[YAMR1]

Firstly I would like to point out that what I am about to write is no exaggeration and is the truth from start to finish, however beyond belief it may seem!

After spending some weeks searching the net and going to look at various cars at non mini dealers we decided that we would get a better deal, what with warranties etc. from an authorized Mini dealership, and found an '02 plate Mini cooper at Scotthall in Watford, after a test drive by myself and my wife we decided that we would buy the car, it was a much higher spec one than others we had seen and drove much better than most others we had driven, hammered out a deal with the salesman who didn't move much on the price but we were happy. We were told that the car would be valeted, provided with a full tank of petrol, have a fresh MOT, the broken windscreen would be replaced and there would be nothing at all to worry about. A few days later we were called and told that the Finance had all gone through fine I just had to pop in and sign the paperwork and that the car was in the workshop having the windscreen fitted and was being prepared for us to collect and we should be able to collect by Friday, this was on Wednesday the 30th April. On the Friday I was called by the salesman to say could we collect on Saturday as they were waiting for a trim for the windscreen and it would be here Saturday morning we should be able to collect at about midday on the 3rd of May.

As I was out that day my wife eagerly went off to collect her new car and I was nothing but surprised when she phoned me to tell me that the car was filthy and that the car had not even seen a hosepipe let alone valeted, it had not even been hoovered! the salesman even had the cheek to say that he was not happy with it when it was returned from the valeters!
After a short discussion he agreed that we can bring it back for a valet in the week but my wife was not really very happy with it at all especially when the rear view mirror came off in her hand when she adjusted it!!.
next morning I spent 4 hours cleaning the car from top to bottom to try and salvage the situation for my wife as the more she thought about it the angrier she got, but things then went from bad to worse as i started to find bits missing such as the CD changer magazine, one of the plastic outer wheel arches had all the retaining clips broken then worst of all as i was cleaning under the bonnet the paint started to wash off!!! it wasn't just these four points but I had a list of approx 12 points that I was not happy with
Furious, I tried to phone Scotthall's but being a Bank holiday noone of any authority was available, so I was left stewing until the next day. But after taking the car to work on the evening of the bank holiday a rather more serious issue was noted, being an ex-BMW technician I have high standards and to see that the headlights were a mile out of aim and i had no beam pattern from the o/s high beam headlight was just the icing on the cake.

SCOTTHALL WATFORD MOT'D THE CAR THE DAY BEFORE MY WIFE PICKED IT UP!!!

These points are an MOT failure but the car had sailed through, I checked on the internet what day the car was MOT'D as we weren't given the MOT certificate it passed on the 2nd of May, but hang on, the salesman told me they were waiting for a windscreen trim that would be there on Saturday 3rd May and the screen can't be fitted without the trim, so he was either lying about the windscreen or the car also passed the MOT with a broken windscreen!!!!!

Trying to get hold of anyone in authority was a joke, sales manager was on holiday so the business manager was standing in for him, she was never at her desk and so never answers her phone, message after message was left but not answered, getting ever more furious I got hold of customer services at Mini GB and let rip, To be fair they were very helpful and did go some way to putting me at ease and that they would get hold of the dealer on my behalf. I was contacted later that day by Peter Johnson the dealer principle who listened to me sounding off and was very apologetic in fact he couldn't apologize enough and we came to an agreement that my car would be collected and we would have a free courtesy car until my car was in a condition fit to be sold under the cherished mini brand name, anything I was not happy with was to be rectified without quibble, the car was to be re-MOT'd and all check sheets handed to me, I wanted the car to have the 125 point used car check redone and check sheet given to me, I wanted a comprehensive history of the car i.e. service histories, warranty claims, recall campaign history etc. to be printed off and given to me and lastly I would take up there current offer of £500 worth of accessories with any used car and these were to be fitted at their expense, and they would throw in the body care treatment aswell, the business manager came out to collect the car and to his word did not argue or quibble over anything we weren't happy with and we were told the car should be about a week to a week and a half.......

.....4 weeks and 2 days later I still do not have my car!!!!! on may the 30th the sales manager told me the car should be back from the bodyshop mid to late next week meaning yesterday at the latest but I was called by the sales manager and told that they were waiting for some parts which should be here on Monday and we should have our car back next week sometime.

So I am still sitting here wondering when I will get my car back, I'm not going to tell anyone not to go to Scotthall you can make your own mind up, personally I don't think I will be going back anytime soon, I feel I have been lied to, cheated and generally treated awfully but now they are aware that I am an ex-BMW technician I think they would be very silly indeed to send that car back to me in less than perfect condition, but I will reserve that judgement for when my car does show up again, I'll update you all as when that happens

[YAMR1]

whoops sorry, hit wrong thingy and now got2 threads the same, mods please delete one

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Flipping heck Thats bad service!!

Hope it comes back soon and is how it should have been on collection day!!

[JHorwitz]

that is where i bought my car from, and have found them nothing but helpful with me, sorry to hear your problem.

