Very NOT ####ING happy !!!

[amnesia]

My MOT ran out recently and in desperation I booked it into the only place that could do it the next day.
Unfortunately that was Kwik-Fit...


It failed on a worn nearside strut top mount :dapprove: - everything else was fine. Not a problem... they're not brill on these cars so I ordered a new one from Renault and waited a couple of days for it to be delivered.
Picked it up from Renault on Saturday morning, got all my tools out, took the wheel cover off and loosened the wheel nuts before jacking... or at least I tried to. The last place to put the front nearside wheel on obviously used a windy gun to get the locknut off, and then also to put it back on as the locknut key was totally mullered and I couldn't get the wheel bolt undone

Back to Renault with the locking nut reference number (thank God I had that in my paperwork) and ordered a new one (for £28 !!).

It arrived today, so my wife went an picked it up whilst I was at work and then after work I got all my tools out again.
Hurrah - I could undo the locking bolt :approve:

Surprisingly the two bolts holding the strut to the hub were also easy to undo so I whipped the strut out and replaced the top mount rubbers. I didn't need the spring compressors I bought for the job - oh well, I've got them for another time, I guess.

Anyway, I struggled to get the strut back in so I had a look at the drivers side to see what I was doing wrong.

O.M.F.G. !!! this is what I found... this was hanging out of the bottom of the driver's side shock !

Now I cannot believe that this has happened SINCE the MOT last Wednesday (9th May). There is no way that the end of this has rusted that badly in just a week, so WHY DIDN'T THE MOT TESTER SPOT IT ? The offside arch gap is about 1" less than the other side FFS !


In one way I guess it's lucky it did fail, otherwise I wouldn't have spotted it and it could have caused a very serious accident, if not to me, then to someone following me, possibly.
Should I confront Kwik-Fit and see what they have to say ?

What's almost as bad is that I had the driver's side driveshaft replaced by a Trader on here just 6 weeks ago and they didn't spot it either, and I suspect they were responsible for the windy gun knackering my locknut key too.

I am now going to be without my car for at least another week whilst I wait for some new springs and then find the free time to fit them


Anyone know how much standard 182 cup pack front springs are ? Are they the same part number for all 182s ?



Cheers,
Daniel.

 

[R-Sport.]

Buy some springs etc from the classifieds on here-

kwik fit = shat

 

[Russ_16v]

To be honest mate, it could have broken in that short time, slim but possible, id not bother wasting your time going back to quik fit.

Which trader did that mate? Do you definately know they used a zip gun to tighten the lock nut? shocking if they did (unless it was set really low)

 

[amnesia]

To be honest mate, it could have broken in that short time

It could have broken, but it's only two miles from the MOT test centre to my house and the car hasn't moved for a week. There is no way it would get that rusty in just a week... it must have been like that for a while.


I don't want to name and shame the trader (yet)- I am going to speak to them tomorrow first to see what they've got to say.

 

[joshclio999]

springs are a common piece to fracture on older cars and yeah its unfortunate but what are you hoping the trader or kwik fit to do? say sorry sir we'll take the bill? take the oppourtunity to get new eibach springs and move on thankful its not your shocks too

 

[DaveDreads]

Time to upgrade to Eibachs I think.

Kwik-Fit are just brainless monkeys with spanners,
in fact a shaved chimp with a socket set could probably sort your car out better than they can.

 

[Russ_16v]

It could have broken, but it's only two miles from the MOT test centre to my house and the car hasn't moved for a week. There is no way it would get that rusty in just a week... it must have been like that for a while.


I don't want to name and shame the trader (yet)- I am going to speak to them tomorrow first to see what they've got to say.

Not suggesting they got that rusty in a week mate, OE springs do get rusty as the coating comes pdd pretty easily once they have had some use.

Just throwing ideas around, im my experience i have seen springs snap after an MOT as the front ( and rear) is jacked up to test for bearing/ball joint/tie rod wear etc, when the front is lowere back to the ground ,the pressure of the weight going back on the spring (or the drive off afterwards) can snap a rusted spring - it's rare, but it does happen

it wouldn't have failed the MOT on the spring being rusty, though I can't see if they have jacked it up for the MOT how they could have missed the broken spring - though I guess we are talking about quik fit lol

 

[amnesia]

Time to upgrade to Eibachs I think.

Kwik-Fit are just brainless monkeys with spanners,
in fact a shaved chimp with a socket set could probably sort your car out better than they can.

Which is why I do the vast majority of work on my car myself... however, the MOT inspector is VOSA qualified and SHOULD have spotted a broken spring IMHO. The whole point of an MOT is to check that a vehicle is safe to drive on the public highway. I don't believe that this broke in the last week - it is far too corroded.

 

[andywa]

I wouldn't bother. You'll have he'll on trying to prove it was their fault.

 

[GiT]

Read Kwik Fit - Wrote this<<<<< Moved on.

 

[DaveDreads]

Which is why I do the vast majority of work on my car myself... however, the MOT inspector is VOSA qualified and SHOULD have spotted a broken spring IMHO. The whole point of an MOT is to check that a vehicle is safe to drive on the public highway. I don't believe that this broke in the last week - it is far too corroded.

I went to a well respected MOT station where I live and they told me it failed because my headlights were f*cked,
one pointed down and one pointed up, they said 'we'll have to book it in to get it looked at'.

I opened the bonnet and saw that the bulb was just loose, I clipped it back in and said, there you go mate.....fixed!!

I took the keys and went to another MOT station and it failed on a badly secured battery,
the clamp had come loose, they tightened it, re-tested and sent me on my way.

