went for an interview at a tyre and exhaust centre, I was told that I'd be expected to extract £300.00 from each customer, and that was back in 1997.

[johnatg]

If you read any "trade" magazine you'll find articles on "upselling" - how to extract more cash from your customer.

The likes of Kwik-Fit, Halfrauds and, clearly Formula One have it down to a fine art. They'll have regular meetings, courses, etc on how best to do it.

Beware, friends!

Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

[Texas]

If you can go to a MOT testing centre that does not carry out work, ie a Local Authority MOT test station then there is absolutely no chance of any ‘up selling’. It’s going to cost the official rate ( £50 iirc) but at stated above cheap ain’t always inexpensive!

note: it’s also good to see that the following‘Advisories’ are dying out (wtf could you do about it anyway, it was like that from the factory!)

• Engine cover, undertrays and outer sill covers fitted
• Under-trays fitted obscuring some underside components

 

[scudney]

Are such advisories really dying out,not too sure lol🤔🙃🤪🤥

[is200 Newbie]

I thought the only alignment on these was through the self levelling system unless it does not have HID's

Local garage to me, that i have used for years, put an advisory on mine for a de-laminating rear number plate which is fair enough but i told them to let me know if there was any issue with it before recording it to let me know and they didn't and for the sake of £20 ..... it was still within its MOT period so could have sorted it before it was up. They also, which i think was a genuine mistake, added almost 60k miles to the cars mileage!! Dont know why i checked it on the GOV site when i got it back but a good job i did really.

 

[Shahpor]

12 hours ago, Texas said:

If you can go to a MOT testing centre that does not carry out work, ie a Local Authority MOT test station then there is absolutely no chance of any ‘up selling’. It’s going to cost the official rate ( £50 iirc) but at stated above cheap ain’t always inexpensive!

note: it’s also good to see that the following‘Advisories’ are dying out (wtf could you do about it anyway, it was like that from the factory!)

• Engine cover, undertrays and outer sill covers fitted
• Under-trays fitted obscuring some underside components

 

I had both of those on my last MOT even thought it was carried out by the Lexus Main Dealer

They also mentioned a shock that they claim wasn't a problem and even list the wrong one! (They listed Offside when it was Nearside).

Not the best experience, but as it is part of my service plan, it seems silly not to take it there.

[Mincey]

14 hours ago, Paul Brooksbank said:

I once went for an interview at a tyre and exhaust centre, I was told that I'd be expected to extract £300.00 from each customer, and that was back in 1997.

Much against my wishes, SWMBO took the now operational iQ to Kwikfit yesterday for four new tyres. Over the phone she'd been quoted £43 each for budget rubber. When she arrived at the appointed time, the budget tyres had - wait for it, and you won't believe this, been sold, and now only Super Duper Carlos Fandango Pirellis for £65+ were available. SWMBO isn't to be messed with though, and when she threatened to go elsewhere, the Pirellis suddenly came down in price. Not to the price of the budget tyres, but near enough to make it more palatable than going elsewhere. Me, I'd have taken it to the local independent tyre and exhaust place who have served me and my family well for 30+ years and refused to attend the course on ripping punters off.

Why do I not like Kwikfit? I harbour grudges. Many years ago when I was young, naive and really should have known better, I took my 1.2 Nova there to have a new exhaust fitted. "Oh dear Sir, we've given your car a courtesy shock absorber test, and one of them is leaking. They must be fitted in pairs you know, but it's your lucky day, we have two in stock....". Never, ever again. Ever.

[ISF V8 JAY]

In a nutshell in just use lexus main dealers.

my dealer In Poole are good as gold.

 

[bernieeccles]

Another Kwikfit anecdote.

A few years ago took my 2004 VW Bora TDI into said establishment for an oil and filter change. I usually do it myself but was feeling a bit lazy at the time. Now I have quite a lot of experience in working on cars both as a private individual and in a working capacity. On booking the car in, I did tell them that being a Pumpe Duse engine it needed a specific oil and of course the guy behind the counter said "we stock all kinds of oil".

I had owned this car for many years up to this point and it is still in the family now so I knew it was fine mechanically. Car gets put on a ramp and I can see through the viewing window, the oil being drained. About ten minutes later, the manager comes to me and proceeds to tell me that the starter motor is faulty and the exhaust needs replacing. How much to fix those said I, playing along with his game. He then does a bit behind his counter and comes back with a price of many hundreds of pounds.

I'll think about it says I and wait for the job to be finished, paid and left. On the way home, doubts began to enter my mind as to which oil they had actually put in my engine. I just could not rest with the thought that they probably just put in something from a big drum, not PD specific. Changed it myself a day later for the proper spec.

Needless to say, the car which is now coming up to 16 years old, still starts every time with the original starter motor and the exhaust is still the original exhaust.

I have never been to the crooks again since.

