To cry with frustration because of the car repairs??!!

[NickD87]

my car failed it’s MOT last Tuesday (6th June). I took it to my usual place. They are nice, just do MOTs and it hasn’t failed there before.

They suggested I take it to the garage next door which is owned by the same person.
The repair garage called and said they’d fit it in Friday. They never got back to me - so I called Monday and they said they’d be delayed but it was ‘coming in’ Tuesday and I could pick it up after it’s retest at the end of that day….

No call by mid afternoon so I called again. They said there was a delay and they were starting on Wednesday and it’d be ready Thursday. I made it very clear I NEEDED the car at this point. I have work things I need it for and we have a wedding to drive down to on Friday. He assured me it would be sorted.

This morning, I called to check it would be ok to pick up at some point today. They haven’t even started it!!!

I told them I was really disappointed in this, that I need the car. They said they’d “do their very best”…not good enough!! It’s been sitting there for 9 days with nobody touching it.

When it first went over they gave me the quote and the original time frame and asked if I wanted them to do it. I would have gone somewhere else in a heartbeat if I’d have known they wouldn’t stick closely to that.

I don’t know what to do and literally just cried after my last call with them….

Just to add, the MOT people suggested a service to pick up on anything it might fail on beforehand….so surprised it still failed.

All in all with service, MOT and these repairs I am looking at around £900. I’m now on the very brink of it being past the free retest period of 10 days….which might have something to do with it.

Whats my next move?

My husband doesn’t drive, so I deal with all this, but he says he is going to kick off at them this afternoon. I just don’t want to get shirty with them while they have my car…

I forgot to add I get 72 hours hire car with my AA cover, but I got my call from Enterprise and they aid they have no cars available at the moment!

On the off chance you’re in Kent pick it up and PM me for a garage name. 5 hours labour for us is £350. I can’t see how parts and labour can total £800 😮.

failing that phone other garages for a labour cost, pay for the parts from this garage and take it elsewhere. Tell them if they have the parts you will not be paying for a retest if it goes over the 10 days.

that may hurry them into action. Horrible but please get your husband to have a chat with them. I have a mechanical background but men (not in my garage) talk to me as though I am an idiot - sometimes it helps to have a man take the case up. It’s wrong but it is how it is sometimes @NickD87

I'd be looking elsewhere. Trains are running at the weekend if you cannot use the car.

Did you book it in for service prior to MOT (in which case how did they fail to notice the suspension bushes needed doing)?

Personally, I don’t think that’s a massive job.

Though I never pay proper prices as my dad is a retired mechanic and he just borrows space in a mates garage for half a day to sort out my car. It just costs me parts and a couple of beers.

@Marmite27 i agree! We’ve never had suspension bushes in that take that long 😩. I’d be phoning around for second and third opinions at that price - without stating how much I’d been quoted.

I really do think they’re taking the piss

If you don't hear back by 1pm I'd phone. Because he'll then know if it's going to be completed within 2-5.30pm.

There are massive delays and backlogs on parts at the moment, so it's not unheard of that they haven't been able to start on it yet. They should have communicated better with you though.

You might want to look at changing your car though - from what I've heard about Mini's, once they start going wrong they turn in to money pits!

@Anon564354 Im in Brighton 😭

The 800 does include the service it had before the MOT and the MOT that followed that it failed, but it does still seem like a lot….

I’m going to see if my husband can call them now.

@PipeScatter I hear the same thing! And frankly we need a MUCH bigger car. I’m very fond of it though.

@Ariela Yes, the whole purpose of the service was to catch anything beforehand….so I was surprised at this!

Feel like I’ve been taken for a ride.

I can't understand why you let it go this long. They're not going to do the work so grab your car and take it elsewhere?

One of my colleagues has just got rid of hers as although she's not yet bought another car to replace it with, it was better to just get sell it and rely on public transport and lifts, rather than wait for the next thing to go wrong!

I do love a Mini too though - I had a courtesy car one a little while ago and they're great fun, so I understand the apprehension to get rid!

@NickD87 Then all the more reason they need to get the work done AND put it through MOT before the 10 days retest runs out! You need to get on to them as a) they should DEFINITELY have spotted the suspension bushes even if you didn't spot them yourself from driving and/or when you checked the vehicle over beforehand before taking it in. (although that might be the old-fashioned way, it seems today that people don't clean their car inside and out and underneath nor stick their head under anything they can stick it under, nor do they check wipers, lights etc before presenting it for MOT as we always get comments about ours being spotless and are known for passing first time)
and b) because they submitted a substandard vehicle for MOT they really need to be sure NOT to incur extra MOT costs as it was their issue on not spotting the problem that led to failure.

Call them now and say you're picking up the car ASAP to take it elsewhere. I think you'll find it'll be done first thing tomorrow. They're taking the piss as you've not kicked up a fuss.

I think you've misunderstood the point of a service.....
They won't change the brakes, or suspension or any other worn mechanical parts.
A service is to change oils, filters etc and inspect the car. The inspection should have found any faults, but not fix them, so you would still have to pay for the mot and service even if you didn't fix the car!
Also different levels of service inspect different things.
However, the garage should have been realistic with their completion estimate/time or called you to update.
Can you ask if they offer courtesy cars?

Yes a service does the filters and should pick up faults on the inspection but at that point you ring the customer and let them know - usually with a quote to repair. Especially if it’s an MOT failure and they’re booked in for an MOT.

The car is ready, thank god. I called yesterday and expressed my disappointment and laid it in thick how annoyed I was. Then it seemed to move quite fast.
still amused by five hours Labour when it was done and MOT retested by 5pm yesterday and they only seemed to start at 2…but I’m out of steam now to moan any more.
Going to get it this morning.

@Ariela Yes! My husband has never driven so is useless with cars and I hardly ever open the bonnet and don’t know much about the ins and outs. Our lovely neighbour popped over yesterday evening for a tea and natter and said that he’d help us out with everything like this next time!! Lovely man. Sometimes he washes the car for us when he’s doing this….we go outside and it’s like the car fairy has been!

This is exactly the way things have been done in the nearly 40 years I have been driving. Never had an MOT fail, because things are always picked up during the service so that I can approve repairs before the MOT happens.

I have had 3 minis- nice cars but generally the older they get they become a liability. How old is it? I personally will be selling mine when it hits the 5-6 year mark.

Glad you've finally got the car back op. I would leave an honest review on their social media page if I were you.