Don't know if this is common knowledge but Kwik-Fit have this offer on for a lifetime guarantee on brake pads. Pay once (£115 for all 4 on my Santa Fe and never pay for brake pads again!! Seems amazing to me....
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
What is a lifetime guarantee exactly? You say a lifetime guarantee on the brake pads but not the life of the vehicle so there's the catch. The lifetime gurantee on a set of brake pads can be several thousand miles so the lifetime of the pads have eventually ended. If the lifetime gurantee was on the life of the vehicle then yes that's a good offer but certain companies make you believe they have excellent offers but it's the way it's worded is the loop hole that evades any wrong doing with the trading standards.
The pads may have a "lifetime" warranty but does it cover "fair wear and tear"?
As tango says check the wording of the warranty very carefully. Is it subject to regular servicing? What if, next time the discs need replacing, will they give you new pads then or use the new discs as a get out clause?
------------- Love a lot. Trust a few. But ALWAYS paddle your own canoe!!
Minds are like parachutes:- They only function when they are open!!!
Those who talk don't know.
Those who know don't talk.
Lifetime guarantee: To ensure your brakes are always at their best, we offer a unique brakes lifetime guarantee. Once you have pads or shoes fitted at Kwik Fit, the replacement of these parts when they wear out is absolutely free to you, as long as you own the car.
Small print: After they've done a examination and the rest of the system (discs) etc are as near as possible to original manfacturers spec (if not we will charge you to get them there) we then record this spec.
In other words yes we'll replace pads etc whilst you own the car, but only if the rest of the system is still perfect as in the original inspection, if there's any wear in other parts then its a no go....
------------- Doing as little as possible for as much as possible...
DONT TRUST KWIK FIT,THEY ARE ALL ON BONUS FOR WHAT THEY CAN RIP THE PUBLIC OFF. a pal of mine put her vectra into kwik fit for a free brake check, told her the brake cylinders leaking at rear cost £300 to repair. she foned me and i went along to check as only round corner and found that they had sprayed wd 40 on the shoes.i peeled back rubbers on cylinders and bone dry. after a discusion with manager shoes cleaned up with brake cleaner and put back togeather and left with car
Don't forget when brake pads fail, they are at the end of their life, irrespective of how long it is. So you have paid a lot of money for just one set.
It reminds me of the company that advertised "Money returned if not satisfactory" Anyone claiming was told, "We found your money to be perfectly satisfactory"
I was looking for a car insurance quote recently on one the comparison websites and Kwik-Fit came up as one of the cheapest. When I looked at what the insurance covered it was absolute minimal and with a much higher excess fee too. It was made to look very attractive until you see what you get for your money but I completely avoided them anyway for other reasons too. I needed new tyres for my caravan last year and was quoted £150 by two local tyre fitters and Kwik-Fit wanted £30 more and refused to change them if my caravan wheels had Tyron Bands on. Their reputation is declining year on year and probably this is why they are offerring the brake pads deal trying to attract more business due to a lack of custom.
Quote: Originally posted by SGThomas on 11/8/2012
Don't forget when brake pads fail, they are at the end of their life, irrespective of how long it is. So you have paid a lot of money for just one set.
No, thats what I thought but it means new pads when the old ones are worn out, so as many sets as you need for as long as you keep the car.
I dont know if its just my branch but I overheard them tell someone that they did NOT need new tyres, as their VW dealer had told them. And the puncture repair I originally went in for cost £20 (they could easily have told me I needed a new £160 tyre).
Overall, I was very impressed.
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
Lifetime guarantee: To ensure your brakes are always at their best, we offer a unique brakes lifetime guarantee. Once you have pads or shoes fitted at Kwik Fit, the replacement of these parts when they wear out is absolutely free to you, as long as you own the car.
Small print: After they've done a examination and the rest of the system (discs) etc are as near as possible to original manfacturers spec (if not we will charge you to get them there) we then record this spec.
In other words yes we'll replace pads etc whilst you own the car, but only if the rest of the system is still perfect as in the original inspection, if there's any wear in other parts then its a no go....
If the discs are out of spec, you'd want to change them anyway, no? So get your dealer to rip you off and replace the discs, then go back to KF for the pads.
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
Yes you're correct, its brake pads for as long as you keep the car and the condition of the other components haven't "deteriorated since the initial fitting and inspection", And I believe that'll be the loophole as the discs will wear in normal use, but if at all possible it'd be good if you could remember and revive the thread and report back when the time comes for them to be replaced.
------------- Doing as little as possible for as much as possible...
They have tried it on with me too. Car MOT 'd a couple of months prior with no adversaries, put into them on one of their £60 service deals and suddenly my front pads and discs needed to be changed straight away. Told them to just service car and stop taking the p^*s.
Will never use them again don't care how cheap they claim to be.
Never have to pay for brake pads again, BUT the discs will probably need replacing at every brake pad change. And the cost of those will more than pay for the new pads.
pads area about 20 quid a pair and fitted in less than 10 mins. so not a good deal by any stretch especially as they should last around 50k miles a set.
i fitted pads and discs all round on my previous car (nissan Almera) for less than 120 quid.
get a quote from your local garage i find they are always far better than the big dogs as they value return custom immensely
The whole deal is a con. If the discs or drums are warn then it all becomes invalid. As the pads or shoes wear down, the discs and pads also wear. If you got two sets of pads and shoes out of them you would have done well. They are charging three times the going rate to start with though so unless you get 4 sets of pads and shoes out of them then you are out of pocket and not many people keep a car long enough to get through 4 sets of pads and or shoes.
You can get a set of OEM pads for most cars for around £30 - £50 and a set of replicas for around £10 - 15 per axle (Kwik Fit are using replicas.) Even a complete amateur could change them in an hour.