Halfords mechanic crashes my car! 🙄😡
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- A mechanic at Halfords in Wigan reversed my car into a customer’s Mini and decided to keep the whole thing quiet. Fortunately the incident was captured on my front and rear dash cam. Having been presented with the footage, Halfords eventually agreed to pay for the £2400 repair bill through their insurers. However, they refused to pay any compensation or even refund the £500 bill for the work that was being done to my car at the time they crashed it. After 3 months of wrangling, the manager of the Wigan branch agreed to pay me £230 as a gesture of goodwill. Their handling of this incident was poor to say the least. I won’t be using Halfords again.
Update: Entirely by coincidence, I saw the Mini a month or so later. I went and knocked on the door only to find that the owner was a Policeman. He was due to have it repaired the following week. As you can imagine he was very happy when I gave him a copy of the video. Unfortunately I never heard back from him but hopefully Halfords were made to cough up for the repair.
Halfords staff know as much about cars as Curry’s staff know about PCs
less
Curry's staff know more about cars than Halfords.
😂
@@yueru33 REAL
really? go in ask where the car wash products are am sure they will guide you straight there etc
Sympathise but the biggest crime was taking the car to Halfords for work in the first place….
You're spot on. Ordinarily I wouldn't use Halfords but I had them MOT the car during Covid (another mistake). It failed the MOT (something I wasn't expecting) so it seemed easier to have them do the work straight away (replacing a front spring) and retest it rather than find a local garage to do it. I won't make the same mistake again.
Tyres and MOTs is a far as I'd go with Halfords, the least likely thing you'd expect them to fuck up.
@@danmystro the only thing i'd take to halfords for a service is my bike.
at least one of the cars that got damaged was a mini. it's not all bad.
@@Yumbutteredsausage they couldn't make my bike much worse.
131322.thats how many crashes he had.
Or the number of brain cells he never had.
Not his IQ?
Compensation claims total for the past 5 years? 😂
Most likely this is the mileage of the vehicle, I work in a similar trade and sometimes we'll start an inspection after the vehicle is in the air, so we sometimes get the mileage as the vehicle is put back on the floor and is rolling out of the shop
@@duskshadowpaws4434 I work in the trade and dunno where you’re working pal, but mileage is always collected before the car is worked on . Worked at multiple garages , all the same. Wtf does getting the mileage do once the cars been worked on, leaving the workshop? 😂
the words "mechanic" and "Halfords" don't usually turn up in the same sentence,
Employing fruit & veg workers has mechanics. once went in & asked them have you got any jb weld he didn't no what it was & there paint always reacts not to mention price of it 😂
Well I misread mechanic as maniac. So I must not think much or them.😂
because theyre retail workers. boomer @RetroYamaha
The only sentence I know is, there are no mechanics at Halfords.
He damaged two cars and that floating black square!
😂⬛️
@@only1brumWhat an intelligent well thought out reply.
@@chriswakefield9538what?
I go in a Halfords store occasionally but would never book my car into their garage.
The only reason I would ever enter a Halfords store, would be to wipe my feet, if I’d stood in dog poo. I would leave immediately after.
Dog poo doesn’t deserve that treatment
😆
The cars got reversing sensors which he completely ignored.😈🤪
Radio blaring out 🙄
He didn't even react when crashing, like it's normal. Very low IQ
The stereo was too loud
@@shanethrelfall416 pardon 🤪
Yikes
My mate took his 2019 sportage for a full service including spark plug change at halfords. Had the car from new with no issues. Drove the car for 50miles after the service and it cuts out on a dual carriageway. Different garage diagnoses bad ignition coils and all need changing.
A colleague has a 2018 astra from new. Had a clutch problem and took it to halfords then was advised that a replacement was needed.
Got the clutch changed and within a week the gearbox starts playing up. So ends up with a new gearbox from them.
I wonder how many more people out there end up having to pay for additional work...
I always use a specialist. They are more expensive but they live and die by their reputation.
100%
To be fair, it sounds like your mate with the Sportage was just unlucky. Halfords performed a service (I assume that’s what he asked them to do) and then the ignition coil (singular) failed later on? I’m not sure you can blame that on Halfords 🤷🏼♂️
@@mrfust Could be a coincidence, though the Sportage only has 28k.
