An almost mini disaster but credit is due
Discussion
Hey folks !
After a recent moment that almost lead to an uncontrollable bowel movement, I thought I would write after bloody ages and give some balance to a situation that arose.
Ok.
My JCW has been working so well at putting a smile on my face that when a slight rattling metallic noise started coming from under the engine, I thought ok visit dealer book it in and hey presto problem fixed.
Not quite:
I took my car to the new Mini Slough dealership ( hardly mini I'm told its the biggest mini dealership in the world!! ) and spoke to the service department about the problem. Now I must make it clear that at this point I was super happy with the car. After about five minutes of taking the service tech outside and listening to the noise a possible explanation of it was the Dual Mass Flywheel.
There was then an explanation of this problem and the possibly of this not being covered under warranty!!! The cost .................. Wait for it because its a good one ..................................£ 1800.00 to replace flywheel and clutch plate if the warranty claim was rejected.
Then followed the above said uncontrollable bowel movement !!
Now to summarise : to change the clutch and flywheel is £1800! Holy cow was my second thought , I love the car but this is trade in territory !
The guys at mini were really good though, they reassured me that the problem is likely to be covered by the warranty but also told me that in cases before, it has been known for mini to refuse due to wear and tear ! As I brought the car used I had no way of knowing if the clutch had been ridden by the previous owners ,
Word of warning : don't leave your foot on the clutch pedal while driving because even small amounts of pressure will cause premature wear ( sometimes in under 10,000 miles ). When I got home I read hundreds of responses on forums for dual mass flywheel failure,- dealers taking the piss etc etc etc...... As usual only people with bad results were incensed enough to post.
After a few more phone calls with the dealership I became less agitated due to the responses from the service team. Both stated they would fight my corner and if necessary apply for some goodwill if the warranty claim fails. I know the whole speal about that's what dealers do but I have to say these two guys were just trying to help as much as they could.
The philosophy of these two were tell me like it is, give me a worst case scenario so I wouldn't flip later on and try and help out as much as possible, and let me make an informed decision.
Anyhow the result was car was booked in and the dual mass flywheel ( dmf ) was faulty but clutch was fine. So dmf replaced for free and I paid parts for a spanking new clutch as it made sense to change it there and then.
A very happy chappy!!
The point of this post is to balance out some of the stories I read so people don't run off to their nearest independent to do the job but help them make a better informed decision ( I nearly did that as well as a few other things !! ).
The guys are Steven Bell and Aaron Johal, so if you want a no bull assessment of your car give these guys at mini slough a ring. Don't put up with shoddy dealerships just use a different one.
I hope this helps someone out there!
The adventure continues................
After a recent moment that almost lead to an uncontrollable bowel movement, I thought I would write after bloody ages and give some balance to a situation that arose.
Ok.
My JCW has been working so well at putting a smile on my face that when a slight rattling metallic noise started coming from under the engine, I thought ok visit dealer book it in and hey presto problem fixed.
Not quite:
I took my car to the new Mini Slough dealership ( hardly mini I'm told its the biggest mini dealership in the world!! ) and spoke to the service department about the problem. Now I must make it clear that at this point I was super happy with the car. After about five minutes of taking the service tech outside and listening to the noise a possible explanation of it was the Dual Mass Flywheel.
There was then an explanation of this problem and the possibly of this not being covered under warranty!!! The cost .................. Wait for it because its a good one ..................................£ 1800.00 to replace flywheel and clutch plate if the warranty claim was rejected.
Then followed the above said uncontrollable bowel movement !!
Now to summarise : to change the clutch and flywheel is £1800! Holy cow was my second thought , I love the car but this is trade in territory !
The guys at mini were really good though, they reassured me that the problem is likely to be covered by the warranty but also told me that in cases before, it has been known for mini to refuse due to wear and tear ! As I brought the car used I had no way of knowing if the clutch had been ridden by the previous owners ,
Word of warning : don't leave your foot on the clutch pedal while driving because even small amounts of pressure will cause premature wear ( sometimes in under 10,000 miles ). When I got home I read hundreds of responses on forums for dual mass flywheel failure,- dealers taking the piss etc etc etc...... As usual only people with bad results were incensed enough to post.
After a few more phone calls with the dealership I became less agitated due to the responses from the service team. Both stated they would fight my corner and if necessary apply for some goodwill if the warranty claim fails. I know the whole speal about that's what dealers do but I have to say these two guys were just trying to help as much as they could.
The philosophy of these two were tell me like it is, give me a worst case scenario so I wouldn't flip later on and try and help out as much as possible, and let me make an informed decision.
Anyhow the result was car was booked in and the dual mass flywheel ( dmf ) was faulty but clutch was fine. So dmf replaced for free and I paid parts for a spanking new clutch as it made sense to change it there and then.
A very happy chappy!!
The point of this post is to balance out some of the stories I read so people don't run off to their nearest independent to do the job but help them make a better informed decision ( I nearly did that as well as a few other things !! ).
The guys are Steven Bell and Aaron Johal, so if you want a no bull assessment of your car give these guys at mini slough a ring. Don't put up with shoddy dealerships just use a different one.
I hope this helps someone out there!
The adventure continues................
Edited by PhonicSuperSonic on Friday 29th March 13:43
Edited by PhonicSuperSonic on Friday 29th March 13:43
ging84 said:
you had a fault with you car, it was fixed under warranty
CSB
Really? Why bother posting?CSB
I think quite often stories which balance the constant complaining that motorists do on the internet are refreshing. Look at GG for example, it is people whinging about DRLs, middle lane drivers, slow driver, fast drivers - this country is just full of whingers - and I include you in that!
Useful post OP!
Mike
Agreed. That's refreshing actually compared to the usual negativity.
I got two successfull warranty claims on my MCS and even though it was their extended (insurance) type warranty they paid out and it paid for itself. Full timing chain assembly and turbo oil feed pipe. £1,300 worth of work.
I got two successfull warranty claims on my MCS and even though it was their extended (insurance) type warranty they paid out and it paid for itself. Full timing chain assembly and turbo oil feed pipe. £1,300 worth of work.
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