tlc Service???

[MrMischief]

Hi All,

Had my Clubby in for tlc service at JC's Dundee today. Dropped it off at 9am & was told from the key it was needing new front discs & pads at a cost of nigh on £500.00. Now, I knew the pads & discs to be in good condition & told them I didn't want the work done. They told me it'd be inspected anyway & the brake fluid was due to be changed anyway...I was asked to collect it at 4pm.

I got back to the dealership at 16:10 to be told there had been a delay with the previous car in the workshop but mine wouldn't take long. At 16:30 I was told they were starting work & they were working quickly on it, the inspection service was normally scheduled to take 1.5hrs. They also said the pads had 6mm on them, not near the 3mm warning so they wouldn't need changed anyway. At 17:05 the car appeared at the front of the showroom & I was given a bill for £60.00 for the brake fluid change, discounted from the normal £92.00 due to the wait. I unwittingly paid up & jumped in the car (couldn't wait to get out of there as my 4yr old & 6yr old were needing their tea!).

Now at home, checked the tlc agreement & the car was due for air filter, microfilter, oil, inspection & spark plugs....as well as the brake fluid change - all covered by tlc. They only did the inspection & charged for the brake fluid....I'm seething. They never checked a couple of things I'd asked for either.

Please tell me if I'm wrong...but I'm yet to have a good experience from that dealer.

:argh:

[Angib]

The TLC agreement is to do the work required by the service indicator, not a schedule written anywhere. Does the car say that it needs these items? If not, they don't get done.

A brake fluid change is normally required at three years which is also the end point for normal TLC, so unless you have extended the TLC, I think the fluid change is payable.

[MrMischief]

I have a copy of the agreement from the time of purchase, it states those items are due & covered at this mileage.

I've owned many reasonably high performance cars, not saying this is one but would never expect an air filter to go over 36k miles without being changed, plugs are now on 20k. The car doesn't tick over or pull as smoothly as it should.

Honestly disappointed in the maintenance levels approved by BMW...lifelong fuel filter is another example.

Rant over...

[MINI William]

Doesn't sound like a great experience. If it says that it's covered surely you shouldn't need to pay for something covered by TLC

[stoney]

Tlc covers your 1st fliud change but thats it so if it had allready had a change done then it woukd not be coverd

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[MrMischief]

It's the first time it's been done mate...that's what niggles me.

I spend a fair amount of money on maintaining my cars (the road cars are serviced as per the book), track car before or after events so it's not the money but the principle. Also, a phonecall wouldn't have gone amiss to say they were running behind. Surely customer service should be the focus...what does tlc stand for again?!

[stoney]

It's the first time it's been done mate...that's what niggles me.

I spend a fair amount of money on maintaining my cars (the road cars are serviced as per the book), track car before or after events so it's not the money but the principle. Also, a phonecall wouldn't have gone amiss to say they were running behind. Surely customer service should be the focus...what does tlc stand for again?!
I would be putting a strong worded email to the dealer and mini if thats the case and would be wanting my miney refunded and a jesture of good will to your self for the hassle

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[Crombers]

Call MINI Customer Service on 03705050123, very good attention from my previous experience :thumbs up:

[MrMischief]

Cheers guys, I've got a contact at MINI UK customer services so will give them a shout tomorrow ��

[EcosseGP]

I certainly wouldn't be happy with the above that's for sure. I had everything changed on. TLC service and they even did a radiator flush on it too. I think they've just died to cut corners and I feel it may have backfired ... As others have said complain to MINI.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mcrorie123]

I'm new to MINI but find the " master technicians" don't have a clue what they are doing. I've had problems with servicing with mine and got better info from the f56 Facebook group . I have cameras fitted to my car when I checked back my cameras it took him a couple of minutes to figure out how to pop the bonnet. You need to pul the catch twice there's no catch at the bonnet. If I had saved the video I would have posted it.

[MrMischief]

Latest update...MINI UK stated car is under CBS service scheme so car tells the garage what's due for replacement. I queried this as possibly being incorrect due to the car telling them the brake discs & pads needed changing (which has now been reset manually) so how do I know it is correct for the other items?

JC's have now contacted me, they are unable to change any item unless the car tells them to do so, despite me telling them the car is not running well & the air filter is clearly clogged & black when inspected. They say they could change items as requested but would charge me, despite it being under warranty & tlc. Or I could take out the tlc XL agreement now.

They are away to speak with UK technical as I'm totally bemused as to why I would pay for XL when they have stated they cannot change parts on the car unless it tells them to do so even if inspected by their technicians!

This now makes me question the validity of tlc at all. The car never even got an oil change after 20k miles since the last one, as it never requested it!! :ragin:

- - - Updated - - -

Further update, JC's have been given approval by MINI UK to carry out a full service due to previous dealership resetting car incorrectly. Car now booked in again...

Fingers crossed this time.
To be fair, JC's have tried their best to come to an amicable resolution, so I appreciate that.

[MrMischief]

Full service granted today...and a freebie set of wiper rubbers...car certainly feels smoother :thumbs up: