high street outlet - bargain?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Thu 21 Feb 2008 01:41
high street outlet - bargain? - billy25
Saw on telly last night that one of the high street garage chains have just started an offer.
Apparently, if you buy your brakeshoes or pads from them, they will replace them in the future (even for the life of the car) free of charge! not sure if that includes the price for the parts or just the fitting of them.
Sounds too good to be true?

Billy
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Thu 21 Feb 2008 07:45
high street outlet - bargain? - Clk Sec
>>Sounds too good to be true?

Not necessarily.

I bought a new Maxi in 1980 which I owned for 13 years. When I needed to replace the first exhaust system my local depot was running a similar offer on a standard type replacement.

Whenever I had a problem this company would replace , without charge, either the front or the rear section, and this they did on several occasions until the vehicle was scrapped.

Needless to say they are still in business.

Clk Sec

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Thu 21 Feb 2008 07:52
high street outlet - bargain? - oilrag
Hi Billy,
What if the `technicians` are under great pressure to get money in from other work though?

I once took an old car in for a brake fluid/pad change in midwinter when It was too cold on the drive to do it myself.

They (lets say generic fast fit place) went through the brakes with a fine tooth comb, but with me right beside them. there was an audible `sigh`from the fitter when the last possible extra income generator, the remaining wheel cylinder rubber was lifted and found to be dry.

I came away with the feeling that it really mattered to do something extra and would never go near any such place unless i can stand and watch. Having said that I probably never will again as there`s no chance to build a working relationship.

Regards

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Thu 21 Feb 2008 15:44
high street outlet - bargain? - doctorchris
Let's be fair, these guys need to make a profit. So when you take your motor in for your free brake pads they will go over it with a fine tooth-comb to try to sell you other services. Fair enough. Also, they won't replace discs for free and these wear out almost as fast as pads these days. you can't really refuse when they recommend new discs with an astronomical price mark-up.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
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