If you're considering buying a Mini from Mini of Knoxville...

[gjohnsoniv]

Semi PSA, semi angry me.

 

Moderators, if this doesn't conform to the rules let me know and I'll delete or you can.  I'm just putting this out there because of my most recent (frustrating) experience.

 

Long story short I bought this car new in 2010 from the Grayson dealership.  At about 30k miles I had some carbon develop on the valves.  Took the car in under warranty, they cleaned everything out, no charge.  Fast forward to 64k miles as of last month and I have to take the car back in for exhibiting signs of the carbon build up again.  It is in fact carbon build up again and the plugs, coils, and timing belt housing and crush washer have to be replaced.  $1,859.00 repair bill out the door.  Frustrating, but I paid it and went on my way.  Since that point I had been feeling like something was off in the car, but I couldn't figure out what was off.

 

Finally I decided to open the hood up last night and see if I could see if anything was visibly detached or broken.  Much to my surprise the plug cover was not there.  At first this really didn't bother me because it's a cosmetic piece and I understand that mistakes are made, even though this should not have happened. 

 

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So after I finished up with my morning conflicts I drove over to the dealership to see if they still had my cover and to see why it hadn't been put back on during the service.  Went inside to get a manager to come look at what the problem was.  At first the manager didn't believe that it was possible for the cover to be missing.  So we went out to the car so I could show him that it was, in fact, actually missing.  Open the hood up and he looks at it and confirms that the cover is missing, along with one of the air filter housings. Something I had completely missed last night from being so focused on the plug cover.

 

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Seeing that there is a problem there he pulled the car back around to the shop.  They still had my parts that had been omitted in the reassembly somewhere in the shop apparently and they stuck them back on within ten minutes.  What frustrated me was after everything was back in they just dismissed it with a "sorry for the inconvenience, have a nice day."  One would think that there would have been a little more concern with why they had left out two major parts, but no, nothing.

 

Case and point, I should have looked under the hood when first picking up the car after the service visit.  My fault for being trusting of the dealership on that.  Second, if you do buy from Grayson and have your car serviced, check the technicians work.

[peejman]

A good mechanic is hard to find. 

 

You might go back and chat with the service manager about the long term effects of running the car while missing an air filter (I assume it was sucking unfiltered air).  After all, you did follow that gravel truck down that dusty road for all those miles the other day, and it was pouring rain the day after that... 

 

 

Reminds me of a friend in college...  He had a nice 300ZX turbo.  Took it to walmart for routine service (oil change, air filter, etc.).  Within a day or two it started running poorly, then just quit completely and appeared to be locked up.  He didn't get a warning light or anything.  Opened the hood to find the air filter housing open and no filter in place.  Looked up and noticed a big hole in the under-hood insulation.  Seems the turbo engine was generating enough vacuum to suck the insulation off the hood and into the engine.  Had it towed back to walmart.  They looked at it and had to towed to the local Nissan dealer.  Walmart ended up paying for a new crate engine from Japan to be installed by the dealer, and a rental car for him for over a month (took 3 weeks just to get the engine).  All because of a missing air filter.  Ouch. 

[gjohnsoniv]

Yeah I tried that and got the "Oh it's fine."  So I called corporate to complain about the service and the dealer's lack of uh, ability?  Maybe their awful techs that misplace entire housings.

Edited April 18, 2014 by gjohnsoniv

[Ugly]

Sorry to hear what you went through and like peejman said you could have already ingested some bad stuff in the engine. If it's not air and fuel it's bad and can at a minimum cause premature wear.
As a mechanic, I don't trust the dealers, the days of dedication and craftsmanship are at a minimum.

[TripleDigitRide]

A mechanic is hard to find, much less a good one. Most of these dealership mechanics are nothing more than glorified parts changers.

[bersaguy]

I think you had a right to be upset but after all, it was their fault. They could have shown you a  little more respect but then that goes on a lot these days. In many cases it is just negligence which in your case that is what it was. I was an ASE certified Master mechanic for 35 years before retiring due to health reasons but I had told myself back in early 80's that when cars i worked on got smarter than me I would quit working on them. They actually reached that point in 1989 but I held out one more year because i was working in my own business and had a son and grandson working with me. I turned the business over to them in 1990. They are still working on these new cars and when I listen to my son talk about what it costs in new equipment just to be able to diagnosis the problems it sends chills down my spine. They do all types of repairs but specialize in Transmissions.  I was not aware of the fact til he showed me a new scanner/programer he had recently purchased  just because about 4 years ago the manufacturers put electronic control solenoids in  the transmissions and if the had to be rebuilt after the rebuild was complete and tranny was back in the car he would have to hook up this scanner to the cars on board ALDL computer so it could reprogram those solenoids to the cars computer or it would not shift properly. It was either spend $3,500.00 and buy the scanner/programmer or have to send every car to what ever manufacturer Chevy, Ford, Chrysler etc etc and pay them $200.00 for 15 minutes work for dealer tech to hook up their scanner to do it. Last time I was at the shop a customer was picking up his VW beetle they had built the tranny in. I could not believe it when the guy handed them a cashiers check for almost 4 grand just for a tranny rebuild. The guy was very nice and thanks my son for doing it for such a great price. After the guy left I asked my son about it and he said we fixed his car for a $1,000.00 under what every one else wanted. Now with all that said I know you have reason to be upset and I would have been also had I not known what these mechanics go through to work on this junk the make these days. There is no way I would ever work in a dealership this day in time with all these companies offering 100,000 mile warranties and the mechanics pay scales have changed in most all dealerships and your not paid book hours any longer. Your paid an hourly wage at a set figure and there is no way to make more by beating the book times any more................jmho

