My wife purchased a 2nd hand Mini Cooper last year (2008) and included with the car was the TLC 5 year servicing plan. The car didn't appear to have been serviced upon collection, and the absence of any service book dealer stamps would seem to confirm this, so in March this year (2009) the car was booked into Halliwell Jones Chester (BMW) for a service.
We explained the situation to the service desk advisor who assured us that the car would receive the necessary attention. When the car was collected, the mechanism which operates the drivers' seat sliding back/forth was inoperable - we'd had no previous problems with the seat (or the car at all) until that point.
The dealer agreed to replace the seat rails and mechanism under warranty, but argued that they hadn't caused the seat to fail. Coincidence therefore?
In the weeks following the service, my wife noticed that the engine's electric fan would be active whenever the car was at a standstill; this had never happened before. A colleague had a brief look and discovered that the engine coolant reservoir was empty, and this was the likely reason for the over enthusiastic electric fan. The coolant was topped up and my wife asked to monitor the situation over the coming days/weeks.
During this time we noticed that the coolant level would drop and eventually become empty within a couple of weeks. We therefore contacted the dealer and explained that since the service (approx 2 months earlier) this situation had become apparent.
The car was booked back in at the same dealer, but the warranty had expired since the service. The dealer explained that the service they had performed in March was simply 'a brakes check' and that a full (or even interim) service had not been completed at this time.
So, here we have a car which is almost 3 years old, with no evidence that the previous owner had the car serviced by BMW, and knowing this information BMW decide only to check the brakes. I know from experience that even Vauxhall dealers would undertake a full (or at least the service that was due based on the vehicle's age) in this situation. They also explained that the fluid levels were not checked during this service, which makes me wonder why I even bothered taking it for a service at all. I could have checked the brakes.
The dealer therefore refused to accept negligence on their part, since they wouldn't have even opened the bonnet during the service(!), and argued that they would levy a 1 hour minimum labour charge to subsequently look at the car, since it was now out of warranty.
This is, in my opinion, unacceptable; the dealer doesn't like to accept responsibility for problems which had arisen immediately after the service, doesn't recognise that the vehicle might require a little more than a brake check (and not just what the service booklet says), and appears to provide the bare minimum of customer care since the TLC pack was purchased when the vehicle was new.
If you drive a Mini that is out of warranty, beware. I certainly wouldn't consider a BMW when my car is up for renewal....
Jun 19th, 2009
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