Nope, not another one of those threads. I got a free oil change certificate from Mix106.5 for TATE, so I went to use it today. I was in and out in an hour, not bad for a dealership oil change. I kept track of the odometer reading, they put 1.2miles on it from when I dropped off the keys til when they gave them back. I popped the bonnet when they gave me back my keys, everything looked good, didn't mess with my K&N Intake at all. I drove about 200 miles home (detours included) and everything seems to be fine, now all I need is a lift to make sure they didn't unbolt my suspension .

 

Make sure you still have your 710 cap.

 

I am going to TATE on Friday for the bumper and for Streghina's 25K (actually is less) check up. Despite other people's experience I still trust Sam - after all he is a MINI certified mechanic.

Need to get GyPsy out from her winter blanket - her GP Car Cover (with the red ears) is so cooool - and take to TATE for the clear bra installation. Got a good deal on that!!

 

Went to TATE today and I have to come back 'cause hey got the wrong bumper. I finally got around to bring Streghina in to get the new bumper installed ( it was reay for the past three weeks) the problem is that the one ordered and painted was not the one fitting the convertible as did not have the parking sensor holes... so I have to go back... once they get the right one... I am annoyed but at least I got my car in for the 25K. Sam is not longer there so Harry took care of my Little One. At least I got a brand new (73 miles) MCS as a loaner

 

FYI graba torque wrench and check to see that they didn't over do the canister (25Nm) and the pan plug (31Nm). My dealer and a few others have been know to massively over tighten these items. To the point MINI had to replace my oil pan under warranty.

 

That's a statement you'll never hear me say again!

 

Ditto! For service anyway. I may still go for the breakfasts.

 

Rumour has it that Sam may be leaving...

 

I will be surprised that TATE - based in the recent expererience with Katie and my relationship w/ them - will make many mistakes on the other hand I don't know of any mechanic (dealer or not) who doesn't make mistakes soon or later.

I had always tried to take my cars to dealers or high qualified shops (often more expensive, too) and very few times things went perfectly

I had my VW brakes done at a local dealership (no under warranty) I am not sure when they did or didn't do but as I was leaving the lot I tried to stop and the brakes made a terrible noise and one of the front tires fell off - .. I got out of the car - with every person on the lot looking shocked - and when back inside furious and the Service Person tried to argue with me stating that I did not tell him of other "problems" that the car had ..

I had one of the first new Camarros ('97) Z28 T-Top that was leaking so badly after failing to fix it for the 4th time I was suggested to park it differently ... I let you imagine my reaction to this.

Out of desperation I sold the Alfa Romeo (Graduate), as once I left RI, I couldn't find a shop that knew how to work on it..

It seems that BMW/MINI is neither worse or better than other shops.

 

Harry is as well I believe.

 

...already has.

 

ftw!

 

In the past 7 months MINI has spent more money repair my car than the actual value of the purchase price. Never again will my car see the inside of a BMW/MINI service bay. However that was not at all my intention with my first post in this thread. I was merely pointing out common errors with the work involved so its not another 20k miles before Jeremy has to replace the parts on his own. I know people who have had to deal with the unfortunate circumstance at out of pocket expense because a dealer their friends swore by screwed up something as a complex as an oil change. I was lucky because I managed to check and call them on it soon enough.

 

Huh?

Are you saying you've dropped more than $20K in repairs into your car out of pocket?

 

J-e-r-e-m-y

 

NO MINI dropped more than $25k in parts and labor in fixing my car under warranty in the last 7 months. And that doesn't include them springing for a dozen or so rental cars either.

 

Fixed.

You check your torques?

 

Motor, I didnt realize that. That is truly sad

You got TWO new cars for the price of one

 

I dont have a torque wrench...I'll have to get someone to bring one to an upcoming event...

 

Yeah thats why I started my other thread in OT:A back in Jan. My current philosphy is that 1/3 to 1/2 of that was avoidable repair if the techs had done the work right to begin with. :( So I've decided I'm my own mechanic, and that should help, cause I can't afford to put 20-25k into a "new" car every year.

 

..and you didn't lemon law the car?

 

I had to lemon law a Miata....was not a very fun process at all

 

Attached is a picture of the inside of my run flat.

I went to Tate a while back and said my tire pressure light came on. They said i needed a plug and that it was free. I even got a car wash out of it. A few weeks later - the light came on again! So i went back and they "repaired" it again. This time i was determined to get something in writing to prove i was there because something smelled fishy. I got a lot of push back from the guy at the service desk i dealt with (in the show room). so left without any paper work - because it was "free" again. Everything was fine for a while after that....

With the cold weather we had a few weeks ago - the light came on again. This time rather than wasting a trip to Tate i went around the corner to the Crofton Centre K-Mart (they now have a Sears auto center) and asked if they could repair a run-flat. Khris (the guy at the auto center) helped me out. He took the tire off the rim and this (the attached image) is what we found. I WAS very very very very upset. (i could think of a couple other words but i'll be nice) After a short talk with Khris - he pointed out a few things - the piece of wood that was causing the leak was still there; The first plug was still there; and the 2nd plug wasn't even covering the hole causing the leak !!! I mean COME ON!!!!

So i kept my cool and did some thinking while he repaired the tire - he ended up doing a plug/patch combo and i've been fine since! (i only have 11K on the car and wasn't looking forward to buying 1 new/used tire) While Khris patched the tire i told him my story from Tate - about the free plug and that i got a car wash out of it both times. We both had a laugh about it at this point even though i was still heated at TATE. One thing Khris explained was that some dealerships/shops will do a quick job like a tire plug for free because they don't want to enter anything into the computer because it messes up their #'s for the month. A free job doesn't look good to the dealership/shop GODs. So after putting two and two together it all made sense. TATE did it for FREE and did a HALF A$$ job on it because they didn't want to mess up their #'s! I would've paid for it if they would've done it right! But then again I wouldn't have known because i never saw the inside of the tire at TATE!

To make a long story short - i'm NEVER going to TATE EVER again! (i know this is only my opinion!) But why run a business like that?

This posted turned out a lot longer than i expected so before i blow a fuse - THE END!

 

Hmm. I won't except just plugging any tire. I always have a patch put on the inside too. NTB does that by default.

 

ahhh...Tate strikes again.