[gjohnsoniv]

Sorry to hear what you went through and like peejman said you could have already ingested some bad stuff in the engine. If it's not air and fuel it's bad and can at a minimum cause premature wear.
As a mechanic, I don't trust the dealers, the days of dedication and craftsmanship are at a minimum.

I've been directed to an independent shop that I'm going to go to from now on.  Guess there really isn't much I can do at this point to check it past having to have everything torn down and cleaned out.

[Ugly]

I've been directed to an independent shop that I'm going to go to from now on. Guess there really isn't much I can do at this point to check it past having to have everything torn down and cleaned out.

If you didn't subject it to dirt roads or long drives in the rain I wouldn't freak out. I would change the oil though. It is made by BMW so it might be just fine. The Deutch make some fine engines.

[Guest Authenticman]

I still pay my technicians flat rate. It is expensive to repair cars now days. At least for a few hundred dollars (if you drive a common car) you can buy your own scan tool if you dont have a trustworthy repair facility in your area. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Ugly]

Gotta say I prefer the old technology. Imagine of there were an EMP, there might be one out of a thousand vehicles still moving

[Raoul]

Gotta say I prefer the old technology. Imagine of there were an EMP, there might be one out of a thousand vehicles still moving

Probably fewer.

[bersaguy]

I still pay my technicians flat rate. It is expensive to repair cars now days. At least for a few hundred dollars (if you drive a common car) you can buy your own scan tool if you dont have a trustworthy repair facility in your area. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Are you a new car dealer? If so and you still  pay your mechanic/technicians flat rate you are a dinosaur and I commend you for it. My son has two employees besides him and my grandson and he pays 50/50 labor to his two tech's and his shop rate is $62.00 per hour so his two techs earn $31.00 hr. book time for every job they do and because the business has been in operation 3 generations it stays busy. If they can beat the book time then they can make more money. Thing is beating the book time on cars made after 2000 is hard. My son does good by his employees by making sure the shop has the latest technology equipment available for them to work with and does not expect them to buy $3,500.00 scanner/programers  but does require them to have their own good selection of hand tools to work with..

[Guest Authenticman]

[quote name="bersaguy" post="1140308" timestamp="1397864051"]Are you a new car dealer? If so and you still pay your mechanic/technicians flat rate you are a dinosaur and I commend you for it. My son has two employees besides him and my grandson and he pays 50/50 labor to his two tech's and his shop rate is $62.00 per hour so his two techs earn $31.00 hr. book time for every job they do and because the business has been in operation 3 generations it stays busy. If they can beat the book time then they can make more money. Thing is beating the book time on cars made after 2000 is hard. My son does good by his employees by making sure the shop has the latest technology equipment available for them to work with and does not expect them to buy $3,500.00 scanner/programers but does require them to have their own good selection of hand tools to work with..[/quote] I am a new car dealer. I have been part of a larger company for 7 years now and all of our stores pay flat rate. I think everyone should. Yes it makes the techs try and do the job faster, but they also know they wont get paid to fix it if it comes back like an hourly employee would so it keeps the qc a high priority. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[No_0ne]

 

"If you're considering buying a Mini"

 

First mistake ... :)

[Dane]

I'm a little confused? As someone who deals with customers everyday I understand you frustration. On the other hand you went back to the dealer and the made everything right and apologized for the inconvenience. Were you expecting a refund of your repair, the tech fired, and the shop closed down? It really gets under my skin when a mistake is made and the customer is expecting blood for it. I really see no complaint to be had here and feel that you are over reacting. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[bersaguy]

I am a new car dealer. I have been part of a larger company for 7 years now and all of our stores pay flat rate. I think everyone should. Yes it makes the techs try and do the job faster, but they also know they wont get paid to fix it if it comes back like an hourly employee would so it keeps the qc a high priority. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

I commend your company sir. Yea,it is an incentive to work faster and and my son is the same way. If one of his techs has a comeback do to poor labor or mistake this fix it on their time with no pay. If it comes back because of a defective part from Oreilly's Auto parts the O'Reilly's pays the tech's labor and replaces the part under waranty. There are not many parts stores that will pay labor for defective parts but that was a deal made by me back long before O'Reilly's was O'Reilly's and it was Mid State Automotive and because of the volume of parts my shop purchased from them O'Reilly's held good on the agreement. Another thing about my son is he is a hands on owner meaning he works on cars every day that they have enough business to keep the techs busy and will take the headache jobs and gives his techs the easier ones. That is why both of his techs have been with him since year after I left in 1991 and made him manage it. He hired both of them right after Graduation from Nashville Auto diesel College as both of them worked for him part time while attending the school.  Like I said. I commend your company for doing what is right by your mechanic/techs.

