GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk4 => Topic started by: bobbarley on 30 January 2012, 17:57
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So I took my car to get two tyres fitted at the weekend, small alloy wheel shop place with a garage behind it, just a few hundred metres from where I live. £6 per tyre, I figure that isn't too bad. Ten minutes later the guy says he can't find my locking wheel nut adaptor, so I tell him it's in the boot under the carpet with the spare, in it's little place. He comes back out, definitely not there mate. I go to look myself and sure enough, completely gone. Funny thing is, I was using it about 3 weeks ago, and actually re-call specifically putting it back as I have a fear of losing the damn thing! I was presented with the option of leaving it, or having them break the bolts off, so I left. Turned the car inside out and cannot find the adaptor.
I rung up VW this morning to get another.
"I'm sorry the locking adaptors were discontinued in 2010, you can't order another one".
"WTF?!"
"Apologies. However if you bring the car in there's a chance we might have the adaptor in the garage, then it's £50 for new locking bolts and adaptor"
"Can you just take them off for me and I'll fit new locking bolts?"
"Sorry no, we can only do it if you purchase new locking nuts from us."
Seriously, that is APPALLING customer service!! I have to pay £50 because they choose to discontinue an essential part for maintaining a damn car!?!
In the end I've bought a complete set of bolts, locking ones and adaptor from eBay, about £27. No guarantee it's the right adaptor, just got to go off the fact that in the photo it "looks" like the right one :undecided:
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That is truly appalling...Do you not know anyone with a golf local? You can borrow mine if it the same and you pay the postage :undecided:
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I had exactly the same problem when I lost my locking wheel nut key... The guy said that i'd have to pay for some new ones if I was to use their key..
About 10 mins of moaning and saying that 'i'd been a customer for years' they let me use their key while I left my wallet in on the desk as they were still a bit cautious in case I ran off with it/broke it :rolleyes:
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Going to hope the set I ordered from eBay are ok, only needs the key from the whole set :grin:
If however it's not right, I'll try posting a photo of my locking bolts on here, if anyone thinks they have a matching one is happy to let me borrow it I'll pay postage costs here and back, and a pint on top.
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Did ATS take your rear wheels off............
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I very much doubt they fitted those rear beam bushes with the wheels still on... :lipsrsealed:
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Feck me. At first I thought they left the wheels on. But when I think about it, they did indeed take them off!
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The culprits have been found, if they don't have the key, bill them :angry:
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Not sure where I'll stand on that. I imagine they'll say something like "We put it back, you must have lost it afterwards". Or, "Go f**k yourself".
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i have one i dont use as my alloys have slim bolts .
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Not sure where I'll stand on that. I imagine they'll say something like "We put it back, you must have lost it afterwards". Or, "Go f**k yourself".
They may have it in the office got to be worth a phone call :smiley:
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Oh definitely. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, it was 5:30 on a Friday evening, doubt I'd remember to put the adaptor back either. If they do have it, happy days. If not, I'll ask what they are going to do to put it right.
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dreadful custoer service but couldnt you just use this
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=locking+wheel+nut+remover&gs_upl=1040l5764l0l7630l17l11l3l3l3l0l166l1035l7.4l17l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=775&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3405715354290591187&sa=X&ei=rvUmT5O2BomChQeDsKiABQ&ved=0CGsQ8gIwAQ
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go to halfords, you can get a locking wheel nut removal key for £16.
used it many a time.
and when you get this set of keys, make a note somewere of the key code so that if you ever loose it again you dont have to try lots of keys
to give you an idea, the wheel nuts i have there is a choice of 1000 keys to choose from, all keys look pretty much identical too.
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Or just use an 18mm socket :lipsrsealed:
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Or just use an 18mm socket :lipsrsealed:
How would that work?
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18mm socket, hammer, hit.
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Did it on my friends mini on the weekend too. :smiley:
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that's how my mate removed my super duper McGuard bolts too :lipsrsealed:
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Hmmmmm, something to bear in mind if I have no luck with the stuff I ordered.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120846752035?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_690wt_1163
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aaahhhh the old hammer and socket trick :wink: :grin: done a couple of times when lost the locking key :grin:
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Got a spare 'key' here that I bought when I lost mine but then I found it. If you needs some pics just ask :)
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Did they have it then Nigel?
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Did they have it then Nigel?
They said they always put the adaptors back, so doubt they would have forgotten to return it.
Mentioned that it definitely isn't there since Friday. He said to come in and they'll check the car. Then have a look around the workshop. I can't get down there until the weekend though, working 8am - 7pm all week now.
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Did they have it then Nigel?
They said they always put the adaptors back, so doubt they would have forgotten to return it.
Mentioned that it definitely isn't there since Friday. He said to come in and they'll check the car. Then have a look around the workshop. I can't get down there until the weekend though, working 8am - 7pm all week now.
:sad:
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Better to go in really. When they can't find it in the car, then subsequently can't find it in the workshop, I'll ask them how they expect me to get my wheels off given the adaptor is discontinued, and the last people to have it was them.
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eBay bolts and adaptor arrived. Sadly a completely different shape, and much bigger than the adaptor I had before.
