Halfords, Robbing A*seholes

ugglasdav · 15-08-2013 01:40PM #1

Repainting a set of wheels at the moment, have them all sanded and ready for painting,

so i look on the halfords website for colours, i get one picked and head to the local halfords to buy a few cans, of paint

Ofc they didnt have the paint i needed, so just picked out one that was similar in shade, they only had 3 small cans of each paint there, so i asked do they have any more in stock and was told ' only whats there is what we have '

i then went to my local motor factors, wasnt even sure if they stocked paint, found that they had primer and clear coat at half the price of what halfords are selling the same brand for (5.99 compared to 11.99)

then went to the motor factors other store not to far away which stocked aload of paint, only found out today, and managed to get 5 cans of holts for 6.50 each, 2 cans which they had to get in for me which was no problem, halfords branded paint is 9.99 each.

anyone have any similar stores?, also how do halfords stay in business with these prices

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 01:42PM

They do good deals and offers.

It all depends what you're shopping for.

At least you had the sense to shop around though and save some cash

Triangla · 15-08-2013 01:42PM

They stay in business because you bought they're product. Edit: Just realised you didn't buy!

It's because generally people shop they're without checking price elsewhere.

Oldest rule of shopping is shop around first. Never panic buy.

Bpmull · 15-08-2013 01:47PM

They also stay open late some nights and open a full day on Saturday and some of sunday too. So if you are stuck for something on a Saturday evening its really the only option. I don't find them too bad some stuff is expensive but they have offers on alot of the time.

josip · 15-08-2013 01:51PM

Their business model is service-oriented, ie fitting the bulbs, servicing the bikes etc. People who are confident to do things themselves with a car will always do better going to an autofactors.

Kenny Logins · 15-08-2013 01:52PM

Pay extra for convenience. I'm OK with that.

15-08-2013 01:54PM

I was stuck for a 10a blade fuse one evening.
Went into halfraulds and one fuse was 2.50e

I was badly stuck so went to the till and the fella was embarrassed by the price.
so fair play to him he said I could have it !

the_syco · 15-08-2013 01:59PM

Halfords is popular for the same reason PC World is; people presume they know their sh|t, and buy it.

bazz26 · 15-08-2013 02:09PM

They often do good deals on cleaning products, the 3 for 2 offers can be good value. But their mark up is massive on regular products. I bought a 5 litre drum of Simoniz shampoo for half price, great stuff.

I would normally buy the black insurance/nct/tax disc holder for the windscreen from them as I couldn't source them anywhere else near me. I know it was over priced at €5 but I don't buy them that often and I couldn't find anywhere else that sold them. Went in the other day to buy one for my new bus, it's now gone up to €7.99! :eek:. I left it there, I just refuse to support that sort of profiteering on something that they probably buy for €2 from China.

jimgoose · 15-08-2013 02:21PM

Halfords a very good for certain things at certain times - as someone said they do excellent offers now and then. It helps enormously if, before you go near the place, you know exactly what you want and about how much it should be costing.

TestTransmission · 15-08-2013 02:22PM

bazz26 wrote: »

I would normally buy the black insurance/nct/tax disc holder for the windscreen from them as I couldn't source them anywhere else near me. I know it was over priced at €5 but I don't buy them that often and I couldn't find anywhere else that sold them. Went in the other day to buy one for my new bus, it's now gone up to €7.99! :eek:. I left it there, I just refuse to support that sort of profiteering on something that they probably buy for €2 from China.

They're only 3 quid in the auto shop in the shopping centre with Superquinn :cool:

biko · 15-08-2013 02:29PM

Next time check with local businesses first, keep your money in Ireland.

Tbh, you can always find a better deal somewhere else. HF is mainly about convenience.

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 02:39PM

biko wrote: »

Next time check with local businesses first, keep your money in Ireland.

Tbh, you can always find a better deal somewhere else. HF is mainly about convenience.

Yep.

I was in HF's yesterday to buy screen wash in Newry. £4.29 got me 5litres of screenwash. Next door in B&Q they had 10L's for £5.

colm_mcm · 15-08-2013 02:46PM

You know most of that is water!

15-08-2013 02:49PM

bazz26 wrote: »

They often do good deals on cleaning products, the 3 for 2 offers can be good value. But their mark up is massive on regular products. I bought a 5 litre drum of Simoniz shampoo for half price, great stuff.

