Might be of interest but just got my new Fiat Panda last week and decided to start asking about servicing and service plans.

The dealer I got the car from gave me a monthly cost of £17.99 per month for three services. I'll only do 6,000 miles per year so the first would be a small service with year two a large service and year three, back to small service.
Total cost - £647

I then rang Kwik Fit and they quoted £62 for first service, £179 for second service and £47 for the third.
Total Cost - £288

Dealer trying to rip me off? I think so!

As a previous company car driver I was required to use KwikFit for tyres/brakes etc. Would I trust them to service my car.....no. **My own opinion obviously, someone else will be along shortly to extol their virtues**

highwayman71 said:

As a previous company car driver I was required to use KwikFit for tyres/brakes etc. Would I trust them to service my car.....no. **My own opinion obviously, someone else will be along shortly to extol their virtues**

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I couldn't agree more. You'll take your car in for a service and they'll tell you that it needs about £5k of work doing to it. You know they're lying, but then when something really does need replacing you won't know, as you just tell KF to do one whenever they tell you the car needs extra work. That means you'll end up taking it somewhere reputable anyway when whatever it is that really did need replacing actually breaks and have to spend more money there getting it fixed.

The best place to get a normal car, like a Panda, serviced is somewhere independent, local and reputable. It'll work out cheapest in the long run and you'll have the peace of mind that the job will have been done well by someone whose business relies on word of mouth and good customer service.

Mmmm...Kwik Fit service my wife's company car and to be honest do a good job. All I was trying to do was highlight the rip-off dealer plans.

Also servicing prices are fixed so how could Kwik Fit tell me 5k worth of work needs doing? That statement is an exaggeration and a blatant attemp to bash Kwik Fit.

I'm sure there will be plenty who hate Kwik Fit and plenty who love them, our local branch is always busy. I hate two local independent garages who've ripped me off in the past.

olyscott8 said:

Mmmm...Kwik Fit service my wife's company car and to be honest do a good job. All I was trying to do was highlight the rip-off dealer plans.

Also servicing prices are fixed so how could Kwik Fit tell me 5k worth of work needs doing? That statement is an exaggeration and a blatant attemp to bash Kwik Fit.

I'm sure there will be plenty who hate Kwik Fit and plenty who love them, our local branch is always busy. I hate two local independent garages who've ripped me off in the past.

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Kwik-Fit have a bad rep I guess, mainly down to "you need a new chassis mate" type tyre renewals. Some people will be happy, some will not be.


Would I pay the local FIAT dealer to service it? No thanks. For that cost? No chance.


Best option is do it yourself - learn it, enjoy it and save money doing it.

olyscott8 said:

Also servicing prices are fixed so how could Kwik Fit tell me 5k worth of work needs doing? That statement is an exaggeration and a blatant attemp to bash Kwik Fit.

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They don't change the fixed servicing cost, they simply say that they've noticed loads more work which needs doing; stuff that isn't included in the cost of the service.

Yes, I was hyperbolising, it's a common way to make a point; "red hot", "weighed a ton" etc, etc... . My point being Kwik-Fit are known for trying to tell people that their car needs loads of work doing when you take it in for something simple, like a new tyre or new brake pads (or a basic service).

I would never ever take my car to 'Kwik Fit' ...

In my opinion most of these Services are basically an oil change with a load of checks, if you're lucky they'll change the antifreeze - even if they do all of these checks, then they still charge you extra if they find something.

tbh, these quickfit places are more often than not monkeys, theyre not cheap either. My experience after using all.

Fiat: over priced but you get the right stuff and they know what theyre doing, mostly. It's so valuable to have people seeing the same cars day in day out to see the problems.

quickfit places: not that cheap and not great but convenient, i used to go because they're open Saturdays and i can show up and get an exhaust bit done or something.

Independent: Mostly if you look on ebay for parts then sort it by absolute cheapest. That is whats being put in your car. If you find a good one that knows the car, its worth its weight.

I wouldn't let Kwik Fit service a Cosy Coupe or anything else. In fact, I wouldn't buy tyres, exhausts or anything else off them either. I simply avoid!

You want to see the horrendous mess of an exhaust they had put on a car prior to being bought by the husband.

Still missing the point of my initial post...

Dealer x 3 services = £647
Kwik Fit x 3 services = £288

Didn't somebody even say Kwik Fit are expensive?

It's all down to the personal experience you have with your servicing garage. I've used Kwik Fit for lots of my cars and had no problem and I've never had a Kwik Fit Fitter tell me I need extra stuff doing to my motors. I have also used word of mouth reputable independents who have well and truly ripped me off !

All down to personal experience!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kwik-fit-mechanics-tried-trick-customers-2041443

The sum total of all those services is 3 oil changes and and 1 set of spark plugs according to their site which is 10l of oil £25 3 oil filters £10 and spark plugs £15. Maybe a couple of quid of top up liquid.

The service plan vs what quick fit quote isn't fair as you're writing HP vs normal quote. Like buying a set of trainers cash from sports direct or from a catalogue.

If you asked fiat what they could do for you cash at a fiat dealers you might find a different story.

So apart from the £50 parts you could do yourself in a morning. The extra you're paying for is all those checks and things, the fiat dealer is going to know what to look for on your car inside out plus your going to get genuine oil and parts. I'm sure quick fit use semi synth 10w40 on everything unless you pay special.

So all considered I still think it's expensive.