Adrian

Questionnable business ethics

I handed this letter of complaint to the service department, addressed to the Business Manager, Richard Skinner and was assured he would get in touch to address my concerns. I've heard nothing, which just goes to show what a lousy, poorly-managed company this is, and that you had best avoid them at all costs. Customer care is NOT their priority. 17th June 2020 I wish to complain about the poor service that I received from the dealership when I brought my car in for some work. I had requested a diagnostics check, an oil service, and an MOT, in that order. The car is a 2006 M3 convertible mode. The reason for the diagnostics check was that the DSC light intermittently illuminated on the dash, in orange, suggesting that the fault was not with the ABS braking itself, but more that the sensor was faulty. I brought the car into the dealership at 09.00 on 16th June and left it there for the day. I received a phone call at 16.42 that day to advise that following the diagnostics test the mechanic was advising that the ABS sensors be replaced or else the car would fail its MOT test. During the call, I established the cost of the 2 sensors was going to be around £500, plus labour, plus I would require a brake fluid change. I was told that the order had to be placed for the sensors within ten minutes or else the spare parts distributor would have closed. Quite aside from the astronomical price for the sensors, and the whole issue about electronics failing in a car that has done just 60,000 miles, what I do feel strongly about is that the dealership should have called me as soon as the diagnostics were performed, along with the accompanying fault codes. Assumedly, since my car was one of the first booked in, that call should have been in the morning, and that would have given me time to consider my options. As it was, I had 10 minutes to agree to the work or not. Clearly, the MOT had not been carried out, and it is debatable whether the oil service had been done, meaning that the car had been with you for seven hours without anything done to it. Had the phone call been earlier in the morning, I would not have needed to leave my car unnecessarily for a second day at the dealership. I might even have considered tracking down a cheaper solution. To be fair to Wendy, she was able to obtain a discount on the sensors for me after I protested at the cost, along with a reduced labour charge. However, I do have the feeling that that the whole aim of calling me so late was to enable the dealership to secure the job of replacing the sensors, and in this I feel that I have been ripped off. What also hurts is that in performing the job of bleeding the brake fluid, the mechanic managed to sheer off one of the retaining nipples. When I queried today whether it would need a replacement, Wendy enquired if I should like her to obtain a price for me. Frankly, I am astounded. You have a duty of care to look after any vehicle that is submitted for service yet should your mechanic break anything then the dealership absolves itself from replacing the broken item. I have no idea of the cost involved here, but I do expect the dealership to pay for a replacement when I choose to have it replaced, whether at your dealership or elsewhere. I will settle the bill when I pick up the car later today, but I do so under protest. It has been my first visit to Cooper BMW in Durham and it will be my last. I bought my car new from Mill BMW, and was very satisfied with the work they did. I then tended to use Lloyd BMW in Newcastle, but since they were closed at the time of booking due to covid, I chose to visit Durham. I am not happy, and this will be reflected in my online reviews about the dealership. UQ I did in fact leave a poor review on the company website, but unsurprisingly it has been removed.