First MoT shock!

[Konrad C]

I have a friend who's husband took her car to Halfords for a service, basically an oil change on her Vauxhall Mokka, while she was at work! While he was there, they kept saying other things need doing and other so called faults. He just agreed to the work being done without holding off, to consult her. The bill was over a £1000!!! He paid it! She contacted me and later when I saw her, she showed me the bill and what was itemised. She is complaining about it and was going to send a complaint to Halfords. I told her that her husband agreed to the work and paid for it, so she is wasting her time. I don't know if she has followed up what she was planning to do. She also criticised her husband for not handling the situation and being a yes man (behind his back). 

Let's not talk about another well known chain.

  

[Excel777]

A few years ago, I heard a screeching noise coming from the wheels. I didn’t know what it was so I took it to Krapfit on Edgware Road. The guy said the front brake pads and discs needed replacing. I didn’t know better so I paid £250.  I had to rush home as they took so long. 

Anyway, when I got home I realised there were zip ties on my wheel covers. They broke the covers, zip tied them and didn’t say anything hoping I wouldn’t notice.  When I called up the guy who was responsible for my car, he denied all knowledge.  The wheel covers weren’t expensive so I didn’t bother following it up.

Two months later, I took my car for an oil change to Halfords on Edgware Road.  After they did an oil change, they told me the front brakes discs and pads need changing!  I said they had only been changed two months ago. How would they get worn out in two months? He said he only did a visual inspection. I asked him to show me. He became all anxious and started apologising!  I just stared at him, got my keys and left, never to go back again!

Lesson learnt was not to take the car to krapfit or Halfords. 

[Roy124]

20 hours ago, mintymiller said:

 I'll get the old discs off them for inspection. 

Don't bother.  Any bucket shop will have a spares bin of dirty components should you ask. 

For over 15 years I had my Mercedes serviced by father and son engineers.  They would show my things removed, mainly suspension components as the road were like a rough sea, not potholes but dips and bumps. I trusted them. 

At a first 12 month service, with the original selling dealer, the bill was North of £1,000. Never went back to them. 

[Saxmaniac]

They're not called Halfrauds for nothing! 

[DaddyBaddy]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:04 PM, mintymiller said:

Hello everyone. Took my early 2017 Auris hybrid with 33K on the clock into Halfords for its very first MoT today and was somewhat surprised when it failed on the front brakes (and a cut tyre). The remedy is complete front discs/pads replacement and  a new tyre of course. The tyre I can understand, but considering the brakes are only ever really 'on' when these cars are coming to a stop or having to brake hard (rarely required in my case), I'm really surprised by the failure there! If anyone is wondering why I didn't take it to Toyota for its MoT, no reason other than I left it a bit late and it wasn't convenient! Needless to say, my car's 1st MoT has been far more expensive than I ever expected! The car's been serviced by Toyota throughout butI've only had it since March of this year.

I don’t think I’d trust mine with Halfrauds.

What type of driving do you do? Stop start in the city?

Also, how you drive makes big difference. Are you a ”spirited” driver type or a “driving Miss Daisy” type?

[Stivino]

29 minutes ago, DaddyBaddy said:

I don’t think I’d trust mine with Halfrauds.

What type of driving do you do? Stop start in the city?

Also, how you drive makes big difference. Are you a ”spirited” driver type or a “driving Miss Daisy” type?

How is that relevant?

[mintymiller]

I think I should finish this thread off by firstly thanking everyone for responding to my tale of woe! Secondly, I should point out that as the car still had 3 days left on the old certificate, I could have walked away from Halfords after the MoT fail and taken it elsewhere (including Toyota). I chose the lazy option, which was to just get it done while it was with them. I'll never know whether another tester would have failed it for the same fault, but as I am the most gentle of drivers, relying mainly on the regenerative braking to slow the car down and as I've also done less than 3000 miles since I bought it back in March of this year, I can only assume that the damage to the discs causing the MoT fail did not occur on my watch. So either Halfords are indeed corrupt and untrustworthy or Toyota's service centre was being dishonest in giving the car a clean bill of health prior to sale. The opinions expressed here suggest the former is far more likely and I tend to agree with you! The irony is that I had actually booked the car into Toyota for both MoT and main service last week but had to cancel at the last minute. 

[TonyHSD]

One thing to point here regarding the brakes of Toyota hybrids is that not always the driver can sense a problem with brakes from one or two test drives since the car slows down with regenerative braking and uses it’s actual brakes at the very last moment before comes to complete stop therefore it is easily missed when test driven or inspected prior to sell/ handover. To pick up vibrations/ pulsating brake pedal as a result of DTV disc thickness variation you have to drive the car at speeds over 40mph and make moderate to fast stopping then the car will switch to disc braking and you will have chances to experience vibrations-pulsating pedal as those will be with higher frequency easier noticed. 👍

[Anthony Poli]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:04 PM, mintymiller said:

Hello everyone. Took my early 2017 Auris hybrid with 33K on the clock into Halfords for its very first MoT today and was somewhat surprised when it failed on the front brakes (and a cut tyre). The remedy is complete front discs/pads replacement and  a new tyre of course. The tyre I can understand, but considering the brakes are only ever really 'on' when these cars are coming to a stop or having to brake hard (rarely required in my case), I'm really surprised by the failure there! If anyone is wondering why I didn't take it to Toyota for its MoT, no reason other than I left it a bit late and it wasn't convenient! Needless to say, my car's 1st MoT has been far more expensive than I ever expected! The car's been serviced by Toyota throughout butI've only had it since March of this year.

