Mr Clutch

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Tysonator

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Hi,

My 1999 Vauxhall Tigra needs a new pressure plate, so to replace the plate I am looking at a new clutch replacement any way.

I have been getting some quotes for the clutch replacement and I was wondering why Mr Clutch can quote £208 all in for a 3 part clutch, and the other garages range from £390 to £500 ! ?

What is it that Mr Clutch do to be able to quote so low ! ?

What corners do they cut, are the mechanics qualified ! ?
 
My dad foolishly took his Subaru forester to them for a gearbox replacement. They made a complete mess of it and clearly didn't have a clue what they were doing, although head office were very helpful once the issue was reported to them.
 
Had the clutch on my clio changed there, didnt have a problem with the clutch again for the 2-3 years we had it after that
 
Girlfriend had her astra clutch done there, car was never the same again.

I think at best the service offered from branch to branch varies widely.
 
Not really.

My old MG ZR (I know ..) got a new clutch and it was never right after it went there. It slipped worse than before it went in ..
 
The thing is that all of these big chains supposedly have bad reputations.

What makes an independent garage which has given you the lowest quote any better?

It depends entirely on the person you get and so that is random (unless you already have experience of the place).

Very rarely have I heard anyone say they were pleased with a repair job, service etc.
 
I imagine the bad reviews come from the fact that they are a large chain and have a much larger customer throughput than many small independant garages.

An indie might be working all day long with a similar workload to these clutch specialist places, however they arent doing just clutches. They would never come under the same scrutiny as a big place.

I say just give em a go, the price is decent and they are bound to have a decent customer service team somewhere down the line.
 
The problem is that the big chains i.e. Kwikfit don't have mechanics, they have fitters.

A mechanic can take apart a gearbox, find the fault, repair it, reassemble and put back into the car.
A fitter takes a part off, tells you that a brand new part is required, fits new part. He is not a trained mechanic and probably does not have the ability to do so.

Mr Clutch will be full of brain dead fitters who don't have the depth of knowledge or experience to do a good job. Even more concerning is that as they are employed by a big chain they simply don't care about their work.

I would go to an independent garage. No need to pay a fortune, but go somewhere where the man working on your car knows which end of the screwdriver to hold.
 
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Vigoro said:
Had the clutch on my clio changed there, didnt have a problem with the clutch again for the 2-3 years we had it after that
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mattyfez said:
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High mileage? Heavy loads? Hard driving? As much as driving instructors try to tell you otherwise, a clutch is a wear & tear item, albeit one that wears more slowly than most other parts.
I would also say engine modifications, but I'll concede that could fall under abuse/Don't know how to use a clutch.

On topic, if they ruined all the cars they had in, they wouldn't still be in business. For the price of the job and the value of the car, I'd be tempted. I've also heard many bad things about halfords auto centres, but I put my car in for a £35 MOT a few weeks back, fully expecting them to tell me it needed discs and pads all round and a new exhaust, but they passed it, no advisories and no upselling. The tester even commented on it being one of the cleanest running diesels he's tested in ages!
 
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Mr clutch will often miss the little things as with chains in general because of the speed they have to complete work. I think this is why they are cheap. I took mine to an independent garage. They advised me on what clutch they were going to use. Replaced all my drive shaft seals with OEM items and did a proper flush and refill of the gearbox. Even though it cost a third of the value of the car (£500) it was a great job. 4 years and 50,000 miles later it still feels tight and thats a cable operated clutch too.

I self service my cars but when I need big jobs doing or things like tyres I will always use a different place to get a gauge of their quality until I have found someone who gives a dam.

For example if you go into a garage and see a middle aged man cleaning your wheels before he puts your new tyres on you know your in better hands than a teenager who leaves his tools lying on the floor, chain or independent.
 
Whist Mr Clutch do have a crap reputation, they changed the clutch on my sisters old Polo years back, they did it quickly and charged around £400 less than VW wanted!

The clutch is still going strong, 8 years on! (she sold the Polo to a family friend), as said, large chain, you pay peanuts and therefore get monkeys fitting the parts, some monkeys are better than others....
 
My sister took her Nissan Almera Tino in as the clutch had had it. When it came out the clutch still was biting about half an inch off the floor. Three return visits it was still not sorted. In the end the gearbox gave up, they got a used one off ebay and fitted it at cost to her.

Terrible outfit, not good customer service either.
 
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