@mrfust Exactly. There's a phrase I use when dealing with parts. "Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's good!"
@@03Deltaintegrale28k on kia is like 200k on German car
I had to get a couple of tyres from Halfords as I could not get the ones I wanted elsewhere was a reasonable price too. After the tyres were fitted I was presented with about 500 quids worth of work that needed doing. Strangely enough when I took it to where I get my car done they told me that the "work" was not needed.
@@stevetodd7030 . They caused £1550 damage to my car 0.25 miles after a DPF clean the engine management system was f*cked right up by those monkeys, of course they said “nothing we done”, dangerous incompetent know nothing morons.
Halfords needs investigating, i had an mot done with them after having 2 advisories fixed from previous mot and had it looked over by the guy who did the repairs and he was certain it would pass with no issues, they failed it and quoted me over £800 in repairs main one being a replacement both front struts and other bits like links they said i would only being paying for parts as the labour is part of the strut replacement i called the mobile mechanic i used and he said no way and he called a garage he knew that got me in same day and it passed with no advisories, i went back to halfords and told them and they basically said i should be worried and that the garage that passed it didnt do a proper mot, its since had another mot with kwik fit and passed with one advisory for wiper blades, none of the faults Halfords claimed have ever been an issue.
You need to inform the vehicle inspectorate who monitor mot testing. Most cases are about cars failing when they should pass.
@@claudgurr431 I did report it to the DVSA but the Halfords I used obviously do it a lot because they never submitted the failed test, so when it was investigated the DVSA didn't have a failed test sheet to base their inspection on, the excuse the Halfords gave was the test was not completed due to their equipment failed and they never told me I needed repairs so basically it was my word against theirs. I should have gotten written confirmation from them on their findings but to be honest I wasn't in a friendly manner at the time with the staff there when I argued they were talking sh!t.
Dont use kwik fit either.. they a fraud just like Halfords. They will tell you that you needs new tryes brake pads and discs
Halfords is completely utter scam!!! This should be called Halfrauds not Halfords!!
It's always a gesture of good will isn't it ? .....As a gesture of good will I won't be taking any car to Halfrauds in the future ! Cowboys !!
Genuinely had an interview at halfords once and they asked if i had mechanic experience, i said no, and they said "ok no worries" lmao
@@dannywhite132 Why am I not surprised 😦
They are incompetent on every level.
Peter Kay’s had a rough couple of years.
Bad service in general is down to the appalling way management treat their staff. Not a good company.
Ok to buy stuff from but never lat them work on your car. EVER!
they replaced the headlight bulb in a girl's car I know, they smashed the back of the light unit and taped it back on and said nothing to her about it, she said to me the headlight beam was too high so I had a look at it for her, the bulb was in wonky and the plastic cover on the back of the light had been prized off instead of twisted off, the locating lugs had been snapped off, it must have taken a lot of pressure to snap them,
When i worked at Halfords, they had started the garage idea, late 80's. They simply hired time served mechanics from local dealerships. I only used the garage the odd time. They wanted to be just under dealer price but the flaw was they looked like Kwik Fit. They closed them when the AA rented the garage space. I left a number of years later. They then trialled the garages again but i think it was through a firm called Nationwide, i believe they eventually bought them up. I do know in my local town they bought out a local established garage, leaving it in the same place with new signage. The local Halfords superstore, it's garage remains empty.
And just like every other garage, you get good and bad mechanics. The MOT scams happen in most garages trying to claim parts need replaced.
I’d never let Halfords go anywhere near my car.
The kind of people who take their car to Halfords for repair work are the same types of people who get angry when you overtake them even though they were driving slower than the speed limit 😂
The speed limit is a maximum, NOT a minimum. But let me guess you're one of these who's been driving 40 years, but never did a theory or hazard perception test?
@@supergeekjay the speed limit is a target in optimal conditions actually and you’re taught this when learning to drive 🤡🤡
I’ve been driving for a decade since I was 17 and zero accidents of any kind
If you can’t drive up to the speed limit on most roads then you shouldn’t be driving. If you feel out of control going 40 mph in a 50, then I’m sorry but you are pathetic.
