TLC Problem

[jame5_b]

hi, a few weeks ago a radiator hose burst so instead of going to the dealer i ordered the part and got a local mechanic to fit it. after the car was fixed i noticed the mechanic also reset the service indicator as it was overdue 500 miles. even though he didn't service the car??
i didn't take much notice but today i went to book the car in for its first inspection but MINI wont cover it under the TLC because its not showing up that it needs a service.
now they want €120 + VAT to carry out the inspection which they said will take more than 2 hours!! thats at least €300!!
can anyone come up with the solution or will i just have to fork out the money???

[NeuroBeaker]

I'd go back to that mechanic who installed your radiator hose and ask him to re-program the service indicator to show 500 miles overdo (as it did before he messed with it). Perhaps he was hoping BMW would reject your TLC and thus you'd take the car to him rather than pay dealer prices? It just sounds very fishy to me... but then, I'm the suspicious type.

In any case, it sounds completely unreasonable for him to reset something like that without your authorisation as he was only fitting a single component and hadn't been commissioned to service the vehicle.

All the best,
Andrew.