never again MAIN DEALER!!

Parisien

Moderator
Messages
34,927
Guys, that is the really annoying thing though........without going over my previous post on this thread, why should we always have be the ones who bend over backwards?


Unrefutable facts..............sorry if I am a bit black and white on this issue guys..............maybe am a bit simplistic towards these issues too!


1. We are talking about the most fantastic marque imaginable.

2. Working within with the most wonderfully appointed premises and automotive environments.

3. Handing over our pride and joy to foremen, technicians, mechanics who've had all the best training available (assuming too they are well enough paid/motivated).

4. Paying a small fortune per hour for them to get routine work and occasionally something a bit more complex, plus they have the best systems to make an excellent diagnosis.

5. Having the back up of a huge multi-national company, who should be at the cutting edge of customer/client - service/satisfaction.



And yet, they cock-up, fail miserably to diagnose, fail to take responsibility, try to charge you a kings ransom for the privilege ........and then and only then when the client makes a big fuss or threaten court action, eventually correct things...........


Am I missing something here..................or are my expectations....................too stratospheric????????????


Just my opinion guys...................
 
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Jezza

New Member
Messages
32
Agree entirely parisien. Not unreasonable expectations in the least . Glad to hear Dem got satisfaction though and HR Owen have saved a chunk of reputation. Most of us give up banging our heads against a brick wall trying to get service and take our business elsewhere.At least mr Vaccaro saw the light and put things right.

Regards
Jezza
 

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,310
At the end a positive result , all part of the learning curve, so glad it worked out this way gone up another notch in my book

oh well back to the polishing hope the weather holds for emblem

regards loz
 

urbanmaser

Member
Messages
2,908
Like I said for me if the garage stands by their client thats a big bonus, and if they hold their hands up in the end fair do. The biggest shame of all this is that Dem had all this aggro in the first instance but lets hope he has had some satisfaction of compensation.
 

Parisien

Moderator
Messages
34,927
Am wondering guys, do the main dealers or Indies read our board, do they debate whats being discussed on here, take any notice of positive OR negative posts?

Or do they only really take notice when a letter via solicitor or to HQ from a cusotmer threatening all sorts work.............for most of them?


P


PS Guys, believe it or not, in 30 plus years of car ownership......I have truly never had an issue about using either a main dealer....(apart from expense...;)....) or an indie, so I aint got an axe to grind or don't want to seem undually ******* providers etc........no sour grapes of any kind!!!!
 

dem maser

Moderator
Messages
34,221
i want to say thank you to all of you esp urbanmaser, have been driving it all day cant find faults, the drive is lovely and water is being kept in the bottle hooray
I would like to see you all at ace theres a pint for you waiting, i should say i hope it dont give e probs till then
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,594
Well, its good there was a descent result.

Just proves what we said all along, a forum should be about discussing positive and negatives with dealers otherwise, how does one know when they are getting good service and when they are getting poor service.

I would just like to say thanks to HR Owen to have taken the time and decency to sort it to an amicable resolve.

Yes, everyone makes mistakes.....learn, and move on.
 

urbanmaser

Member
Messages
2,908
Dem really pleased alls well that ends well.

I get my car back on Monday but Tony assures me I won't be disappointed..........and no leaking rads was a firm promise. ErrrrrrrrrI think he has had enough agro for one week. Anyways I will let you all know how she runs soon enough.

Dem you are well known to Tony now so if you are keeping the car and decide to ever go back there for your next service be sure to ask for him. He won't want to upset you for a second time.

By the way he told me today he has an MC12 in there for work...........just hope I get to see it on Monday :D
 

dem maser

Moderator
Messages
34,221
saw the mc12 its a guys from switzerland looks amazing, i saw your gransport there must have been yours it looks good
 

urbanmaser

Member
Messages
2,908
Dem I hope it ends up driving as good as it looks..........I drove Tony mad for 2 weeks........probably sent him home a nervous wreck every night :)

As for the MC12 it is the perfect car for me to park in the Tesco car park whilst her indoors does the shopping :)
 
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Roberts Aerospace

SPONSOR: Maseratished
Messages
47
Seriously, that is what caused your rad to break, its well known and not a fluke!

Mike Roberts told me that, give him a call, **** be happy to chat to you about it.

Yep, Conaero is right. I've seen a lot of these, all came from main dealers and all had just had a cambelt change. It's not really their fault, they're just unfamiliar with older cars where the hose has stuck to the radiator pipe and time pressure causes them to rush it a bit.

You need to twist the hose, not rock it up and down, or the soldered joint will crack. Here's a pic to show the crack:

PICT0010b.JPG

I have a special hose removing tool that does the job without causing problems.

For a permanent fix, a "top hat" section can be silver soldered into position to strengthen the joint.

Mike Roberts.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,594
Thanks Mike, yes, I had the mod on mine....after it started leaking a week after having a main dealer do my cambelt. The silver solder worked, and I had a strengthening flange also, never had a problem again.
 

urbanmaser

Member
Messages
2,908
Mike how many years would you think the hoses should last before perishing and needing replacing????? The main dealer was claiming that the hoses were in terrible condition and needed very little encouragement to split. They reckoned that they were as old as the car.........about 10 years
 

Roberts Aerospace

SPONSOR: Maseratished
Messages
47
it started leaking a week after having a main dealer do my cambelt.

Was that when you encouraged them to do your cambelt in under 4 hours and stood over them whilst they did it? It's a wonder that's all they broke... :D

The biggest problem I see is not that the hoses perish - modern materials are very long lived - but, that they lose their radial elasticity which makes sealing them to the pipes quite difficult.

Mike.
 

urbanmaser

Member
Messages
2,908
Mike I think you will find they were doing the hoses inside 4 hours not the cam belt. This is not relating to my car but that of Dem Mas
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,594
Peter, I think Mike is referencing my cambelt change at Meridian in his usual tongue in cheek style.

Mike, remember the GS start button?....your daring me to tell! :frusty6:
 

Roberts Aerospace

SPONSOR: Maseratished
Messages
47
Peter, I think Mike is referencing my cambelt change at Meridian in his usual tongue in cheek style.

Mike, remember the GS start button?....your daring me to tell! :frusty6:

It wasn't just your GS either, I keep doing it :D

Not as bad as being called out to an Alfa Selespeed that was apparently "dead" only to find that the owner had forgotten that he needed to put his foot on the brake to start it, then a week later sitting in a car park for five minutes myself wondering why my own Selespeed wouldn't start, for exactly the same reason...

Mike.