[YAMR1]

the dealer principle did say to me that 99.9% of the time they get it spot on but in my case i don't think they could have got it more wrong if they tried. As it's my first time buying a car from a bmw/mini dealer it has left a very sour taste in my mouth, i'm hoping they will come up trumps when the car finds it's way back to me.

[ClubbyHeaven]

Sorry to hear about your experience, i have been to other local Charished MINI dealers and they have not been like this, you should have gone to Stevenage or Luton in my opinion they have a good reputation or maybe Borehamwood, but i have never used Watford so cannot comment, Just one thing though, if you were a BMW trained Technician, did you not notice these obvious problems before you bought the car?

[Hyper Active]

I bought my first MINI from Scotthall Watford, and thought they were completely rubbish . I've never set foot in the place again since i picked the car up in September 03. I bought my second MINI from another dealer in Tring, and this dispite Scotthall Watford only being a 5 minute drive away from where i live.

[YAMR1]

Quote: Originally Posted by LUTONMINI (original)

Sorry to hear about your experience, i have been to other local Charished MINI dealers and they have not been like this, you should have gone to Stevenage or Luton in my opinion they have a good reputation or maybe Borehamwood, but i have never used Watford so cannot comment, Just one thing though, if you were a BMW trained Technician, did you not notice these obvious problems before you bought the car?

thats a fair question which I have asked myself alot since all this went on, when we originally went to view the car it was a very wet dark day and so yes that was probably my first mistake in looking at a wet car, cant see paint issues and as it was raining not alot of time was spent checking every nook and cranny, but the majority of the bigger issues as mentioned in my first post should have been corrected regardless of whether i'd seen them or not, i.e. no CD changer magazine, is the audio system not checked in the 125 point used car check? as for the car not being valeted or the car not seeing the inside of the MOT bay, well thats just stupidity on behalf of whoever decided to take that chance, after all I have given them the chance to rectify this situation whereas I could have just driven to a VOSA testing station and reported the matter to them.
I did look around the dealers in this area but at the time they didn't have any mini coopers in my price range. i do live in stevenage and specialist cars was the dealer i trained with when i left school and watford isn't a milion miles away.

[YAMR1]

quick update, was told on 6th june that the bodyshop were awaiting some parts and the car should be ready monday 9th, monday came with a phone call to say parts haven't turned up so should be a few days, i suggested it would be late this week then possibly 13th june? and was told no, just a few days.

it's now wednesday 11th and no car, i am expecting another call this afternoon tho with probably another delay, on friday the 13th june 2008 they wil have had my car for 5 weeks!

[Gemini4321]

We have had dealings with Scotthall Watford recently and would not go back there again, sales and service dept.

Sue

[Hyper Active]

Quote: Originally Posted by YAMR1 (original)

quick update, was told on 6th june that the bodyshop were awaiting some parts and the car should be ready monday 9th, monday came with a phone call to say parts haven't turned up so should be a few days, i suggested it would be late this week then possibly 13th june? and was told no, just a few days.

it's now wednesday 11th and no car, i am expecting another call this afternoon tho with probably another delay, on friday the 13th june 2008 they wil have had my car for 5 weeks!

Wow , 5 weeks is a shockingly long time.

[Streeters]

I'd tell them to shove it and get a refund. 5 weeks is a joke, they can build them quicker ! and as you barely ahd the car for a few days, i think you'd be within your rights to request a refund. many dealers operate a 30 day exhange/refund policy if they are unable to rectify faults within 30 days on recently purchased vehicles. I'd consult your nearest Citizens advice bureau and see what they think.

[BlinkyPinky]

Stupid question but is Scotthall the one at the bottom of leggats wood av? i think its undergoing a referb at the moment? i was going to take mine in there and now thinking twice.

thanks
amy

[YAMR1]

don't know the name of the road but it's not far from asda's on the opposite side of the road and they are having building works done at the moment for the new BMW showroom, did get a call on wednesday and they ran through the list of things that have been completed which was everything i'd asked for, they had been waiting for the white/clear rear light lenses to come in but i was told that they turned up wednesday morning and as such they would be fitted either wed afternoon or thursday morning just leaving the bodycare treatment and the valet to be completed and then it would be returned to us. due to work commitments i said go for saturday morning for delivery, so i am waiting with antisipation.
if there are any issues that they haven't dealt with that should have been, well, lets just say, i've been very patient so far but there is a limit on my patients, but i think they would be very silly indeed to give it back in less than perfect condition.
just an idea of the work that has been carried out at their cost so far:

interior rear view mirror replaced
CD magazine supplied
n/s/r speaker cover replaced
in boot power supply plug replaced
interior door handles refurbed
all 4 wheels refurbed
all 4 wheels balanced
headlights replaced
front bumper resprayed
sunroof greased
bonnet dent removed and resprayed
underside of bonnet and inner wings resprayed
re-mot'd
125 point used car check redone

£500 of accessories fitted:
stainless pedals fitted
umbrella and holder fitted
centre armrest fitted
clear side repeaters and rear lights fitted
interior floor mats fitted

body care treatment applied

lets just see if they will do as they say

p.s. the car is a 2002 mini cooper in indy blue with white roof, leather heated seats, auto air con/climate control, glass roof, cooper s wheels, photo's upon the cars return to me.

