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In a moment of potential madness that seemed to make sense at the time, I signed up to the Halfords Motoring Club last night. https://www.halfords.com/motoring-club.html One year for £49, free MOT worth £40, £10 voucher, and it got my new bulbs fitted for free when it was cold and dark and my back was too bad to tackle them myself. And 5% off future purchases, which I'll need, because my car needs bits all the time. So it seems like it adds up to a sensible offer. But... are they just going to make their money back when it comes to the service and MOT by charging me through the nose for work needed? I've only ever used local garages so have no sense of what their pricing or quality is like.
I've already used the discounts so can't back out of the deal now, but wonder how alert I need to be to getting screwed over further down the line. Any experiences?
They’re only offering the MOT - if it fails and requires work to rectify you’re not compelled to have the testing station do the work.
when I’ve had work done by Halfords the prices haven’t been far out of line with anyone else really. I’ve had issues with honesty - but that’s the management of that branch rather than a nationwide policy I expect
I singed up two nights ago but just to get a £5 off my purchase of adblue 10 1/2 l for £20 and it pours so easy I'd recommend it
It was to save me standing at the counter buying online to get my 10% off £30. Strange way they work with the shop price dearer and don't tell you unless your switched on
I don't get the free MOT or whatever other benefits they're offering
I've got the free version but only used it for the initial voucher. I've a trade card that covers most stuff. It did help when I recently needed tyres with higher multibuy discounts for MC members.
As with most chain stores, how good/bad your local store is depends entirely on the quality of the staff. I noticed a significant drop in service/quality at my local when the lead technician, who I'd known for years, left.
I've also got the free version, I signed up because it saved me a fiver off a dashcam. The other 'benefits' seem marginal, I already get discount (10%) at Halfords with my defence discount card, so I'll probably bin the Halfords Motoring Club.
I used to use a good local garage that wasn't a MOT testing station. They would do any work that was needed and then I would take it for the MOT.
It worked well but you need to find a good, local and honest place.
Reassuring responses, thanks!
I've never had any issues with MOT's at Halfords (or Kwickfit for that matter).
There's not much discretion in the test, either your brake pads/tyres have the required minimum, or they don't, your chassis is rusty, or it's not, the brakes work, or they don't, the suspension bushings have play in them or they don't, etc etc.
I used to use a good local garage that wasn’t a MOT testing station. They would do any work that was needed and then I would take it for the MOT.
I had a friend that would do that. She was boasting that her car never fails it's MOT. Turned out the garage doing the pre-MOT service was doing about £300 of repairs every year. I suggested she go to the MOT herself (a place that only MOTs and might stretch to swapping out a bulb) and have a 'post-MOT service' booked immediately afterwards when they could deal with any fails.
A few months later she rang me up off her rocker as she had just passed the MOT with just an advisory for tyre wear on one corner, and over the moon that the car only needed a standard service.
There’s not much discretion in the test, either your brake pads/tyres have the required minimum, or they don’t, your chassis is rusty, or it’s not, the brakes work, or they don’t, the suspension bushings have play in them or they don’t, etc etc.
Yes but 90% of people wouldn't know where to start looking to refute the claims that things need fixing. I don't get scammed like this, maybe I'm in a high-risk category for them. I tend to say stuff like 'Oh, pads and discs look ok and I've checked the pipes for corrosion so it should be ok' and it makes it sound like I know what I am talking about.
That or they can see the parts that have been replaced when they go under there 🙂
My guess is that this motoring club thing is an attempt at customer retention. If they were charging more for work or ripping people off I reckon that they'd get found out quite quickly, it's a huge risk for a big brand. The only difference between them and a back-street garage is the brand name, it's all they've got, so they cannot risk it.
Yes but 90% of people wouldn’t know where to start looking to refute the claims that things need fixing. I don’t get scammed like this, maybe I’m in a high-risk category for them. I tend to say stuff like ‘Oh, pads and discs look ok and I’ve checked the pipes for corrosion so it should be ok’ and it makes it sound like I know what I am talking about.
True I guess, although it's the tester who holds their own license to do MOT's, so IME are very reluctant to do anything other than by the book as it's their livelyhood, the garage would just get another tester unless VOSA found an issue with their equipment.
I've used the local Halfords centre for the last few MOTs, they've often had some offer, think most recent was the motoring club one. Been fine, book it online, gets done promptly, never had any attempt to upsell. But then I check the car over properly beforehand - amazes me though how many people present cars for MOT with things like blown bulbs and will then moan about getting ripped off when it fails.
Never used Halfords for an MOT, but as simon_g mentioned when looking at MOT historys for cars, so many seem to fail on obvious stuff like blown bulbs, ineffective wiper blades or bald tyres.
You know the sort of stuff you should be checking regularly 🙄
Depends on the branch to some degree I suppose but I took my car for a brake fluid change which was a fraction of the cost of the main dealership and it was done without fuss including reset of the “change due” warning on the computer. I’d go there again.
The one time I had an MOT at a halfords autocentre they tried to have me over for £280 for unnecessary repairs.
I got four tyres having signed up for the free version. The discount meant I got four tyres for the price of three, and they do a “we won’t be beaten on price” promise. Much googling showed they were indeed the cheapest price even before the discount.
My one time I risked Hafrauds was for a couple of tyres and an air con top up shortly (like a couple of days) before a drive out to the Alps. I knew I needed them and it was a but of a stress purchase with sodall spare time, and near to my work office.
