Help needed urgently!!

[G17RDY]

£90 for an oil change - They are having a laugh!!!

Best of luck - Fight your corner - Just simply refuse to pay any money, at the end of the day permission must be sought before works can be carried out and invoiced!

[N16SHP]

Well I'd say half of the battle was won. I went in and fought my corner. They claimed that the reason the bill was £90 was that £13 of it was for the oil, the rest of it was for the inspection of the car, and because no fault was found, they had to charge us for the inspection.

My response was, well if there wasn't a fault, why have you charged me £13 for oil?
-Because that was the problem we found causing the rattle.
So there was a fault then.
-No not as such, just that there was a low level of oil in the car which is poor maintenance on your behalf.
woh woh woh, we bought this car in December, from a BMW Mini dealer, the car was serviced and MOT'd the day we picked it up, I have the paperwork to prove it.
-Yes sir but you've got to understand the type of engine that is in it, it can use up to a litre of oil every 1500 miles.
Do I look like I was born yesterday, I have the same car as my fiancee, that made the same noise as this, to which I was told when I first came in it was a problem with the oil, then it was this, then that and on the fourth time of asking I finally got my timing chain and chain tensioner fixed...This is the problem I reported and asked you to fix, not 'does the engine have enough oil.' I know the car can't have burned off a litre of oil in less than 800 miles, so if it has, have you checked to see why the oil is so low, have you found the problem causing the oil to drain? (At this point the chap realised he was in for a fight.)
-Yes but sir, there is not a problem with the chain tensioner, its the oil level.
Ok, so you've said, so have you found the problem which is causing the oil level to drop?
-No
Well then, it's clearly not that then is it.
-Yes but sir, we couldn't find any problem with the car.
Ok fine, I tell you what, seems I never asked you to put the oil in my car, can you please go and take it back out again please?
-Well sir, you've clearly got a knowledge of cars, you know its not that simple.
I know that, you've clearly not got any knowledge of how to use a telephone, because all you had to do was lift one and press 6 buttons to find out if I wanted oil in my car. You've put something in my car off your own back without my permission, I'm not going to pay for it.

Blah blah blah, this goes on back and fourth until eventually I said right, I tell you what, a'l pay for the oil, and when I come back next week with the same complaint of a rattle on start up when the engine is cold, a'l take my receipt and get a refund for the oil you put in my car that it didn't need.

Seriously, we'd have sat there all night and gone back and fourth. When I asked to speak to the manager, even the manager didn't want to come and speak to me and said as a good will gesture, we'll not charge you for the inspection...TOO BLOODY RIGHT, YOU'VE CLEARLY FAILED TO DO ONE PROPERLY!

So it boils down to I unfortunately eventually blinked as they were not going to budge on the oil going in the car, so i've paid it, and now I've just finished my letter of complaint to Mini stating how appalled I am at how they're franchised dealer in the North East of Scotland is giving such terrible service, and how they have forced me to pay for something they put in my car without my permission and will not solve a recognised problem that they clearly know about, but have refused to do anything about!!!

The biggest thing that REALLY gets me wound up about this whole situation, is that they robbed me for £13, I wonder how many people they have robbed for £100! Needless to say, this saga is not over, round 2 begins tomorrow with a phone call to JC's stating I have a rattle on cold start up....

[Bazthemod]

The dealerships are rated on the customer service feedback call you will get in the coming weeks from BMW. They automatically call everyone who have had their car in for any reason.

When they call dont hold back and rate them the lowest score on every point. This report is printed off monthly and ranks the dealerships in order of service.

Should their average score come down mini customer service put pressure on them to buck up their ideas.

When I was on trial with a local dealership they were ranked very low and almost at threat of having the franchise rights removed!

Also make sure they are aware you plan to do this along with your letter of complaint

[Gismo]

Good on you for not losing the plot and ranting and raving, which generally does not get anywhere, a constructive and well put point of view well delivered with facts etc will always win the day.
Anytime i ever put my car in to any garage (not a dig at JC's) is always check the oil level, if it's low i top it up, gives them no room, i also deliberately do not put any fluid in the washer bottle to ensure they top it up etc

[GCA3N]

Neil I am going out so I will make this brief make sure you get a video of the engine whilst it is making this noise. Good evidence I would suggest.

[euan]

The dealerships are rated on the customer service feedback call you will get in the coming weeks from BMW. They automatically call everyone who have had their car in for any reason.

When they call dont hold back and rate them the lowest score on every point. This report is printed off monthly and ranks the dealerships in order of service.

Should their average score come down mini customer service put pressure on them to buck up their ideas.

When I was on trial with a local dealership they were ranked very low and almost at threat of having the franchise rights removed!

Also make sure they are aware you plan to do this along with your letter of complaint

If it's like where I'm doing some work at the moment (another car manufacturer), all the dealerships are on a massive print out on the wall and reported on all the time. Sales, complaints, customer service. Get the complaint in ;-)

[The Dogfather]

Is your car on MINI finance? If it is they are just a liable as MINI. That's how we secured a rejection of our blue Clubbie S and a new replacement.

Have a chat with Consumer Direct (or whowever does that in Scotland), it'll all come down to how long you've had the car etc. However, as this is a known issue then I doubt they'll be able to argue the fault didn't exist before you bought the car.

They'll probably also be interested in the fact they tried to charge you for work that was carried without your permission.

[ELFMAN]

Well done Neil! The £13 still bugs, not so much for the amount, but for the Principle. At least you showed them they weren't dealing with a patsy.

Well Done JC's in Aberdeen, alienating vast swathes of actual and potential customers in one afternoon. How much is THAT worth then?

[N16SHP]

Well done Neil!

Well Done JC's in Aberdeen, alienating vast swathes of actual and potential customers in one afternoon. How much is THAT worth then?

I think this is what gets me the most, for the sake of £13, they've lost potentially £20k of my business for a JCW, and I hope no one on here gives them any more money!!

[Colin]

I hate when garages argue with you, when you know your in the right.
Makes my blood boil.

Probably why I don't take mine to dealerships for servicing. But something like this you have to get it done by them, unfortunately!