Recommended indy in the Slough/Windsor/Maidenhead triangle?

[buze]

Well my bonnet is still stuck, and the garage that I was recommended by a friend is closed for the week, so I think I need to find an alternative, I'd like the car fully looked at anyway, serviced etc...

Any recommendation in that area?

 

[Andy-M]

http://bmwspecialistreading.co.uk/

 

[buze]

Well booked the car in for tomorrow. Fixing bonnet and full service. Also asked them to have a nose around to see if belts, water and so on needs doing, and when... I'll ask them if they can check the rear diff mounting too...

 

[Andy-M]

Did you get your car back?

 

[buze]

Welllll yes I did. I'm actually trying to be all zen and relaxed about it tho... heavy breathing in/out etc...

It take me about 45 minutes to get there and back, as a bit of a background. If it's friday afternoon, well add 15-20 minutes.

Anyway, drove there, and to be frank I didn't 'click' with the owner (well I think he;s the owner.) -- what I wanted I had made clear:
1) fix the bonnet
2) full service
3) Have a look around, and make me a list of stuff to fix, in terms of importance.

Discussion with the owner was roughtly "but what do you want us to look at" and my answer "I don't know, that's why I come to specialists like you who know what to look for!", "yes but, we could check everything and come up with a huge list, it would take days" and me "So, you say your techies are the best, but they don't know what items are SUPOSED to be checked on a car, and they need a precise list"... I was about 1/2 inch from just walking away to be honest.

Anyway, he (wisely) passes me on to his lieutenant, and HE seems to know a bit better what to do, so on we goes. I get a courtesy car, and off I go again in the distance and traffic back to burnham.

Fast forward today, off I go to pick the car up, again, friday afternoon fun. Car is done, I'm presented with an invoice of £409, 114 are for labour regarding the bonnet cable. Ok, sure enough, I exected it to be some money...
I'm told he guy has shortened the cable so it still allow the opening, however the parts he ordered to replace it all didn't fit, so I can still open the bonnet, but not with a new cable and so on...

You know what, I SHOULD have been more careful here, I know I should. I have the belief than techy people do things right. I know I'm wrong, but I can't help it.

Anyway, discuss the rest of the car, all good save for the bushings etc etc that would cost about 2k and a week to fix etc etc. Rest of the car is good. Needs new rear tires, fine.

I drive home ( a good hour friday rush hour), and I go check what happened with the bonnet. Well the handle doesn't DO anything more than before really, I look around and find this:

https://goo.gl/photos/7SuLKid9W5R5B4HE6

Yep, loop of free cable over the whell arch. No amount of pulling /that/ opens the bonnet either, because it's likely that cable is stuck between the bonnet and the chassis, when the guy closed the bonnet.

So, wasted 4 hours of my time, >£400 quid and I had a service and a bonnet I can't open. Needless to say, I'm very happy.

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

Welllll yes I did. I'm actually trying to be all zen and relaxed about it tho... heavy breathing in/out etc...

It take me about 45 minutes to get there and back, as a bit of a background. If it's friday afternoon, well add 15-20 minutes.

Anyway, drove there, and to be frank I didn't 'click' with the owner (well I think he;s the owner.) -- what I wanted I had made clear:
1) fix the bonnet
2) full service
3) Have a look around, and make me a list of stuff to fix, in terms of importance.

Discussion with the owner was roughtly "but what do you want us to look at" and my answer "I don't know, that's why I come to specialists like you who know what to look for!", "yes but, we could check everything and come up with a huge list, it would take days" and me "So, you say your techies are the best, but they don't know what items are SUPOSED to be checked on a car, and they need a precise list"... I was about 1/2 inch from just walking away to be honest.

Anyway, he (wisely) passes me on to his lieutenant, and HE seems to know a bit better what to do, so on we goes. I get a courtesy car, and off I go again in the distance and traffic back to burnham.

Fast forward today, off I go to pick the car up, again, friday afternoon fun. Car is done, I'm presented with an invoice of £409, 114 are for labour regarding the bonnet cable. Ok, sure enough, I exected it to be some money...
I'm told he guy has shortened the cable so it still allow the opening, however the parts he ordered to replace it all didn't fit, so I can still open the bonnet, but not with a new cable and so on...

You know what, I SHOULD have been more careful here, I know I should. I have the belief than techy people do things right. I know I'm wrong, but I can't help it.

Anyway, discuss the rest of the car, all good save for the bushings etc etc that would cost about 2k and a week to fix etc etc. Rest of the car is good. Needs new rear tires, fine.

I drive home ( a good hour friday rush hour), and I go check what happened with the bonnet. Well the handle doesn't DO anything more than before really, I look around and find this:

https://goo.gl/photos/7SuLKid9W5R5B4HE6

Yep, loop of free cable over the whell arch. No amount of pulling /that/ opens the bonnet either, because it's likely that cable is stuck between the bonnet and the chassis, when the guy closed the bonnet.

So, wasted 4 hours of my time, >£400 quid and I had a service and a bonnet I can't open. Needless to say, I'm very happy.

Gutted for you mate after meeting up today. I'm sure we can help solve the bonnet problem

 

[buze]

Thanks @spurs fan in a coupe nice to meet you as well, was SO looking forward to spend sunday installing these new lights of yours, and now I'm back to square zero. I REALLY should have checked I could open the bonnet, it's my fault really, I actually didn't imagine this.

 

[Andy-M]

Well thats a total rip off. Message me your number i`m sure theirs something we can sort . I assume if you pull that cable the bonnet opens?

 

[BMBabe]

Hi i have been using Dmworx in Buckinghamshire so does @Mnbrennan

 

[buze]

VICTORY. Coming back from the WE, I stared at the poor Z bonnet and decided to go for Action.

Using Brute Force and Ignorance, I went to pick the biggest handled tool I had in the box; a large hammer; and looped the cable around the handle. Pulled. Pulled again. Wedged myself and pulled and CLONG bonnet open!

They didn't clean/grease anything, which explains why it was still impossible to open. So I cleaned, WD40'd and greased the lot, and 'excercised' it back into some sort of mobility. Still, I actually paid for that job, I'm gutted.

 

[BladeRunner919]

Wow, that is properly shoddy!

 

[GazHyde]

Wow, that is impressively horrendous, British bodgery of it's finest. I'd be perfectly happy for a name and shame on the garage on this one

 

[Faheem]

Did you call the garage up? I'd be tempted to ask for my money back on this one!

 

[buze]

Well, they told me they received parts that didn't fit. I didn't understand what the guy said: I understood he had managed to shorten the cable back to the bonnet handle, but it still need to be replaced at a later stage (due to the corrosion).

I *hadn't* realized that actually it was shortened /that way/ and I couldn't open the bonnet at all, all over again. Otherwise yes, I'd have requested that line to be removed from the invoice. I don't care how long they took, they didn't *fix* the problem.

Quite frankly, I don't see myself driving 2 hours back/forth to have an argument with these guys, my time is valuable, I'd rather cut my losses and find somewhere else.

 

[raymond]

Send them an email. Mention you are not happy with the standard of their repair and the car should not have been returned to you in this state. You ask for your money back on the " bonnet repair " and if not you will leave suitable feedback on both google and their facebook page with photographs to prove the work was sub standard.

 

[Ianmc]

For comparison, my bonnet cable snapped on the MC last Oct. Garage had to open the bonnet from below (removing under trays/trims for access), replaced cable, mechanism and both bonnet catches. Catches were £10.50 each, cable was £11.51 and cable mechanism £18.41, labour £105. So, £160 ish all up. I thought this was very reasonable, all works like new.
Your experience is shocking.