Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
Heard it today, starts off with a guy explaining about a problem with his car, like 'I've got a light on then...' and the mechanic butts in 'engine' and he's like 'I think its something to do with' and the mechanic butts in again spouting crap of things it isn't.
The inference is that independent mechanics will have you off and tell you things are wrong when they're not.
The narrator then goes on to explain that Halfords have diagnostic machines which will tell you exactly what is wrong with your car. Which is at best optimistic and at worst a complete lie.
I made me fairly mad, cheeky that claiming that they know what they're doing when in reality they're hiring young people with limited experience to work computer systems which on the most part only give clues not answers, and also basically saying most smaller mechanics are on the blag.
Thoughts.
[Edited on 19-07-2012 by Ian]
|
XE Col
Premium Member
Registered: 23rd May 10
Location: Rochdale, AKA:Boissy07
User status: Offline
|
Also halfords are crap,
We had 5 merc sprinters through a fleet company at work who decided to use Halfords to service them once.
3 of the 5 mysteriously failed to start between 1 and 5 hours from dropping each one off.
New starter motors on all 3 apparantly
EDIT: more on topic i also think the advert is a load of crap too.
[Edited on 19-07-2012 by XE Col]
|
Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
User status: Offline
|
The manager at my local halfords autocentre is a class a cunt. I have the displeasure of dealing with him on a day to day basis. For this reason I wouldn't use them.
Advert is a load of shit too, I deal with 300 customers and I would say that 90% of them have diagnostic equipment, 9% of the rest would diagnose the problem with their eyes closed and probably 40% of the 90% with diagnostic equipment have something like Bosch KTS, or even a proper dealer spec system!
I'm sure ofcom would be interested in this, got to be almost slanderous?
|
tom130691
Premium Member
Registered: 13th Sep 08
Location: Daventry
User status: Offline
|
i think they would be confused by imperial sizes on the mini
|
baza31
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 03
Location: yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
It's bullshit, I also think main dealers saying similar trying to take work from small garages . I wouldn't trust halfords to touch a car. I normally charge 30 for diagnostics but will put it on again for free after parts being replaced , most small garages will. Also 90 of time the machine doesnt tell you exactly what's wrong and that's when knowledge comes in , which from what I've heard no one who works for halfords has
|
Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
User status: Offline
|
iv heard that radio, the crap they make out what another garage to say is a complete load of nonsense that makes no sense even to people in the know.
|
Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
That's my point - the machine simply doesn't tell you what is wrong as per the claim.
I was half thinking about talking to ASA. Does seem a bit disproportionate but it does piss me off that a big company is basically using some prejudice, smoke and mirrors to take work away from smaller operations.
Pissed me off that Watchdog now has people scared of write-offs and it pisses me off that Halfords are contributing to people being (more) scared of indies.
|
Root
Member
Registered: 28th Dec 08
User status: Offline
|
Huzzah, thank fuck for Halfords machine! -_-
Tbh, I just had my wheel bearing done, a very small garage charged me £20 for him to fit it, not had a problem with it since he did it, some few thousand miles ago, I reckon if I took it to a monkey at Halfrauds (no offence if anyone works there but when you go in, a few of the staff are just pretty females and clueless mongs, they'd charge an extortionate figure to diagnose it, then tell me they haven't got a press/puller.
Also surely this miracle machine only works for EML/electical related faults and not physical mechanical faults?
|
baza31
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 03
Location: yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
I find it same as the £15 Mot tests , it's alias of bullshit and rather than advising they fail when an advisiory would suffice. It's almost like destroyer pricing which is illegal ,also then they charge for re tests . On the other hand it sifts the time wasting skin flints from the normal decent punter which is a good thing
|
baza31
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 03
Location: yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Root
Huzzah, thank fuck for Halfords machine! -_-
Tbh, I just had my wheel bearing done, a very small garage charged me £20 for him to fit it, not had a problem with it since he did it, some few thousand miles ago, I reckon if I took it to a monkey at Halfrauds (no offence if anyone works there but when you go in, a few of the staff are just pretty females and clueless mongs, they'd charge an extortionate figure to diagnose it, then tell me they haven't got a press/puller.