For many years I’ve taken the attitude that I will only ever use Halfords to buy things that I either genuinely cannot find elsewhere, or that I need in a hurry. I certainly won’t rely on them to do any work on my car.
Many years ago I bought a new car stereo, to replace a factory fit in a Citroen, because I wanted a CD player (back when car CD players were still a thing) and Bluetooth. I bought a rather nice Sony head unit, and took it down to my local Halfords so they could fit it. The guy doing the fitting faffed around for 90 minutes and announced that “he couldn’t do the installation”. He then told me to come back the next day when his boss (who apparently was the car stereo “expert”) would be in. Next day, the boss faffed around some more, and then announced that the stereo wasn’t compatible with the car. He said this on the basis that the stereo reset itself every time the ignition switched on, and that he couldn’t get the odometer etc to work again on the digital instrument panel. As a “goodwill” gesture he offered to refund the installation fee, and I accepted.
Took the car home, and checked the manual for the stereo. It said that if the stereo reset itself when the ignition was on, then you had to cut the yellow wire and one of the white wires, and then connect the white wire at the stereo side to the yellow wire at the car side, and the yellow wire at the stereo side to the white wire at the car side. I tried this, despite not knowing much about car electronics, and IT WORKED.
As for the odometer etc, a quick Google search took me to a Citroen forum, where someone suggested disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and reconnecting it, with the new stereo connected. Their explanation was that if I did this, the car’s CANBUS would realise there was a non-standard stereo installed and just reboot without looking for the factory fitted one. I tried this, and again, it worked.
Not sure why it was so difficult for a so-called “expert” at Halfords to figure this out if I was able to!
@@samuelholmes3696 There seems to be a bit of a continuing Laurel & Hardy theme with Halfords!
@@olberttratter160 Laurel and Hardy would have made a better job I suspect!
I took my car for a service at Halfords a long time ago, I opened up the bonnet the day after and the brake fluid cap was missing. I phoned them up to ask if they had found one in the workshop and they claimed it couldn't have been them that lost it as they wouldn't take it off during a service. Well then how do you check the condition of the brake fluid and top up if necessary as mentioned on the service sheet? I later found it wedged down in the engine bay. I've serviced my own cars since then.
Avoid Halfords at all costs, it’ll cost you more.
@@nuherbleath461 . I know to my cost-£1550 to put their incompetence right.
Halfords killed my Toyota Celica... no oil registering on dipstick, said it needs to be driven hard so oil can settle, it warped my top end engine and killed the car! AVOID THEM
Actually, it's all about the paperwork, ticking off by bosses, the explanation to the customer, more paperwork, or just denying the whole thing. They choose the latter.
Halfords did the same to my car and put big black deep scratches into the bumper .. I accused them of it as it was undamaged when I dropped it off ... they refused to let me see the footage of me parking it by there camera in the parking bay... coz that would prove there was no damage before hand ... I dropped it off first thing in the morning and waited all day for them to ring me about its service .. I got there before they closed and instead of parking it in the collection bays they had paralleled parked it between two cars (quite tight) round the side of the building .. hoping I wouldn't see the damage. Complained and complained and then lost my temper... guy was having none of it ... he showed me the damage on the check pics the staff take when inspecting the car .. they all showed damage ... when I asked to see the time stamp of the pictures atrangley it was at 03:10 in the morning? .. I accused them of re doing the pics after they damaged it .. and changing the time .. he just said .. oh he times never right on the ipads we use ... would never use them again
@@thewashbrookshow I share your frustration. Despite being presented with irrefutable proof, the branch manager (this was the Wigan branch) tried every possible ruse to avoid liability. It took threats of legal action before they finally caved. I wouldn’t buy an air freshener off them now!
@olberttratter160 mine was a company car so I had to explain everything that happened at work .. I even recorded conversation with the branch I was at ... in the end the car got repaired and resprayed .. very expensive .. luckily I didn't have to pay but I felt bad about it .... The lease company kept telling me to take car to Halfords for stuff even after all the hassle .. I refused and would take it anywhere but there ... the worst of it was a few months later I went to have a look at there place when it was shut. . and noticed white paint on a low wall .. my car was white ...deffo them ... but again car had sensors all round .. its stupidity and a lack of care ... I always tell people to avoid Halfords ... Rob dogs and liars
I'm no longer using Halfords or National Tyres as one of their mechanics installed a front spring upside down and it started making a grinding sound a few months later. My car also now creaks after the last time they touched it.
