Multiple garages refused Halfords Garage cover. Turbo
Multiple garages refused Halfords Garage cover. Turbo
Author
Discussion

Jamaica

Original Poster:

490 posts

85 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Has this happened to you, car started puting out black smoke out of exhaust. Called AA, said it could be Turbo/injectors/erg ect. Called multiple Halfords they said they dont do "engine work".

The AA man said this is common, many garaged not taking AA work.



Edited by Jamaica on Saturday 23 July 14:44

Petrus1983

11,263 posts

193 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Can’t imagine a worse place to take a poorly car than Halfords - they’re pushing it when they change wiper blades IMO.

bobtail4x4

4,452 posts

140 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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would you want a 17 yr old working on your car?

Scrump

23,947 posts

189 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Halfords don’t do engine work beyond servicing.
What has this got to do with the AA (other than they diagnosed the problem)?

anonymous-user

85 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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I'm a yellow patrol, and it's quite common for lots of garages to refuse to accept breakdowns now. They want things they can turn around quickly like routine servicing, discs and pads, wheel alignments and snake oil fuel treatments.

I had a member a couple of weeks back who couldn't get any garage within a reasonable radius to replace a 2009 Corsa headgasket. One garage told him "why would I want to tie my ramp up with that when I could be doing MOT repairs instead?".

A sad sign of the times unfortunately.

ingenieur

4,653 posts

212 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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I always used to accept breakdowns when I was running my workshop as I had space to put them at the side of the yard.

I'd say another reason they might refuse is a lot of deliveries by the AA/RAC are for warranty work where someone has bought a dodgy second hand car and had to claim off the warranty almost straight away.

Warranty work is grief because the customer rarely has the bunce to pay up front and want their warranty company to sort it out. The warranty company will argue the toss with you over which components are covered, where they're sourced, how much you can charge per hour. Then you have to see if the customer is okay with the work going ahead even if the warranty company is only willing to cover 75%.... bla, bla, bla... on it goes.

Davie

6,274 posts

246 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Yup, it's nothing new...

The clue is in the title with fast fit centres such as Halfords, Kwik Fit, ATS or the likes... they aren't geared up for and nor remotely interested in getting bogged down with involved tasks like engine failures. You wouldn't ring your local McDonalds and ask if they could consider doing the on site catering for cousin Jenny's up and coming wedding, including the cake.

To be honest, posting that Halfords won't entertain such a task in a critical manner only shows your lack of understanding - why not try phoning a garage who are ready and willing to undertake such tasks instead of complaining about a fast fit centres unwillingness to facilitate you?

Seems simple really.

Dingu

4,893 posts

61 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Out of interest what made the Indy dodgy?

Condi

20,525 posts

202 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Why was the indi dodgy? Plenty of good garages out there, but Halfords don't do major repairs and surely you take it to a good indi, not a dodgy one?

ChocolateFrog

34,954 posts

204 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Davie said:
Yup, it's nothing new...

The clue is in the title with fast fit centres such as Halfords, Kwik Fit, ATS or the likes... they aren't geared up for and nor remotely interested in getting bogged down with involved tasks like engine failures. You wouldn't ring your local McDonalds and ask if they could consider doing the on site catering for cousin Jenny's up and coming wedding, including the cake.

To be honest, posting that Halfords won't entertain such a task in a critical manner only shows your lack of understanding - why not try phoning a garage who are ready and willing to undertake such tasks instead of complaining about a fast fit centres unwillingness to facilitate you?

Seems simple really.
It's a tangent but I reckon I would have preferred Maccy's to have done the catering at about 90% of the weddings I've been to.

ChocolateFrog

34,954 posts

204 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Assuming there's no other symptoms I wouldn't be going straight for the turbo on sight of black smoke.

When was the air filter last replaced?

Davie

6,274 posts

246 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
ChocolateFrog said:
It's a tangent but I reckon I would have preferred Maccy's to have done the catering at about 90% of the weddings I've been to.
"£47.00 for a Happy meal...?"

"Yeah mate, it's because you said "wedding" so we added the appropriate tax"

Though I agree, at least the portions would be bigger in most cases...

GT9

9,087 posts

203 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Jamaica said:
car started putting out black smoke out of exhaust.
Would this be your diesel by any chance?
You know, the car that is by far the most economical choice for consumers...

alangla

6,816 posts

212 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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Do we definitely know if the OP is talking about taking his car to Halfords for repair or attempting to claim on something like this? https://www.halfords.com/car-repairs/advice/car-wa...

donkmeister

13,086 posts

131 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
ingenieur said:
Warranty work is grief because the customer rarely has the bunce to pay up front and want their warranty company to sort it out. The warranty company will argue the toss with you over which components are covered, where they're sourced, how much you can charge per hour. Then you have to see if the customer is okay with the work going ahead even if the warranty company is only willing to cover 75%.... bla, bla, bla... on it goes.
When I am made president for life, I'm going to ban used car sales including a warranty unless that warranty is 100% backed by the used car seller.
I've even bought a used car with a known fault, where the dealer has suggested I try claiming on the "we guarantee everything is excluded" bronze warranty he included. Errr... no? Waste my time and the time of a local mechanic who I might want to use later for actual paying work?

Megaflow

11,629 posts

256 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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ChocolateFrog said:
Assuming there's no other symptoms I wouldn't be going straight for the turbo on sight of black smoke.

When was the air filter last replaced?
Or a boost leak.

littleredrooster

6,413 posts

227 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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AA work? What the juddering f*ck has this got to do with Halfords? The AA gave an apparently vague diagnosis of engine work being needed. Every f*cker and his uncle knows that Halfords does not do major engine work surely? They are parts fitters, not automotive engineers.

Little Pete

1,917 posts

125 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Rat_Fink_67 said:
I'm a yellow patrol, and it's quite common for lots of garages to refuse to accept breakdowns now. They want things they can turn around quickly like routine servicing, discs and pads, wheel alignments and snake oil fuel treatments.

I had a member a couple of weeks back who couldn't get any garage within a reasonable radius to replace a 2009 Corsa headgasket. One garage told him "why would I want to tie my ramp up with that when I could be doing MOT repairs instead?".

A sad sign of the times unfortunately.
We’ve always been willing to take on warranty work but some companies make garages jump through a lot of hoops. Multiple phone calls/ emails to identify the fault, sometimes to be told that it isn’t covered or is fair wear and tear, and then being told how much they will pay for the repair. It really isn’t surprising some garages don’t want the hassle.

Smint

3,664 posts

66 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
quotequote all
Not just mechanical work, the little bodyshop i use has moved away completely from insurance work, he'll make the odd exception for regular customers but otherwise he doesn't want the hassle and i don't blame any business for doing the same.

Back2theFuji

360 posts

54 months

Saturday 23rd July 2022
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I switched from a main dealer (Hendy Kia, who were excellent to be fair) to an Indy a few years ago when my shed's gearbox failed. Didn't want to stump up £3k for a replacement. Found a cracking Indy who fitted a scrap box for £800. Used them ever since for all sorts of bits and bobs...nothing fazes them!

Not sure that's completely related to this thread mind. Wouldn't take a car to Halfords for anything complex, although they've looked after me well for bulbs and batteries.