cardinal sin?
Author
Discussion

rick111s

Original Poster:

397 posts

263 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
sorry for the long winded story..

i wanted to use the porsche saturday night to visit friends and it needed a clean. After finishing the car and standing back to admire i heard a hishing from the rear nearside tyre. Slow puncture - SHIT!!!

So cardinal sin bit - i visited my local kwitfit place. WOW what service. The too young to be a manager guy loved porsche's - wanted to know everything about the car etc. He commented on how mint the alloy was and put "his top man" onto the job.

10 mins later the tyre had been repaired (against porsche's recommendation) and we once again back on my car - upon close inspection there were no marks what so ever on the alloy or car as i was standing just a few feet from the car during the process. They obviously don't get many cars like this in and they all stopped to look at the car especially the size of the rear tyre.

and best of all NO CHARGE for the repair. He even offered my some silver alloy valve caps to replace the black plastic ones.

so thumbs up to kwikfit sittingbourne, Kent. I intend to drive the car sensibly (best i can) until the tyre needs replacing in a 1000 miles or so.

it is safe or a def. no no to repair a rear tyre on a 996tt or are porsche just trying to get everybit of cash out of punters?

loach

3,357 posts

246 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
Hard to tell without knowing what had to be repaired. Strictly speaking, the tyre should be replaced I suspect - after all, the 996 TT does as near as damnit 190 mph. Don't know how comfortable I'd be at those kind of speeds on a repaired tyre. In reality, though, if the car isn't getting a lot of stick and the repair was minor - I'd probably have done what you did. I hate when my tyres get all 'odd' with one corner being new, two others being half worn, and the last corner being somewhere in the middle (for example). Porsche's position is designed to cover their arses. I suspect the fact that it makes them more money is just a very happy coincidence.

rick111s

Original Poster:

397 posts

263 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
there was a screw in the thread part of the tyre almost in the middle of the thread and nowhere near the side wall.

the tyre was new 6 months ago so has some thread left and had only done a few k's on it.

i let the car stand for a couple of hours once i got home and there was no air ecsaping.

Geneve

4,019 posts

249 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
I've lost count of the number of tyre repairs I've had, all without any problems.

There are strict guidlines about what can or cannot be repaired and I believe the repair has to be done to a British Safety standard.

loach

3,357 posts

246 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
rick111s said:
there was a screw in the thread part of the tyre almost in the middle of the thread and nowhere near the side wall.

the tyre was new 6 months ago so has some thread left and had only done a few k's on it.

i let the car stand for a couple of hours once i got home and there was no air ecsaping.


I've repaired similar things a number of times and never had a problem. With the damage you've described, I'd definitely have gone the repair route. That's me though - I apply the usual caveats* to saying that this is probably OK.


* i.e. that this post wrote itself and has nothing to do with its author, who didn't author it in any event so doesn't know what the post relates to, thus can't comment on that thing he didn't write and therefore knows nothing about.

job38

1,973 posts

266 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
Lots of repairs on 996 and XJRs, no problems, I suspect with modern adhesive, the rest of the tyre is weaker than the repair.

Normal caveat etc., etc

fieldl

1,320 posts

261 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
My parents live in Borden and my brother regularly recommends the local Kwik Fit. He is as fussy as me so they must be doing something right.

Just booked the beater in for service and MOT in my local Kwik Fit. Well they are cheap

Offer for buy two michelins and save 15% too. Will ask them to give me a price for 4 to replace the Pirellis on my car.

tr7v8

7,623 posts

258 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
Better than one of the Kwik Fits in Medway. Took 944 front wheel in there with a slow puncture. Guy gave it a quick check & said the bead was corroded. OK says I I'm going to the supermarket back in an hour. When I returned, the guy said all done, but this isn't on the computer so it's normally a drink. Fine so I parted with some cash, chucked tyre in
back of estate & refitted when I got home. As I fitted it I noticed the muppet had refitted it the wrong way round, e.g. a directional tyre. A couple of weeks later I used the 944 to Stansted, away 3 days came back to leaning car. You guessed, flat & because of the temp frozen, this is 23:00 at night. Pumped it up with the 12V compressor & drove home, with the vibration rattling my teeth out!
Took it to my normal tyre dealers RM Tyres in Strood. They peed themselves! The rim was very corroded, so cleaned properly with a wire brush in an angle grinder. Not gone down since!

996tt_stevo

4,078 posts

258 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
Days have changed at Kwik-Fit, My very good friend works at Head office and I have 2 friends that are managers, they have changed, from customer service right through to price structure. They have been getting increasing competition over the past few years and these guys (all depots) have targets to meet.

A puncutre repair is as good as new, very strong! no worries!

purds

115 posts

238 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
I used KF for the last 2 tyre changes on my Boxster S before I sold it.
Both times they price matched the cheapest I could find on the web and made a great job of fitting the tyres.
That was Kettering branch - highly recommended!!

rimmer

6,689 posts

236 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
nah it will be safe because they wouldnt be allowed to let a car go on an unsafe tyre. and as for porsche theyll just be trying to squeeze more money out of its customers


Edited by rimmer on Monday 30th April 21:19

GreigM

6,740 posts

279 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
I had a puncture in semi-slick track tyres fixed once for my GT3 - no problems whatsoever - only tossed the set when I was down to the canvas on the insides

Raven Flyer

1,645 posts

254 months

Monday 30th April 2007
quotequote all
One of my mates is manager of Kwikfit Braintree. He's only early 20s but really good at his job and a petrolhead. Sounds like they look for such chaps.

rick111s

Original Poster:

397 posts

263 months

Tuesday 1st May 2007
quotequote all
good to hear positive comments about kf.

do feel better knowing it's not just me that would repair a good tyre rather then just bin it.

Adam B

29,740 posts

284 months

Tuesday 1st May 2007
quotequote all
loach said:
I hate when my tyres get all 'odd' with one corner being new, two others being half worn, and the last corner being somewhere in the middle (for example).


So is it a myth that both rears and both fronts should have even wear? If they are half worn I thought you were supposed to replace both of the pair.



Edited by Adam B on Tuesday 1st May 08:46

leosayer

7,840 posts

274 months

Tuesday 1st May 2007
quotequote all
I still wouldn't go near the rest of the Kwik Fit branches unless it was an extreme emergency.