I still need to get the car into a proper mechanic to get it sorted.
took my car in there many many many years ago and 1 day later after the service the car all of a sudden just stopped working no engine no power steering no instrument lights nothing. AA had to collect the car and asked where I wanted to take it so said Halfords and he said you dont want to do that so he recommended a couple of local garages so we decided on one. So left it there then they phones me to say whoever had done the last service on the car had bodged the computer connection and caused a short circuit on their so it blew the thing up. $1500 for a new computer control unit later so hence I do not use halfords for anything even getting a bulb.
The first mistake you made was going to halfords in the first place. Halfords, Kwik-Fit etc they're all awful.
While waiting to book my car in for an MOT, (been paid for weeks ago) I saw the manager of Halfords crash in to a parked van. Fthat I drove away and took my car to a real garage Pinewood Motor Company in Newbury and got a service and MOT.
Halfrauds by name and nature
I would be questioning the blokes drivers licence
I'm surprised the dashcam was still up, every time I've had my car in garages for a service or mot they always take the dashcam down. That's why I always take the dashcam down myself.
I use Halfords for my MOT it usually passes first time as they are lazy and just want it out the door.
I needed a new cycle tyre so took cycle in, when i got home I noticed the tread was installed the wrong way. As it was a front tyre I took a spanner to it and reversed it then thought hang on, I've paid for fitting I'm not having this I want my fitting fee refunded. Contacted customer service who asked me for a photo, I asked what did they want, a picture of the tyre I put on the right way or do they want me to take the wheel back off, fit it incorrectly again, then take a photo of that? Their response was they don't recommend I take the wheel off as they cannot guarantee my safety! (I insisted and eventually got a refund)
@@snarpatroid3571 Nothing surprises me about Halfords anymore. They’re just a bunch of cowboys.
Should have driving licence taken away. Obviously they cannot drive.
I remember buying a car battery from Halfords and the guy asked if I needed help fitting it. I just laughed and said "I wouldn't trust your guys to change a light bulb!"
£2400 for that, yikes your car must be made of paper.
It happens, we’ve all done stupid mistakes when driving. As long as he admitted the fault I don’t see why everyone’s getting so excited.
@@Flippinloon Who admitted what fault???
How they still exist, is unfathomable. They are truly the worst outfit out there, with Kwik Fit close behind!
Kwikfit were i live acttully proved that my local kia dealer had not repair multiple warrenty work issules including non working manual n ev brakes on my former motabilty car,
Thanks to kwik fit report n proof tht thy showed both motabilty n kia uk ,that said dealer lost its kia franchise ,
I would take any car to kwik fit over halfords any day,
@@stephwoodward37 I would avoid both like the plague!
@@AbsoluteNOPE whn ur a motabilty custmor u can only go to their partners
Likely that means only really need to go to kwikfit for replacement tyres only,
All else done by the dealer
No likey no lighty. Let the mechanic……see the repair bill!
Why would anyone take their car to Halfords?
Convenience I guess. Wouldn’t recommend Halfords to my worst enemy now. I reckon I’ve learnt my lesson.
People are just stup1d...and most dont have a clue about cars,esp women,bless their souls
1. Nearest place. 2. Not read reviews.
Thought Halfords only knew how to Fix Bikes ......
The garage and retail side used to be one years ago, they're separate entities with their own access and exit doors. Halfords bought Nationwide garages, then local garage repair firms, just badging them as Halfords. Some didn't move into the old garage bays at the local superstore, so they have a stand alone garage in the same town.
I wouldn’t even trust them to fit my wipers.
weird how garages now demand dashcams be turned off because they have 'underage apprentices working', yet still have CCTV operating 24/7...
Hello Olbert! May we feature this clip?? You will be given credit!
Yes. Please feel free.
@@olberttratter160 Thank you!
I went to Halfords to have 2 headlight bulbs fitted. After an hour and a half, all I'd got was new bulbs fitted, but one headlight unit broken, and the other not in great shape. They paid for the repairs (not by them, no effing way) and refunded the price of the bulbs and the fitting. Useless.
imagine paying someone else to change your bulbs though.. Useless.