Or just use an 18mm socket :lipsrsealed:
The 18mm socket is actually smaller than the locking wheel bolts on the car. Unsure how it could ever get the locking bolt off? :undecided:
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Its smaller - hammer it on and undo! Takes a couple minutes only. Makes you wonder why you ever had locking nuts in the first place!
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It's too big to fit over the nut, but too big to fit inside the bolt :undecided:
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Pm sent
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Just throwing something in to the mix here........
Vw are a business
VW provided you with a key
YOU lost the key
BUT its shocking customer service because they wont let you take up a technicians time for 30 mins?
If you lost your house key would you expect a locksmith to let you in for free?
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Wow, talk about wrong end of the stick, do you work for VW or something?
First off, I wasn't the one that lost the key.
Secondly, appalling service is discontinuing a very important part necessary to keep your car is a road worthy state.
Thirdly, based on your own analogy, it would be like me going to get a key cut, then being told they don't have that type of key in, so I need to buy a completely new lock.
Idiot.
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Took the car over to my mates house to work on it this afternoon. We tried desperately to hammer a 19mm socket onto the bolt, with absolutely no luck. 5 minutes of hammering got the socket on perhaps 3mm of the way. We tried a 20mm socket but it's too big for the bolt, once hammered on it just turns around the bolt without removing it.
We figured I had no other choice than to get a bolt remover. Popped to Halfrauds, £16.99 for a bolt removal tool. We couldn't get that to work either! Problem is to get it to thread you need to REALLY force the tool onto the bolt, AND turn it at the same time. We couldn't push with enough force to get it to thread, I imagine you really need in impact wrench or something similar to be honest.
At this point it didn't look like we were getting them off, so I rung a few garages up. It's about £20 a bolt assuming they can easily get it off. If not they'll need drilling out which will be in the hundreds.
We ended up calling it a day, we couldn't get a damn nut off his Porsche engine either, so looks like he needs to buy an impact wrench :grin:
I stopped off at ATS on the way home on the off chance, they only bloody managed to find the god damn adaptor!!! Feeling a mixture of :angry: and :laugh: at the same time. Very angry as they told me they put it back and definitely didn't have it. Only for them to now find it in a f*cking draw in the reception!!!
So I'm £27 down on new locking bolts, and £17 down on the removal tool. Not too worried about the new locking bolts as they're a lot better than the ones I had, turns out mine are on their last legs.
Crossing my fingers Halfrauds will let me return the removal tool tomorrow, I've packaged it all up again so it looks like new. Only problem is I've lost the receipt :grin:
FML!!
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no receipt, no refund :sad:
unless of course you bought it on your card and can show a statement as proof of purchase :wink:
You have 30 days :wink:
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I'm hoping they will let me have in store credit instead?
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You might be lucky. I had the exact same issue. I lost my reciept, I also couldnt get the tool to work either. 19mm socket worked for me. I did get my money back though. I should have warned you about the removal tool, as they are rubbish. Glad you got it sorted tho.. :sick: :smiley: :cool:
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Nige you do have some fun and games :laugh: :grin:
I knew they would have it :angry: Never use them again i know mistakes happen but after all the fun you had with the rear bushes thay are rubbish :angry:
Glad you got it sorted - as Wez said get a statement to prove it :smiley:
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For sure mate, never going to go there again, they're absolutely awful!
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:grin: cant beleive after all that they fecking had it all a long
least it sorted now mate :cool:
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Glad you got it sorted. Didn't realise you were in manchester.
For future reference, there is a place salford/ little hulton called Autocraze. They remove locking wheel nuts for a tenner per bolt. Pricey if you need a few but for one its not too bad. And it took them well under ten minutes to get three off my car.
Hope thats useful to someone in the future!
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Took the car over to my mates house to work on it this afternoon. We tried desperately to hammer a 19mm socket onto the bolt, with absolutely no luck. 5 minutes of hammering got the socket on perhaps 3mm of the way. We tried a 20mm socket but it's too big for the bolt, once hammered on it just turns around the bolt without removing it.
We figured I had no other choice than to get a bolt remover. Popped to Halfrauds, £16.99 for a bolt removal tool. We couldn't get that to work either! Problem is to get it to thread you need to REALLY force the tool onto the bolt, AND turn it at the same time. We couldn't push with enough force to get it to thread, I imagine you really need in impact wrench or something similar to be honest.
At this point it didn't look like we were getting them off, so I rung a few garages up. It's about £20 a bolt assuming they can easily get it off. If not they'll need drilling out which will be in the hundreds.
We ended up calling it a day, we couldn't get a damn nut off his Porsche engine either, so looks like he needs to buy an impact wrench :grin:
I stopped off at ATS on the way home on the off chance, they only bloody managed to find the god damn adaptor!!! Feeling a mixture of :angry: and :laugh: at the same time. Very angry as they told me they put it back and definitely didn't have it. Only for them to now find it in a f*cking draw in the reception!!!
So I'm £27 down on new locking bolts, and £17 down on the removal tool. Not too worried about the new locking bolts as they're a lot better than the ones I had, turns out mine are on their last legs.
Crossing my fingers Halfrauds will let me return the removal tool tomorrow, I've packaged it all up again so it looks like new. Only problem is I've lost the receipt :grin:
FML!!
the halfords locking wheel bolt remover worked fine for me, however it took ages using a breaker bar, so for the others i used a windy gun, much quicker :D