[Farqui]

I've only ever used F1 for tyres and I must say that after my recent experience in reception I agree with other comments. 

More evidence...whilst waiting my turn an older lady was being served (she clearly had little interest being there) and was being 'up sold' with a big list of extra's off the back of a service.  Once the rep figured that she was just saying 'yes' to get on with it so she could get away, he started firing additional changes at her.  I felt so bad for her that I almost interjected but I'm not a mechanic, she'd taken the vehicle to a garage of her choice (presumably), it's not my garage, none of my business, etc so against my better judgement I sat tight and waited it out.

[rich1068]

They're all shysters. End of.

[65mike]

Hi all.😊

I had a experience with my local tyre dealer when i had the XK i phoned around for the best price for rear tyres  i think they were over £200.00 pounds per corner at the time.😕

Any way took car to this place and they proceeded to fit the new tyres and then said you will be lucky to get anymore than 9000 miles out of them, watched them back the car off the ramp and expected them to park car out front and bring keys back in.😟

But alas no the fitter then proceeded to drive it round the block just to try it out or give it a blast more like it ( if you are unfamilIar  with a XK mine was a 4.2 V8 and a lovely roar from the exhaust) he then came back after 5 minutes or so and told me the tyres are shiney so be careful

I paid the bill and never been there since i did not argue i wanted the car back and got out off there.😑

65mike.🎸

 

[doog442]

6 hours ago, rich1068 said:

They're all shysters. End of.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

My lad was away at Uni and arranged a cheapo MOT deal with Kwik Fit much to my horror. It failed on everything under the sun with a nice quote of over a grand to put right (For a 55 plate car that had been in the family since new) I recovered it the 100 miles back home and took it to my trusted MOT dealer who replaced a leaking shock and it passed. We were told to report these shysters.

My only issue is that my trusted Independent is about to retire. 

Main dealer wise, the Mother in law has a 56 plate Honda since new. Every service and MOT has been with Honda and they've been spot on, havent tried to pull any stunts at all.

Toyota on the other hand tried to get my mother to buy a new gearbox five years back on her Yaris, also water pump. Complete made up bull shi* ...neither needing doing. Its a mine field out there.  

[Paul Brooksbank]

Further to my previous, my brother in law went to QF for an MOT. He dropped the car off at 09.00 and walked into town. Ten minutes later QF ring him and tell him that his Cat is knackered. So he rings me and tells me that they must be right because the guy is holding it while he's on the phone and rattling it to prove the point. I advised him that there's no way they could take a red hot catalyst off the car and hold it to shake it about after ten minutes. 

[007M]

I only ever read a few online from people who had a good experience with these cheap MOT offers. 

Never have I been tempted. Always use MOT only place with no repairs, charge £50 current rate.

[scudney]

Same here,cheap is not always best,furthermore it's a ploy to get you in and the rest is history 

[olliesgrandad]

9 hours ago, 007M said:

I only ever read a few online from people who had a good experience with these cheap MOT offers. 

Never have I been tempted. Always use MOT only place with no repairs, charge £50 current rate.

My wife's Fiat 500 always goes to the small family run Fiat Dealer who supplied and service it. They charge the full price for MOT but you know they can be trusted not to rip you off. 

 

[Mincey]

Slightly off topic, whenever I took my second IS200 to the main dealer for a service, they'd change the discs. When I stopped using the main dealer and had my local chap look after it, i'd get four or five services out of a set. I've always found this curious....

[007M]

4 hours ago, Mincey said:

Slightly off topic, whenever I took my second IS200 to the main dealer for a service, they'd change the discs. When I stopped using the main dealer and had my local chap look after it, i'd get four or five services out of a set. I've always found this curious....

They are making money from u which probably not did need spending as the discs will be good for loads of mileage. 

[Malc]

My indy takes my cars personally to his preferred MOT Tester and I pay the full MOT fee and happy with that as he's able to make any minor adjustments there and then to ensure a pass or arrange for her to go back after sorting out something more serious ..... at the annual service that afternoon

Also to discuss one-one with the Tester any potential issues with the cars and to ensure major item possible future failures, like a UCA, are Advisories and sorted soon after to ensure no problem at the next MOT

Gives me time to order from Amayama or whoever and to save ££££ and still happily run the car for the many days it takes for the genuine OEM Toyota parts to arrive .....  saving about 50% of the Lexus price too

Been doing it this way for many many years, and no, I wouldn't trust any set-up national chain to give unbiased advice tbh ...  they're there to make as much money as they can

Malc

 

[doog442]

13 hours ago, Mincey said:

Slightly off topic, whenever I took my second IS200 to the main dealer for a service, they'd change the discs. When I stopped using the main dealer and had my local chap look after it, i'd get four or five services out of a set. I've always found this curious....

My IS200 had two sets of discs over 80,000 miles and ten years of its life. Are you sure it wasn't pads, even then a new set every service would be criminal unless you knock up mega miles.