BMW/Mini servicing.
I love my Mini. Cooper S. If I wasn't married to Mrs Strump, I would be in a serious relationship with it, including weekends away and small random presents.

But she developed a squeek whenever you turned corners. The car is still under warranty until the end of May, so she is booked in for last thursday.

I drop my beloved off and spend a crappy 3 hours wandering around the hole that is Leicester, until I get a phone call saying the car is ready. (The one thing they do well is come and pick you up in a 7 series ;-) )

Service Technician: Ok, there was a small stone in between you blah and blah, gonna need new break pads, discs, etc.
Strump: Cool, when will it be ready
ST: Leave it with us and it'll be ready tomorrow. Be about £59 for the brake pads, the rest is coverd by the warranty.

I go home, and go to the garage on Friday.

ST: Not been done. Forgot. Will be ready tuesday.
Strump: ffs, you said today, can you give me a loan car as it says I get in my warranty cover?
ST: Nope. All out. Not my fault - blah
Strump: Argh.

Went yesterday to pick her up after confirming she would be ready. They have billed me £488 even though the warranty covered until monday. "Yeah, but the work was done on Tuesday the 1st, so its not under warranty". I refused to pay, explained how they had forgotten on Friday and had a mild exchange of views with the Service Manager. I left without my baby...

I had a lovely conversation with the showroom manager on the phone yesterday. He was very apologetic; said i was right and that the person involved had been "spoken to in very stern tones about his misrepresentation of the company". He has also had my car delivered back to my house. It has been cleaned. I have a car that smells nice!

I usually take the car to a local mechanic; never had one with a warranty before - I know where to go now!!
(Strump striving for imperfection since, Wed 2 Jun 2010, 15:29, 5 replies)

BMW service
I feel your pain. BMW service, what a bunch of cunts. I have only had the misfortune to have one BMW in my posession, as a company car. I once took it to a London BMW specialist for a routine service (all the pretty lights were out). After they'd tried to rape ME for the bill (and I'd informed them it was the lease company that was 'clearly asking for it, the sluts') I drove the thing away. After 1/2 a mile one of the newly reset service lights went out, so I drove back to the garage. Their only reply to my tirade?
"Yeah, they do that sometimes".
Won't drive one again.
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Wed 2 Jun 2010, 15:50, closed)

They're not all bad
I took my 'S' into my local MINI/BMW garage for a full service when it was about 4 years old. They did a wonderful job, but said they noticed the clutch was a bit heavy.

Upon investigation they said the springs were going, and that shouldn't happen on a car so new. So they replaced the whole clutch, with the service guy telling me they'd only charge for the labour.

In all I think I paid around £250 for a full service and new clutch. :-)

I think it's not a BMW problem, or even a brand, it's down to the mechanic and the owner of the franchise.

And by the way, my MINI and I are still going strong and very much in love, despite my wife's attempts to prise us apart...
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Wed 2 Jun 2010, 15:58, closed)

If your local guy
is any good he will actually probably do a better job! I work for an independent specialist and the local main dealer has been known to send work to us that they can't handle it's all about trust. I don't work on a bonus scheme so it's not in my interest to skimp. Most main dealers have a "book time" bonus scheme manufacturer says it takes four hours you do it in three bonus if you have to cut corners by the time someone finds out you have spent the money.
(johnners hitting things with hammers until they work, Wed 2 Jun 2010, 19:35, closed)

Very true.
I'm hoping that when he says he knows where to go now he means the local guy. Yes there are sharks out there, but if you have a good local garage they're great. They tend to need the work more than the big dealerships and so look after you to make sure you come back.
(robbersdog, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 9:53, closed)

Hafords
What a lying bunch of cnuts they are.
I took an old Mini there for an MOT once. They quoted over £500 for work to be done, including 2 worn front wheel bearings/track rod ends and steering rack (plus various non MOT fails they tried to fail it on).

I knew it was OK, so took it to a small garage where they found the real problem - a £2 nylon bush had gone on the steering column. That was the only fail.

I wish I'd taken the matter further.
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 10:06, closed)