I once took my car into Halfords and the mechanic nicked my wallet
Only go to Halfords if everywhere else is closed and I just need a bulb.
Halfords are a shitty company in general. I worked in the Brighton store when I was in my early 20's. I had been with the company for 11 months when they decided to basically make 80% of the full time workforce at our store redundant and replace them with part time uni workers. I have no idea how or why this would save money, but someone there obviously thought so. Anyway, before I got made redundant, I got to apply for my own job to see if I could keep it. My only competitor was the store supervisor lol. Halford is split up into various sections, like bikes, stereos, and other things. Because I was a busy bike mechanic, I only ever really worked in the bike section. This interview process gave you points based on your experience, so before I even set foot in the room I had lost because this supervisor had worked in all departments lmao.
Got made redundant at 11 months with no redundancy pay. Cheeky git of a manager saw me a few months later and I told him how unfair that system was which he agreed. He then was like "well you got a good redundancy payment". I was like wtf, I got nothing, I was at 11 months when you fired me.
POS company honestly, shame they have not gone bankrupt already, no idea how they haven't. I even had a massive sexual predator working with me and they did nothing about that despite many complaints until he eventually tried it on with a supervisors wife. This grease ball would chase me away from any female customers over the age of 15 so he could deal with them. You are one seedy as individual Raf, no doubt in prison for sexual assault by now.
oh god no, should ask them to go and find a left handed hammer whilst you're in there and watch them try to find it..
How can you give your car to Halfords? Do you hate your car?
I remember I went to the exact same Halfords with my car. And I didn't know what the issue was of course, and one of the staff, a Spanish sounding guy said to me "find out what's wrong with it and bring it back". Safe to say I did no such fucking thing.
@@1992mattyowen They literally have no shame.
Bloody 'ell Unc, you've been well done there mate.
What work were they doing? I thought the just changed bulbs and stuff like that 🤔
They do nickname them 'Halfwits' you know 😀
😂😂 fair enough. The irony have placing your car into the hands of people that are supposed to fix it and it came back worse off.
Quick fit and halfords, steer well clear, had a bulb done once as i was in a rush and it was a sunday, never ran the same again
Not all Kwikfits are the same the one in my town are great but maybe only for tyres MOT and simple services, they have never tried to sell me extras.The one in the town next door however are well known com men.
Your fault, why would you even consider taking your car to Halfords?
U seriously took your car to Halfords 😂🤣🤣🤣🤣..."Doh" 😂
I used to use them for my motorbike bits and bobs but I'd never go to there garage heard quite a lot of bad things about them and after they ripped one of my close friends off that was the final straw
Decent socket sets. Wouldn't trust them to actually use them on my car though.
This happened to my pal and they got him a brand new car
Whats really shocking is the £2.5k claim you put in
Total he wanted was £3K but yes £2.5k is bullshit. I had the whole side of my estate car damaged 2yrs ago and the insurance repair quote including one new door, dents, scratches and repainting of whole side was £1600 and i live in Buckinghamshire not crappy Wigan. Maybe this guys got a solid gold and diamond encrusted tow bar on the back that got damaged or he's just a billy bullshitter.
Had these recently fit a front a rear facing dashcam. Never again
Had some women look at my headlight and snapped every clip, better off taking your car to home Bargains
Hi man ,may I use this clip too in my compilation? with credit of course
Yes
@@olberttratter160 thanks
Last time I use Halfords....didn't realise they employed dishonest people..!!
Feel bad for the black square.
would never use halford, they cant even assemble a pushbike properly ive bought bikes in the past that didnt even have the brakes working, I insisted on them just giving me one in the box and would sign a disclaimer. my other personal favourite was them asking if i wanted a car battery fitted when I turned up on a motorbike to collect it. absolute morons in there.
I love how the guy blatantly ignored the loud bang and sudden stop. He knew you had a dash cam and didn't want to react to get away with it 😡 bastard
That’s the Wigan branch
If I had 100% chance of my car having catastrophic failure unless worked on by garage technicians and the only ones available being Halfords , I'd still rather shit in my hands and clap also I would carry on using the car taking my impossible chances.