[Xtarheel]

I would definitely be getting the oil sampled. I have used Blackstone in Fort Wayne, IN for samples in the past with professional results. I'm sure there are many others as well.

[gjohnsoniv]

I'm a little confused? As someone who deals with customers everyday I understand you frustration. On the other hand you went back to the dealer and the made everything right and apologized for the inconvenience. Were you expecting a refund of your repair, the tech fired, and the shop closed down? It really gets under my skin when a mistake is made and the customer is expecting blood for it. I really see no complaint to be had here and feel that you are over reacting. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I deal with customers everyday as well. Am I out for blood? No. I really don't care that nothing has come of this. What I'm getting at is that I find it disappointing that the tech missed putting a fairly critical piece of the engine back in during the reassembly of the engine. It could be a one time deal, but the service department should review it anyway to see what caused the problem and what steps can be taken in the future to avoid similar problems.

[swim615]

I think the flat rate system is horrible. You have to work so fast to make a living you make unneeded mistakes.

 

I am a hard worker, don't loaf, and like to work but the flat rate system (or the way the dealership I worked at handled it) caused me to give up what should have been a good career as a ASE master tech.

 

Favored techs get the higher hour non warranty work. (I am not interested in sucking up to anyone. Its just not my thing)

 

I have also seen many mistakes caused by the fast pace one must work at. Cams not torqued in sequence causing them to ruin the heads that the tech had to pay for out of his pocket. Car backed out of bay to quickly and hit another that the tech had to pay for just to name a couple.

 

Sorry for your trouble original poster. They should have better customer service at the least.

Edited April 19, 2014 by swim615

[swim615]

A mechanic is hard to find, much less a good one. Most of these dealership mechanics are nothing more than glorified parts changers.

 

 

To me this is another problem with the flat rate system. For most things the books at best pay the tech .5 hours to diagnose problems (try locating some electrical problems in that time). Granted service advisers communicate problems and concerns to customers but a lot gets lost in the transfers, and they are always focused on making more sales anyway.

[ironsniper1]

when it comes to brakes, oil changes, filter changes etc i try to do as much of the work myself so i dont need to deal with a shop, just had my timing belt replaced on my truck cause the original owner did not have it done cost me little over 700 would have done it myself but dont have the time

[gjohnsoniv]

When it comes to my truck I do all the work but when the valves and everything have to be pulled that's something I leave to the dealer.

[RC3]

I am lucky that my dad's friend owns his own shop. Hes been a mechanic for over 25 years and to this day, all his repairs have been excellent and not one issue for them. The only cars he wont work on are german. Due to parts and expensive diagnose equipment. But I do conquer that good mechanics are an endengered species. 

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

How come you do not have warranty still on that car? at 64K the car should be still under warranty ?  Or do they not cover stuff like that? 

Mine is for 100K but also not sure if it covers stuff like that.I think someoen said all lubed and oiled parts or something like that.

I think its BS you had to pay that amount of money for  that work on a car that is hardly broke in on miles..

And Reeder is the same way. .they charge an arm and a leg for work.. I think they fudge a lot on hours they charge and on parts...

Cant trust anyone any more

 

and its " Deutsch " :)

[Howler]

This is just a general statement and not directed at any one person. You can complain all ya want, but show me a doctor, lawyer, judge, carpenter OR mechanic that hasn't made a mistake and I'll call them a liar. If you expect every person you meet to be perfect, well, you are expecting too much. A tech working in a busy shop gets pulled ten different directions at any one time. Things happen and I can assure you that most mechanics are more disappointed that it happened than you are.  If you can do a better job I recommend doing it yourself. But don't get mad or complain when you are charged to fix your mistakes. What most people don't know is this- A lot of the independent shops bring your car to the dealer without you ever knowing it. The dealer fixes it and the independent shop returns it to the owner and charges a little more. It happens!  Try fielding calls every day and have Bubba asking "I got a code bla bla bla. What's wrong with this thang?" And then go back and remember exactly what you were doing before. 95% of the time all is good, the other 5% can cause a headache.

 

 

These topics piss me off because there are good mechanic and bad mechanics (kind of like gun owners). There are bad mechanic in good dealers and independent shops, and there are good mechanics in bad dealers and independent shops. Not every shop and mechanic is perfect but that doesn't make them all terrible people. If a dealer/mechanic steals from you call them out and start a post about it.  

 

I'm going to start a stupid driver thread.

 

 I had an owner get mad at me the other day because he drove his vehicle with the oil light and "NO OIL PRESSURE STOP ASAP" text display on. This caused the engine and turbo to seize.  When the service writer asked me to talk to the customer on the phone he started off with a " I know a lot about cars". If that were the case then he would have pulled over immediately.  So all drivers must be stupid, right? No! The guy made a mistake. He tried to get to the next exit and it cost him. The guy at Mini made a mistake and it cost him. He saved the parts in hopes you would return. He more than likely got a butt chewing once you left. Smart people can make a mistake but dumb people keep making the same mistake. Not that it helps the OP but he probably won't let it happen again.