I couldn't believe the other place couldn't diagnose a loose bulb, and missed the loose battery altogether....useless tw*ts!!!

 

[obcuz]

The OEM springs are marked with yellow & red blobs of paint, check that yours are, I believe they are specific to the cup pack, about £80 ea.

 

[amnesia]

The OEM springs are marked with yellow/red blobs of paint, check that yours are, I belive they are specific to the cup pack, about £80 ea.

Yep, got the yellow blobs... for £80 per side though I might as well get a full set of Eibach Pros and declare it on my insurance *sigh*

 

[Owen92]

You'd struggle to prove to kwik fit that they missed it due to the mot being an inspection of the vehicles condition at that moment in time and doesn't actually mean anything once you've driven it out of their forecourt.

 

[DaveDreads]

I found insuring mods on my 172 with a specialist, was cheaper than insuring it standard with a normal insurer. :S

It might not be as bad as you think declaring springs.

 

[The Fatty]

to answer your original question - no I would not confront kwik-fit. as mentioned, it could have broken when the car was lowered back down again. Also it could have been partly cracked, which is why its rusty already. Either way, kwik-fit are not responcable and I can see why you would get in an argument because they didnt raise it as an issue on your MOT. If they have raised something that wasnt wrong with your car, then thats different, but this is effectivly a free pass! Also it would be highly unlikely that that would casue an accident, have you ever looked ont he side of the motorway and seen how many bits have fallen off lorrys?!

sorry about my typo's, its late!

 

[Ralphizzle]

I had a front coil of mine broke off a winding too... similair to yours.

Rusted and sheared too, so just a matter of time to completely break off; when i hit a large pothole she went suddenly.

 

[Martin_172]

I went to a well respected MOT station where I live and they told me it failed because my headlights were f*cked,
one pointed down and one pointed up, they said 'we'll have to book it in to get it looked at'.

I opened the bonnet and saw that the bulb was just loose, I clipped it back in and said, there you go mate.....fixed!!

I took the keys and went to another MOT station and it failed on a badly secured battery,
the clamp had come loose, they tightened it, re-tested and sent me on my way.

I couldn't believe the other place couldn't diagnose a loose bulb, and missed the loose battery altogether....useless tw*ts!!!

i beleive under MOT rules though they are physically not aloud to remove any part to further inspect anything, so if the beam pattern is off they are not aloud to check the bulbs are secure etc.

i could be wrong.

 

[_Tom]

Lol that could have easily happened after the MOT. Its not like a bush which takes time..haha

 

[sam55]

I managed to source a set of 2nd hand low mileage cup springs online when one of my springs broke. £40 for the set!

 

[mace¬]

I just love the Very NOT title. Sounds much more angry than NOT very.

 

[Allan-]

Had several springs break on my clios over the years, i even had one go when cornering hard once, was a loud ping and pulled over to look.
So its very common for these springs to break, and if it had already gone the coil might of been already broken and in the strut which could of gone unoticed.

 

[Wick]

I had a front coil of mine broke off a winding too... similair to yours.

Rusted and sheared too

Same here, reckon I drove on it for over a month or two without noticing just after buying the car. Refreshed with new springs and it drove spot on, I had no idea what all the fuss was about RS handling-wise until I'd fixed it!

 

[Fred@BTM]

Its French, its 100% normal, no one to blame, that spring will have been rusty for ages, you've just been unlucky, we do LOADS of springs for that same reason

 

[bengtt5]

And the best bit is
it was me at Kwik fit that looked at it
and yes it's not something I'm proud of but I do however know these car quite well
plus you must've spotted mine right outside the reception door

 

[lemonnobby]

And the best bit is
it was me at Kwik fit that looked at it
and yes it's not something I'm proud of but I do however know these car quite well
plus you must've spotted mine right outside the reception door

lol SRS? well done for admiting it

 

[bengtt5]

Take home £500 a week
a jobs a job plus the branch I'm in are all mechanics not the the company trained sort

 

[lemonnobby]

500 a week jesus. i wish i earnt that money

 

[scotty2hotty81]

Rolling with Clio sport elite!

 

[Matthew]

After tax or before?

 

[Jaff.]

After tax or before?

Take home is after tax

i find that hard to believe tbh, youre on roughly £37k a year working in kwik fit?

 

[SC03OTT]

Wages mean nothing on here. It's all about the post count.

 

[bengtt5]

And my old managers p60 said he took 63k

 

[Jaff.]

Christ I'm in the wrong job!

should be working for kwik fit

 

[scotty2hotty81]

That's why s**t fit rip people off, so they can pay there staff

 

[bengtt5]

Even a brake fitter will take £1400 a mmonth that's why I left the garage I was in to go I to the tyre trade
its piss easy to get bonus don't get me wrong I'd never sell anyone something they don't need or rip someone off
most parts have a cost price so ill only charge what's fair for the job required what most people don't know is other tyre company's I've worked for sell tyres with no e markings or dot codes and tyre that haven't passed quality control checks hence the cheapness

 

[bengtt5]

Example being I've got a bloke coming in with a 225 f1 team to fit his ktec cat back system
ktec want £65 plus vat I'm doing it for £30 all in

 

[JHead]

regaarding the locking nut things, when you say zip gun you mean an air wrench thingy right? cuz i've worked in the workshop a bit and you alwways use one for all wheel bolts, but just be gentle with them. it doesnt take a genius to know you only use it to nip them up, then fully tighten with the torque wrench.

 

[Matthew]

I need to get out of banking and into some blue-collar work.

 

[lemonnobby]

dealer staff get poor pay people in the tyre trade get really good pay