Rant alert.

When you take your car to a dealer's body shop, you expect them to at least be able to do as good as a 3rd rate body shop. After 5 days longer than the original estimate, they call me to tell me my car is ready. I get down there, happy as can be that I can get away from the rental deathreap (Toyota Corolla... bald tires, bad brakes, etc). When I get there, after an hour waiting, they brought out Sabine. Imediately I noticed that something was off. When I got up close, the hood was off kilter, 3/8" misaligned with the bumper on one side, perfect on the other. Then I noticed that the hood was standing up 1/4" higher on one side than the other where the hood hinges. Upon closer inspection the paint job on the hood was also total crap, as I could see where it was uneven, had run marks, and did not match the surrounding paint properly. Wanting to properly inspect the damages, I removed a peice of the plastic trim to show that the paint was already flaking off. Needless to say I was livid at the blatant attempt to give me substandard work. Also, the fact that I would be in the rental deathtrap for another week had me furious. What would you guys do?

 

Somehow, depending on the circumstances, I would make sure that this crummy shop does not get paid and get my MINI to a capable top notch shop.

Find out who does the exotic and expensive european cars in your area and get it in with them. When my rare vehicle spent 8 months in a body shop while awaiting a custom bulkhead to be built by the factory, I was at least comforted knowing that $100k+ cars were right along side it getting quality repairs.

 

This is the body shop for Momentum. They sell Porsche/Audi/VW, BMW/MINI, Jag/Aston, etc. In the bay next to me was a Porsche TurboS on one side and a BMW 740i on the other, and I bet they wouldnt stand for the treatment I got.

 

I feel your pain, brother, sorry to hear about it!! Dealers suck in so many ways, espcially when they do shoddy work, more damage than the car came in with, and try to pass it off on the customer like WE WON'T NOTICE.I wish there was a good national registry of shops, kept current, so we all know where to go.

 

what area of the country are you in? was this insurance=related repairs? most insurers have a 800 line to help you get your problems resolved with the shop in question. in you are in or near socal, i can help.:smile:

 

I hear you, I would make sure that they align the hood and the bumper and if there is any marks on the paint, would force them to wetsand it and re-do the whole job if necessary and make them pay for the whole rental deal. Unfortunately, you are a victim. The funny thing is that they sometimes think you are an idiot, and try to convince you. My question is, what kind of eyes do they have? Sorry about the bad experience, and please make sure they did not leave any fisheyes.

BTW, like always, I am a firm-believer of not posting about the dealership or the personnel and handle business internally, but sounds like you are really pissed off.

Good Luck...

 

If the outside is wrong, imagine what you may be missing on the inside... :impatient

 

This is insurance related. A woman on a cell phone driving an SUV pulled a U-turn way wide (into the far lane, where I was happily motoring) and hit my front left corner. Cracked the bumper, curled the hood in, and squeezed the headlamp assembly enough to make it noticeable. Original estimate $1008 + Rental for 5 days. I think the total now is up to $1400 + Rental 12 Days.

As of right now, it would have been far cheaper/faster for me to order a bumper and hood from MINI, and have them painted, instead of playing around trying to "fix" the damaged hood.

This is the Momentum Paint and Body in Houston, TX near US59 and Beltway 8.

Whats worse, is I have to dremel out the new bumper for the aero grill, who's going to pay for MY time doing that?

(Normally I wont badmouth a business in a public forum such as this, but the work quality and customer disservice was so poor that it would be a crime not to warn other drivers about this place.)

 

I used to live in Houston and know exactly what you are talking about. Momentum is one of the worst dealerships I have ever been into and I would NEVER buy anything from them. The only thing nice I have to say about them is that they have a cool test track out back. Other than that they are terrible.

Call the BBB in Houston and get them on the dealership.

 

I'll second that. My experiences with the Momentum MINI dealership have always been disappointing.

I wish you a quick solution to your woes. If you ever want to form a coalition of angry motorers against Momentum (CAMAM!), I'll be the first to sign up.

 

i remember my director of service at my dealer telling me once when i worked at the dealer, that he had never met more mean people in his life than mini owners, he litterally couldent stand it


i was thinking in my mind that, well yea we acually like are cars and are passionate about them, they are more than just trasportation so when you give us **** of corse we wont stand for it !!!

it kinda bothered me !

 

I dropped into Momentum when they first got Mini's in 2003 (?), after beating around the bush a bit, they informed me of the thinly disguised $3500 dealer "adjustment." I walked, and didn't even bother going there when I shopped later for my two BMW's. Flash forward to today, I did go into Momentum shopping and was treated very well by a MA Marianna. Decided to go with Mini of the Woodlands based more on convenience, but never really got down to business with Momentum. They are part of a much bigger auto group Sonic that is not known for their sterling reputation.

 

Marianna and Will are about the only two good things about Momentum. The $450 "Dealer Fee" was not disclosed when I ordered my MINI, and then when it arrived, it mysteriously popped up. Will Spires (SM) had them drop it rather than me go to another dealer. He understood the value of keeping a customer happy (expecially one who could potentially refer more customers).

 

I was wondering about the Sonic "dealer services fee." All of the other area Momentum dealers have it clearly posted on their window stickers, I did not see it on the Mini's so I thought maybe they didn't do it because of MOTW competition. I guess I was wrong. Why anyone would pay an extra $500 bucks when you can drive across town and not pay it.

 

IMHO, NEVER EVER take your car to any dealer for bodywork.

NEVER EVER!!

Steve

 

You do not have to accept sub-standard work. Notify your insurance company and get them involved. They have lawyers that will fight for your rights. Make sure the repair is done correctly, including the paint and all fitting of body panels and anything else invloved.

There is nothing to say that the job can't be finished at another shop if the dealers shop can't do it right.

Document everything wrong with picutres. Get the manager of the dealership involved, if that is no help, get to the owner. If that doesn't work go to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and file a complaint.

There is no reason to accept p1$$ poor work. Stick up for your rights.

 

The only reason I took Sabine to Momentum to do the body work was due to the fact that she is leased through Momentum Mini. That way if the body work becomes an issue at the end of the lease, they have no ground to stand on. The manager already broke his promise to me about having my car today. It will be monday before I can see her again. If she's not 100% back to perfect, I will get lawyers involved, have the car taken to a better body shop, and have a suit filed against Momentum. Taking 3 weeks for a 5 day estimate is baloney. I missed HCR (largest Texas MINI meet each year) due to not having her back (would you buy MINI products from someone in a Toyota Corolla? ). Normally I'm a laid back guy, but if this keeps up, the poop will hit the fan.