Kwik-Fit GB

I don’t like taking my car to big companies like Kwik Fit. I prefer to deal with local garages where the service is more personal and if you get a decent mechanic you know he’ll do his best to keep the costs low while still doing a great job. However, I had a serious problem with my exhaust and the £200+ I was quoted locally couldn’t compete with the quote of less than £100 from Kwik Fit, so I took it to this branch in Kirkintilloch.
Let’s start with the positives. The amount I was charged was the amount quoted, not a penny more. The service was quick — they put it on the ramp right away and I went for a look in the shops in Kirkintilloch, returned an hour later and the car was done. The core service, therefore, was excellent and the price was brilliant, so why am I only leaving them two stars?
It started when I arrived. The so-​called mechanic who brought the car in just to check he had the right part ordered immediately returned to the office and told me there was no problem with the exhaust — the problem was with the engine. It didn’t seem to matter that the exhaust warning light was on and the engine management system light wasn’t, it didn’t seem to matter that there was an obvious hole in one section of the exhaust, he insisted it was a problem with the engine and started telling me that it would cost over £100 just to identify the specific issue and would likely cost more than £500 to fix the problem.
As the part hadn’t arrived and as I’d already had an opinion from a local mechanic I took the car to another garage. They put it up on the ramp and, sure enough, confirmed the problem was with the exhaust. So why did the mechanic at Kwik Fit find it necessary to insist the problem was with engine and would cost substantially more than quoted?
I took it back to Kwik Fit after a visit to another garage and they did the work. They fitted a new section to my exhaust and, sure enough, the warning light went out and the car seemed to be running fine. Unfortunately, the problems don’t end here.
First, even though the work was completed when I returned from the shops I had to wait for twenty minutes for them to take it off the ramp as the guy I was dealing with insisted on making a phone call. Then the car was parked next to the office and I had another twenty minute wait while he tried to sort out my bill. I didn’t mind the wait — what I objected to is the fact he left the car engine running the whole damn time.
Do the mechanics at Kwik Fit not know the cost of petrol these days? Do they think their customers are fabulously wealthy? Would they leave their own cars running for 40 minutes?
Second, when I pulled out of the garage the car felt sluggish. I figured it was fine, just adapting to the new exhaust, so drove off. I managed to get about a mile down the road and then the car shuddered, a smell of burning plastic filled the car and I couldn’t get it to move at more than 10mph. I pulled the car over and debated whether to take it back or call my breakdown service, but in the end decided to take it back.
Started it up again, drove for about half a mile, struggling to maintain 10mph, and then there was a loud bang. Calamity? No. It seems something was left inside the exhaust and whatever it was broke free. My feeling, considering the smell, was that it was some kind of plastic wrapping or bag that burst when I put my foot down. After that the car ran perfectly and has done ever since.
There is no doubt that Kwik Fit provide a fast service and their prices are competitive, but considering the scaremongering from this branch and another I went to the same day, considering the problem immediately after the exhaust was fitted, it will be a cold day in Hell before I trust them with my car again. Two stars for doing the job quickly and cheaply, but this is not the kind of service I would expect from alleged professionals.