They did unasked for work. Which was nice of them to do for free, as I hadn't asked for it. They got shirty, trying to fhoook me over. I told them I'd not asked for it. Had an argument. Eventuaĺly paid for what I asked for and left.
Never again.
(I'm a mechanical engineer by degree, lots of years investigating serious mechanical failures, these days work in engineering aafety, know WTF I'm looking at, and what matters and doesn't). Because I was in a suit maybe they thought they could BS me.).
I do still buy some bits when I have to from there.
MOT? I get a local garage I trust to do it. I do want them to pick up real problems. But not make up stuff that's actually not critical. Yes a 10 year old car will have wear and tear. But not all wear is life threatening. Tyres are a great example. The acceptance limit is 1.6mm for a reason. Its well founded. Telling me at 3mm they're nearly (or actually) a fail or that they are unsafe is total BS to try sell unnecessary tyres. Which damages the environment unnecessarily. (To suggest the stopping will be worse and unsafe at 2 or 2.5mm tread is BS if you've got decent quality tyres from companies like Michelin - Michelin are public about that, but tyre fitting companies push Donald Trump style scare story lies instead.
Just remember that the Halfords garage offering is a mix of absorbed companies so you get variable levels of service throughout their network. Some were the original AA Autocentres tacked on to their large stores (that spawned the "We'll Fit It" offering), others are old Nationwide Autocentres, some are standalone Halfords Garages from their initial push into the area on the back of the original AA Autocentres and they have recently acquired National Tyres too. My local Halfords garage is woeful and known for making work up, I had some tyres fitted there (bought on BlackCircles randomly) and they tried to tell me my front brake pads were worn which was strange as they were 39 miles old as I'd just fitted new ones and discs. I absolutely ripped them a new one in front of two other customers when they tried that one and ended up with a decent amount of Halfords vouchers from their Head Office when I put in a complaint (think it was £100, went towards a new commuter bike anyway).
As for whether they're good value, that depends on whether you're happy to do work yourself, get parts from a local motor factor (depends on distance) and how much you value having a branded store in almost every town. For a lot of people it does make sense if they can't (for whatever reason) fit a bulb, wiper blade, battery etc themselves then the cost of the year is easily clawed back. I use my local Halfords branch a lot as it's less than a mile away and open late, handy when a bulb goes at this time of year! I just replaced a headlight bulb that blew on my way back from work, cost me £12.99 for a twin pack from Halfords but if I could have waited until I could get to the local Motor Factors they're £3.74 each. Knowing I had two functioning headlights and a spare bulb at this time of year is worth the extra, especially as I've had the horrid experience of two bulbs blowing in the middle of the night and being stranded until daylight made it safe to continue when I was younger. Ironically I worked at Halfords at the time but being a skint student I waited until payday to get the first one replaced only for a stone to take out the other headlight (on a Citroen AX so was made of glass) and the bulb on the way back from Aberystwyth.
Tyres are a great example. The acceptance limit is 1.6mm for a reason. Its well founded. Telling me at 3mm they’re nearly (or actually) a fail or that they are unsafe is total BS to try sell unnecessary tyres. Which damages the environment unnecessarily. (To suggest the stopping will be worse and unsafe at 2 or 2.5mm tread is BS if you’ve got decent quality tyres from companies like Michelin – Michelin are public about that, but tyre fitting companies push Donald Trump style scare story lies instead.
The major manufacturers, including Michelin, have for a long time pushed for the legal EU minimum of 1.6mm to be raised to 3mm for the exact reason that wet braking is compromised below that amount of wear. A tyre's tread is a pump to move the water from in front of the tyre and if the tread depth is low then basic physics says that less water can be moved thus increasing the risk of aquaplaning. This is an excerpt from the Michelin Fleet website (only accessible via a login, I've put the relevant part in bold):
How often should you change your tyres
Knowing how often to change tyres with a professional tyre fitting comes down to three main factors:1. Are they below the legal tyre tread depth?
The minimum legal tread depth for your tyres is 1.6mm for cars and small vans, but it’s not advisable to let it get below 3mm. This is because your stopping distance will increase drastically, due to the tyres’ lack of grip on the road surface.2. Is your tyre pressure incorrect?
Having the correct tyre pressure for your vehicle will not only extend the life of your tyres, but it will keep you safe and save on fuel. For everyday use, a tyre pressure of 30 to 32 PSI is typically recommended. Read more about how and when to check tyre pressure.If you notice your tyre pressure is falling more often than usual, your valve stems may be leaking air. This can often be a sign that you need to book your car in for a tyre fitting.
3. Are any tyres damaged?
Tyres are often at risk of suffering damage while driving on and off road. Common signs of damage to look out for are cuts, impacts, cracks, bulges and irregular wear either on the centre or outer edges. It’s good to keep an eye out for signs of tyre cracking, bulges and other damage yourself or maintain regular car servicing to ensure it never goes unattended. Regular tyre rotation can also help prevent excess wear and damage to specific tyres.
The same advice is given by ATS who are owned by Michelin. Tyres are the most critical safety item on a vehicle as without decent tyres you can have the best brakes, ABS, handling etc but nothing will make up for a loss of grip.
Shush, he's an engineer.
I'd rather the limit for an MOT was raised to ~3mm. So many cars get failed for tyres that it would make more sense to set the limit some way before they get really dangerous. Either that or adopt the continental rules of 4mm required over winter.