[neilobe]

Just see this thread about Scothall in Watford and last year in April my old S went in there for a new clutch , i drove it 3 miles up the road and then couldnt get it into any gear, they hadnt fitted the part properley so i then had to have mini emegencey services tow the car to Borhenwood Mini who then had to refit a new cltch and flywheel..
I wouldnt go back to them again..

Id push for some sort of higher compensation...

[YAMR1]

Todays update is....... we have our car back!!! it turned up just as I finished cleaning the courtesy car, all sparkly and gleaming as it should have been when we first collected it, everything I'd asked for had been corrected/rectified and the accessories we'd specified had been fitted all FOC.
So yes we are happy with the car now and the 12 month warranty has an extra 5 weeks added on for the period of time that the car has been sitting around at Scotthall's. when we were chatting to the business manager that delivered it to us she did say that upon driving the car back to watford she felt embarrassed that they had sold it to us in that condition, looking through the used car check sheets it was perfectly obvious that no checks were done the first time as they had to partially drain the coolant and top up the antifreeze strength, if the checks had been done the first time then it would have been fine this time.

So, overall I am now happy with the car but this episode has just further harmed my views on the motor trade and leaves me with another problem, who can I trust to service my car in future? and give the kind of service that I will be paying for, (not Scotthall's for sure), yes I am more than capable of servicing the car myself but in the future when the time comes to sell the car, buyers like to see a dealer stamp in the service book and resale values can be affected so if anyone knows of a trustworthy garage in the hertfordshire area then please let me know.
I'll post some pics up as soon as I get 5 mins to take some.

mick

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Glad its all been sorted for you

[M.O.S]

I know someone who had repairs carried out at Scothall in Leeds, and they were way below standard. Ok you couldn't tell that it had been painted, but they broke the clips on the bonnet black vents (r50) and the car leaked. Resultantly, a new mini was bought, but I and the person in question will NEVER go to scothall in leeds again.

[YAMR1]

the situation as it now stands, I still don't have the history of the car that the dealer promised, i don't have the MOT check sheet, i also don't have anything in writing to say that the warranty is going to be extended for 5 weeks to cover the period of time that we didn't have the car, (this was all agreed before my car was picked up) reading through the used car check sheets it appears that Scotthall's still have not carried out the checks properly even after all that has gone on i.e. the technician that carried out the check says that a cruise control check was N/A not sure why as the car is fitted with cruise control and he ticked the box as acceptable for the windscreen washers, when 2 of the jets don't even hit the screen, the check sheets even say adjust as necessary!

Once again I spoke to the dealer principle this morning and I got the distinct impression that he can't be bothered dealing with this anymore, yes the cruise control works, of course i have tested it and to adjust the washer jets is a job that takes seconds, but what if the cruise control didn't work, they didn't test it, then my car would have to go back again, and the technician thinks that having washers that clean passers by on the street is fine. I relayed my concerns to the principle that if i came into Scotthall's for a service on my car, would i get the full job that i would be paying for, my view is that i wouldn't, i would get a half hearted job and just given a car back with an incomplete service ticked off as complete.
I will definitely not be returning to Scotthall Mini at Watford and will now look to an independent Mini/BMW specialist for servicing.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by YAMR1 (original)

the situation as it now stands, I still don't have the history of the car that the dealer promised, i don't have the MOT check sheet, i also don't have anything in writing to say that the warranty is going to be extended for 5 weeks to cover the period of time that we didn't have the car, (this was all agreed before my car was picked up) reading through the used car check sheets it appears that Scotthall's still have not carried out the checks properly even after all that has gone on i.e. the technician that carried out the check says that a cruise control check was N/A not sure why as the car is fitted with cruise control and he ticked the box as acceptable for the windscreen washers, when 2 of the jets don't even hit the screen, the check sheets even say adjust as necessary!

Once again I spoke to the dealer principle this morning and I got the distinct impression that he can't be bothered dealing with this anymore, yes the cruise control works, of course i have tested it and to adjust the washer jets is a job that takes seconds, but what if the cruise control didn't work, they didn't test it, then my car would have to go back again, and the technician thinks that having washers that clean passers by on the street is fine. I relayed my concerns to the principle that if i came into Scotthall's for a service on my car, would i get the full job that i would be paying for, my view is that i wouldn't, i would get a half hearted job and just given a car back with an incomplete service ticked off as complete.
I will definitely not be returning to Scotthall Mini at Watford and will now look to an independent Mini/BMW specialist for servicing.

You could always try another dealer! Im sure that you wouldn't have to go far, and you may not have a good specialist near you. If you do go for a specialist, make sure that you go to one that has ex BMW/MINI mechanics, and go to one that can reset your service counter. How much would I have to pay to have the armrest fitted? Is that £500 a parts only price, or is it including labour?

Still, given your experience, I wouldn't take my car to Scothall in Watford - comment on this under the dealer feedback section. Hope this doesn't spoil the MINI experience for you though!