Your first mistake was taking your car to Halfords in the first place 🤦
I wouldn't trust them with a skateboard!
never would I go to Halfords again why you ask ,to put the story short I had a DPF issue no problem they said £80 cost refundable if not fixed ,after taking my car back three times they gave up on me ,they never offered a refund with no explanation why they couldn’t cure the problem,to be honest I have a good reason to be bitter about all this ,just thinking of what they may have tried to burn away the clogged up filter,I perished the thought .
Same shit happened to me once in kwik fit 😂
That is shocking, did they fix any damage?
They dragged their feet for a month or so even after they’d seen the video. Eventually they handed it over to their insurers who agreed to allow me to have it repaired at Williams BMW. The repair bill was just over £2K. They also eventually paid me compensation of around £280 which was about 50% of the cost of the work that was being done when they crashed it. The manager at Halfords in Wigan was a complete nightmare to deal with. I won’t be going anywhere near them again.
@@olberttratter160 thanks for giving us an update. 👍 It's shocking the way they treated you. You would have thought they would have fixed it and apologised given the evidence of this video. Did they just pretend nothing happened when you picked the car up?
@@sparkeli4513 Yes, they gave me the car back and said nothing. I only noticed the damage the morning after and it took me several hours of trawling through the dashcam footage to find out what had happened. Luckily they hadn’t disconnected the dashcam like a lot of places do apparently. After they’d seen the footage they wanted to repair it themselves but I wouldn’t let them near it obviously. Believe it or not, a friend of mine spotted the mini parked in a driveway recently, about 3 miles from where I live. I went round and knocked on their door. The chap that answered was a police officer and said it was his wife’s car and that it was booked in to have the damage repaired in a couple of weeks. He was obviously over the moon that I had the footage. I haven’t heard back from him but hopefully Halfords will be paying out a second time.
@@olberttratter160 Thanks for updating us mate, glad you both got justice. 👍
@@olberttratter160 ah what a great guy you are! Well done. Shocking how they were hoping to get away with it. Recommend getting yourself a local mechanic who actually cares
Only use Halfords for bike cleaner even that’s expensive there
I'd use the term mechanic very loosely lol
131322!! This is my new saying!
Ofc it’s Wigan lol. Please tell me the mechanic was prosecuted for this hit and run.
@@1997Human Unfortunately not. ☹️
Typical of halfrauds
Halfords broke my side mirror and after3 month of emails
They are not accepting liability…..
Just disgusting behaviour …..
Anyway if u know any other way to get my mirror fix plz ?
Different garage. Or order something online and fit it yourself.
Replace the side mirror
Ask for their insurance details. If it's just the public liability details you need it should legally be displayed at trading locations. If it's motor cover because they were driving your car then if they won't give you the details a police report would probably speed things up
Hey ! Can I use your clip in my video with credit and link ?
Please go ahead
You should Of 1 starred That Thats Totally Wrong For a Halfords driver driving off 😂
Why did you need compensation though? Or the cost of the work they did comped? The car was repaired at their expense wasn’t it?
Two and a half grand for what exactly?. You driving a McLaren🙃
Hard lessons are never forgotten, i know you learned this lesson and didn't make the same mistake again.
👍
Did Halfords own up about it and pay for the damage?
@@jameswarden9136 After I’d shown them the video they asked me to take the car back to the same branch of Halfords (Wigan) and they would repair it. As you can imagine I told them I would never take my car to Halfords ever again and that the only way forward was for the car to be repaired by BMW and for them to pay for it. There was a lot of back and forth and in the end they got their head office to contact me. Eventually they agreed to my terms and they paid my insurers for the repair work. I don’t recall ever receiving an apology.
You can barely call them mechanics
This in Wigan? 😂
@@Jord151 It certainly was.
Decent for some cleaning bits but nothing else ffs
Ive done it , it happens
But this is common in halfords and shady practices 😂
Its your own fault taking your car to Halfords
What on earth led you to believe Halford have trained mechanics
because they do? it's not the retail workers doing it, boomer 😂
wtf are you Mad i Wouldn't event let them do wiper blades
Crazy all these comments about halfrods being bad lol... Never had any issues with them 🤔
it's boomers who think retail workers are mechanical engineers 🙄
terrible driver, even after the crash