With me, it was always corroded brake pipes. when taken elsewhere not mention of the pipes. 

Halfords couldn't even list the correct headlight bulbs for one of my Toyota cars in their information in the shop. The staff even tried to say I was wrong.

I would trust them to change the valve caps. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

On 11/30/2021 at 6:02 PM, Saxmaniac said:

They're not called Halfrauds for nothing! 

Hellfrauds, I have seen quoted elsewhere.😁

I have not driven a hybrid, so may be way out , but I think brake technology re callipers discs and pads has not changed substantially.

I try to regularly brake fairly hard ,say from 60 mph on the bypass , obviously taking care that there are no tailgaters 2ft from my rear bumper.(focus st road racers usually)🤐

I refer to earlier posts re motorcycle brakes , which in my experience are far more prone to seizing and disc wear and warp due to not being used properly, and greater exposure to weather ,an old bike mechanic told me that it's best to brake hard where safe to do so frequently in order to keep brakes healthy.

My understanding of mechanics is limited , but it makes sense to me to work moving parts hard regularly to keep in good order.

If only to keep the discs clean and free of surface rust in winter.

 

[roks]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:04 PM, mintymiller said:

I'm really surprised by the failure there!

I guess that's why some call them "halfrauds"

[Wooster]

A friend of mine is an MoT tester.  Several years ago the small garage he'd been with for a decade stopped trading (owner retired) and he offered his services to Halfords.  After the first week his manager called him into his office and told him he wasn't failing enough vehicles.  My friend argued there were standards for a pass or fail and he'd always 'err' on the side of safety.  But to tell him he wasn't failing enough cars felt like fraud to him, so he walked out.  He got a job with another - family run - local garage. 

[Saxmaniac]

It's not just the Kwik fits and Halfords either, I had a company Peugeot (yuk) a few years ago and nearly every main dealer service advised wheel bearings or shocks or the good ol windscreen wiper scam. U never agreed to any of this and those "problems" were magically not there by the next service!

[Yugguy1970]

I always say it, try and find a local council run testing centre that just does MOTs so has no interest in failing the car just to get work done.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/

[Red_Corolla]

11 minutes ago, Yugguy1970 said:

I always say it, try and find a local council run testing centre that just does MOTs so has no interest in failing the car just to get work done.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/

I have 2 local places separated by about a quarter of a mile. One charges £40, no appointments, and that's the one you go to if you're short of time or need the vehicle to pass at any cost 😆

The other place charges £25 and has done for many years. They are VERY busy and it can be over an hour's job getting your car done, even with an appointment. Cars are constantly in and out swapping positions between the ramp and the brake rollers, like a production line. This is where I go and I've never been unjustly failed. I have had a couple of failures for corroded brakes (and they were - my wife never takes her car out of town), but I have also had let-offs. I once passed with a nail in the tyre as advisory (luckily it wasn't a puncture) and I even had one of her old Fiats pass with a binding handbrake. He just told me what to do to fix it because he knew I would do it. 🙂

[TonyHSD]

I use Protyres

https://www.protyre.co.uk/?infinity=ict2~net~gaw~ar~526633441159~kw~pro tyers~mt~e~cmp~Search_BRAND_E~ag~Protyers - E&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItfjy4pjX9AIVwevtCh0tGADoEAAYASAAEgLw1_D_BwE

local garage and the chaps are usually ok, I knew some from before when a friend of mine was working there but they probably doesn’t remember me anyway. The mot tester every year is different but so far been alright and the car passes fine, he always calls his colleagues to come around and look at the car, perhaps they are amazed of the dashboard numbers and they are  always saying “not many cars does 50k a year “😂 

[Wooster]

Maybe we shouldn't be too verbal in our criticism of Halfords...  There's an affiliation between the TOC and Halfords.  (Join TOC and get a discount etc.) 

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/premium-membership/auto-discounts/halfords-r134/

[TonyHSD]

11 minutes ago, Wooster said:

Maybe we shouldn't be too verbal in our criticism of Halfords...  There's an affiliation between the TOC and Halfords.  (Join TOC and get a discount etc.) 

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/premium-membership/auto-discounts/halfords-r134/

I am not going there even if they pay me to get my car through. Critics are for a reason and pretty much everyone who had dealt with them know about that. There are always going to be some happy customers but I believe the unhappy ones are the majority in this case. 

[Wooster]

Those of us that feel they have something to say about Halfords could always leave a review: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.halfords.com

[yossarian247]

23 minutes ago, Wooster said:

Maybe we shouldn't be too verbal in our criticism of Halfords...  There's an affiliation between the TOC and Halfords.  (Join TOC and get a discount etc.) 

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/premium-membership/auto-discounts/halfords-r134/

I'll happily buy from Halfords stores, particularly with the discount, but there's no way I'd use them for servicing. Halfords subsidiary 'Tyres On The Drive' also once made a total ballsup of installing a Dashcam in one of my cars and I'd never use them again either.

[Saxmaniac]

When I had a change of mot tester a while back, I made it known through general chat that I do all my own repairs. They know then not to try anything on. Luckily now my neighbour is an MOT inspector!