Also surely this miracle machine only works for EML/electical related faults and not physical mechanical faults?
Only mechanical fault that a reader picks up is electronically operated.
|
andy_mk3
Member
Registered: 18th Dec 11
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline
|
Well here's my 2p on this.. It's all about reputation of big companies. I work at Kwik-Fit as a service tech, I do servicing mostly but all sorts of repairs as well. Now I know Kwik-Fit have an awful reputation, but that doesn't mean every single last one is going to be the same. I know there's some utter monkeys that work there, I've seen it first hand, so I can understand where people are coming from. I did my apprenticeship at an independent garage for 3 years, so working for both a 'one man band' and a national company, there's obviously a big difference. Big companies push for targets to be met, on various different things, which in turn pushes you to make sales on things that may not really be required.
Personally I stay away from sales if I can, I just do my job to my own high standard, I'd never rip anyone off for stuff they don't need.
On the subject of halfords, I used to work next door to them, and most of them were very good mechanics. But again they're pushed to make sales and targets, and not all of them are quite so good.
If I had the choice I'd go back to an indepandant garage, but the money where I'm at is better than most can offer, and it's not actually the worst job ever, I just don't really like admitting to it 
|
3i_gaz
Member
Registered: 29th Nov 07
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
Diagnostic machines can point you in the total wrong directions, halfords bought out nationwide auto centres. Nationwide never exactly had a decent name for themselves, most of their so called "techs" wouldn't know where to start with a tricky diag job.
|
LeeM
Member
Registered: 26th Sep 05
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
Pffft, diagnostic machines can be useless. In the hams of someone who doesn't really know what they're doing they're less than useless.
|
Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
I appreciate that there are some people who know what they're doing an Halfords / Nationwide / Kwik Fit etc., I know people who work for Kwik Fit and are skilled enthusiasts first and target-led sales people second.
I just don't like the two main themes in that advert - that indies are pushy (ironic given targets etc. at the big names) and misdiagnose and that Halfords can diagnose things well because they have nice computers.
I think we'll all agree - that point about diagnosing things reliably using computers is not really true.
|
sc0ott
Member
Registered: 16th Feb 09
User status: Offline
|
The adverts probably aimed at those who have no clue about cars though, those who use tampon forums etc.
Old woman, young woman, or just woman in general will hear what the narrator says on the advert and theyll think halfords can fix their car within minutes.
Ask any racer, any real racer. Theyll probably agree with every comment in here.
|
Kippers
Member
Registered: 27th Dec 10
Location: By the sea, Kent Drives: A nee naw
User status: Offline
|
I work at an independant VAG specialist and we do some of Halfords class 7 MOTs.
The amount of times we have to get them to redo simple things like rear brakes and brake imbalance is unbelievable!
When they have 4/5 attempts at getting something right before it passes is shocking!
|
richardworrall
Premium Member
Registered: 20th Sep 05
Location: Derby
User status: Offline
|
our warranty company advises Halfords Autocentres for their repairs. We get loads of complaints regarding turbos being completely diagnosed wrong. They claim they've taken them off and there all carbon'd up, we get them back as a second opinion to look at and there spotless and nothing wrong with them. Our company is arguing like crazy with the warranty company not to use them as they are so useless.
|
SportBoy
Member
Registered: 5th Oct 01
Location: Retford, Nottinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
The autocentre near where i work is proper dodgy. ie failing cars on mot when nothing is wrong with them. they gave one of our customers a quote to change a front flexi hose on a focus (Which there was nothing wrong with it) for £96.. Plus advised a brake fluid change with iirc was around £60.
|
BeArDy
Member
Registered: 7th Aug 00
Location: Manchester
User status: Offline
|
I shipped a 2.6 omega vectra engine to a customer who was having halfords replace his engine.
First call - halfords are telling me you have send them an insignia engine, I told them they do not fit the 2.6 in an insignia can you confirm it's the right engine.
Second call - halfords are telling me it's still wrong engine the inlet is the wrong way, I reply yes ares is out of an omega which is RWD and your vectra is FWD we left the
Inlet on to stop anything getting inside during transit.