I would normally buy the black insurance/nct/tax disc holder for the windscreen from them as I couldn't source them anywhere else near me. I know it was over priced at €5 but I don't buy them that often and I couldn't find anywhere else that sold them. Went in the other day to buy one for my new bus, it's now gone up to €7.99! :eek:. I left it there, I just refuse to support that sort of profiteering on something that they probably buy for €2 from China.

Try your local Topaz. I got a few black ones from my Topaz and I've seen them in other Topaz's also.

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 02:53PM

colm_mcm wrote: »

You know most of that is water!

Yep.

Is it worth buying the concentrate bottles? I have to admit I was just being lazy getting it

canhefixit · 15-08-2013 02:55PM

The mark ups on their retail prices in Halfords is crazy, my mate was collecting his car from mechanic on a Saturday afternoon and the mechanic had been to Halfords to get parts and left the receipt in the car, things like bulbs, filters, wipers were priced as if bought from a 2euro shop and they still making a good mark up on that id say.

So if you have a mechanic friend get him to get their trade card, every little helps!

MarkR · 15-08-2013 02:56PM

You can get 10% off if you have insurance with axa. I also got some decent stuff from the clearance bins also. Same as every else, shop around.

On a related note, any pics of the wheel refurb? :-)

bazz26 · 15-08-2013 02:56PM

TestTransmission wrote: »

They're only 3 quid in the auto shop in the shopping centre with Superquinn :cool:

Do they have black? The last time I checked in there they only had the white ones?

ugglasdav · 15-08-2013 03:01PM

MarkR wrote: »

You can get 10% off if you have insurance with axa. I also got some decent stuff from the clearance bins also. Same as every else, shop around.

On a related note, any pics of the wheel refurb? :-)

what they look like atm

Marcusm · 15-08-2013 03:02PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

Yep.

Is it worth buying the concentrate bottles? I have to admit I was just being lazy getting it

The concentrate bottles are good as when you see them well priced, you can buy loads of them without having to lug much around.

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 03:03PM

ugglasdav wrote: »

what they look like atm

Paper tyres.

WOW

JohnBoy26 · 15-08-2013 03:04PM

All halfords are good for really is when they have sales on for certain items. These usually include car head units and cleaning products. I find that some of the prices in these sales can't be matched by the motor factors.

However most of the time the motor factors is far cheaper, especially when it comes to car parts.

ugglasdav · 15-08-2013 03:05PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

Paper tyres.

WOW

haha, using tesco cue cards as masking

SniperSight · 15-08-2013 03:08PM

I'm confused....
You went into a store, decided not to buy their stuff, and left without having anybody forcefully taking money off you.

I don't get how that make Halford's a**holes, let alone robbing a**holes.

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 03:08PM

ugglasdav wrote: »

haha, using tesco cue cards as masking

Looks good to me. Was going to pick a set of old alloys up for my OH's car but the guy was on crack and wanted £120 for a set of Toyota alloys that were in need of a full refurb.

toastedpickles · 15-08-2013 03:27PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

Looks good to me. Was going to pick a set of old alloys up for my OH's car but the guy was on crack and wanted £120 for a set of Toyota alloys that were in need of a full refurb.

Gotta fund his habit somehow! :pac:

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 03:29PM

toastedpickles wrote: »

Gotta fund his habit somehow! :pac:

Well it's not doing his perception of reality any good. They were 14" alloys from an old Avensis or Carina and were caked in brake dust and corrosion. I thought he'd be happy to see them gone.

toastedpickles · 15-08-2013 03:44PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

Well it's not doing his perception of reality any good. They were 14" alloys from an old Avensis or Carina and were caked in brake dust and corrosion. I thought he'd be happy to see them gone.

Ah feck that, should gave them for nothing by the sounds of that

ba_barabus · 15-08-2013 03:47PM

toastedpickles wrote: »

Ah feck that, should gave them for nothing by the sounds of that

They were genuinely bad and I was expecting to give a 20 for them. I wanted to try the refurb myself to see how it went.

toastedpickles · 15-08-2013 04:41PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

They were genuinely bad and I was expecting to give a 20 for them. I wanted to try the refurb myself to see how it went.

I'd like to give that a go myself on my own ones, they're in some state

Halfords, Robbing A*seholes

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