In a nutshell halfords had no idea, they have had this V6 engine show up an they have shit themselves.
|
flybikeslee
Member
Registered: 2nd Jan 07
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by 3i_gaz
Diagnostic machines can point you in the total wrong directions, halfords bought out nationwide auto centres. Nationwide never exactly had a decent name for themselves, most of their so called "techs" wouldn't know where to start with a tricky diag job.
all there staff past and present are A grade cunts
True story
As for halfords...the same applies
|
Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
User status: Offline
|
To be fair beardy, most places would do exactly the same thing 
|
richc
Member
Registered: 24th Mar 07
Location: Ilkeston
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by richardworrall
our warranty company advises Halfords Autocentres for their repairs. We get loads of complaints regarding turbos being completely diagnosed wrong. They claim they've taken them off and there all carbon'd up, we get them back as a second opinion to look at and there spotless and nothing wrong with them. Our company is arguing like crazy with the warranty company not to use them as they are so useless.
The warranty company I used with my megane f1 was (a later found out) a sister sort of company to halfords autocentres. I wonderd why everytime I rang them up, they were all nice and dandy and said they would book me in at a local halfords place. I said no I want it to go to renault being fairly new (under 4 years old wanted to keep untop of the impeccable history) and the fact my local renault is 2 miles from my house and their centre was 8. They instantly become very agressive saying why would you not use the halfords autocentre???
I told him again my reasons why and he still tried arguing, saying that well it wont be coverd because its wear and tear - I said the engine mount had failed (rubber) where it hadnt perished but torn straight down the middle. He tried to be clever, trying to play on my words untill I gave him a dictionary definition of the terms he was using.
In the end I put the phone down, rang my local renault told them all about it and they said 'as long as you give us your policy number we will sort it from there'. All sorted through renault, they were nothing but polite and informed me at every stage if a part was late arriving or something of the like. They gave it a full valet, and sent the £220 bill to warrenty company. I never heard anything since.
I was curious as to why the guy was do pushy about using halfords - i found a forum where an ex manager of a autocentre wrote all about how the company is run, and told everyone about how its all comission based and told about all the scams that go on! What got my the most was, at first he was out and out lying. He said I had to use a autocentre to get it diagnosed first, and then if it is faulty i am obliged to use the cheapest garage etc....when in the policy it says I am allowed to take it where I like as long as they are VAT registerd.
|
3i_gaz
Member
Registered: 29th Nov 07
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Robin
To be fair beardy, most places would do exactly the same thing
Not really you'd use your head and swop over all the ancillaries as per every engine swop.
|
Archie
Organiser: Scotland
Premium Member
Registered: 18th Dec 07
Location: South Ayrshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by andy_mk3
Well here's my 2p on this.. It's all about reputation of big companies. I work at Kwik-Fit as a service tech, I do servicing mostly but all sorts of repairs as well. Now I know Kwik-Fit have an awful reputation, but that doesn't mean every single last one is going to be the same. I know there's some utter monkeys that work there, I've seen it first hand, so I can understand where people are coming from. I did my apprenticeship at an independent garage for 3 years, so working for both a 'one man band' and a national company, there's obviously a big difference. Big companies push for targets to be met, on various different things, which in turn pushes you to make sales on things that may not really be required.
Personally I stay away from sales if I can, I just do my job to my own high standard, I'd never rip anyone off for stuff they don't need.
On the subject of halfords, I used to work next door to them, and most of them were very good mechanics. But again they're pushed to make sales and targets, and not all of them are quite so good.
If I had the choice I'd go back to an indepandant garage, but the money where I'm at is better than most can offer, and it's not actually the worst job ever, I just don't really like admitting to it
Same boat as me mate, do my job, go home.
Done 3 years in a dealership and a couple in a motorbike workshop (Still work there on my days off KF)
Would rather be back at a dealership but it's not exactly stressful where i am, and tbh its a secure job for life if you can stick it, which in this day and age i'd rather have.
Edit - I have the soundest most laid back boss ever as well, never any hassle to get holidays or swap my days off or if i need to use a ramp on my day off for whatever.
[Edited on 20-07-2012 by Archie]
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
Stop calling them fcuking indies
Garage will do fine. If its not a garage its the dealers.
None of this indiana jones crap.
|
