So went with daughter today to pick up her Colt after its first annual service at the supplying dealer.
OK, I'm already cross because Mitsubishi wouldn't allow us to buy their £150 for 3yrs servicing deal, as we bought the car 3mths before they introduced that. Receptionist cheerfully presented a bill for £200. "Errr...how does that relate to the £125+VAT that you (and, separately, your colleague) quoted us when we booked the car in"?
Cue completely baffled looks and much searching (even though they'd managed to quote without any hesitation) through "the system" to find how they could possibly have quoted us less.
I queried why the body warranty section hadn't been stamped. Service Manager was produced to say that was optional, and would be charged at 30mins. That it is a separate item is bad enough, but I'd been told beforehand when I queried the work required that the £125(+VAT) included a body inspection. Mind you, she also said it included the "engine oil gasket drain" (deciphering the invoice tells me this is the sump plug washer!).
They also washed the car and in the sunshine its previously perfect paint now has swirl marks that wouldn't look out of place on an ice rink.
The only thing actually wrong with the car is excessively baulky gearchange and that came back as "unable to reproduce fault".
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Get them to pay for a proper valet or paint correction .... I presented my Seat dealer with a £200 quote after they decided to wash the car using a brush ... in the end I got a our £130 service refunded. They (your dealer) wouldn't retail a car like it, so why should they expect you to accept it in that condition.
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Life's too short, to be honest. I shouldn't let these things get to me, it's just a car.
I'm more annoyed about the pricing, and the lack of training / knowledge of the front line, customer facing staff. If my daughter had gone on her own she'd have cheerfully handed over the £200 they asked for, and that annoys me too.
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Vote with your feet BP, find another dealer whom you feel warrants your custom, and then write to the current dealer principal explaining why you wont be visiting their premises again, and send a copy to mitsi.
If we allow ourselves to be treated in this way, they will just carry on.
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I didn't go to my local Mitsubishi dealer to service my Colt. They don't want to fix any of the rattles I have, so they won't get the servicing work. Paid about £95 at an independant using genuine Mitsubishi parts. Apart from labour, £25 + vat for a cabin filter is very steep, especially considering Mitsubishi say its optional on the CZ1, but apparently they fit them so I had it changed.
If a dealer will give me over 4k this March for my 3dr CZ1, and a new one with 3 years servicing is £6150 I might just get another. There's little wrong with the Colt apart from the naff european dash and dealers/Mitsubishi UK
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"I queried why the body warranty section hadn't been stamped. Service Manager was produced to say that was optional, and would be charged at 30mins"
Would they have kept you waiting for the 30 mins inspection time or say it was already checked and its just a charge ? So if its checked, why the charge?
And people wonder why dealers get (invite) so much flak!
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I was actually present when my car (not Mitsubishi) was inspected for the corrosion warranty. It just involved walking around the car, opening the doors and checking seams. It was parked on the road outside the premises and took all of 90 seconds.
( had called in just for that as I do my own servicing)
I thought it involved 30 minutes (well 20 considering on, off ramp time) of carefully going over underneath.
A nice little earner then and seeming as though the 90 second walk around had no link at all with going to the service desk and paying the bill.
It seems the `body inspection` is anticipated to be an integral attractor to a big service, at the end of the three year warranty in my case and where the Dealer hopes to have that big gnashing bite into the bowl of cherries before it all goes to the independent.
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 20/02/2008 at 06:37
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The Service Manager (SM) told me he would carry out the body check while I waited.
Seems it's necessary every year in order to continue the warranty beyond 3 yrs up to the 6yr point. So now it hasn't been done at year 1, that's game over after 3yrs.
The SM said most people don't want it doing as they only keep the cars for 3yrs, and even then, he said, it's most unlikely any modern car would rot through from the inside out within 6yrs. I guess that's true, and perhaps Mitsubishi's terms are more geared to the 4x4's that they sell?
However they didn't mention that it was a separate item when I booked the car in - in fact the girl taking the car listed it as part of the service (although they denied she said that) which is what I would have expected.
I can't think of any other car I've owned where this issue has ever arisen - do other makes charge for a separate body check?
Edited by Bill Payer on 20/02/2008 at 08:55
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In the event of you actually needing to make a claim on the body warranty, do you think a dealer who behaves in this manner is likely to honour it to your satisfaction?
Save your money and go to an independent.
659.
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Apart from labour £25 + vat for a cabin filter is very steep especially considering Mitsubishi say its optional on the CZ1
When the receptionist read out the list of work required on the 'phone she did say "air filter OE", which I took to mean Optional Equipment and I'm guessing it's only on the cars with a/c?
Anyway, ours has A/C and they did change it. I've never known any other car have the pollen filter changed every 12mths.
If a dealer will give me over 4k this March for my 3dr CZ1 and a new one with 3 years servicing is £6150 I might just get another. There's little wrong with the Colt apart from the naff european dash and dealers/Mitsubishi UK
How old is your car? I'd be interested to know how you get on, but I suspect that as new ones are available for £5999 (plus the £150 servicing package) then that's going to murder the value of used versions. I would guess anything 2+ yrs old is going to under 3 grand in p/x against the heavily discounted new car.
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>>I can't think of any other car I've owned where this issue has ever arisen - do other makes charge for a separate body check?>>
My Mazda 323 hasn't been inspected since I bought it new in 2002, and I was never given the option of paying extra for it even though there is a separate inspection log book for this. It makes a mockery of the 7 year anti-corrosion warranty, more so because 2 years ago I noticed the inner wheel arches rusting and now the paint on the outter section on both sides is bubbling in the same places.
I, too, resent the annual pollen filter nonsense. SWMBO's hay fever is just always as bad with a new filter. But the £2.50 charge for refilling the washer bottle just takes the biscuit with me for sticking the arm in.
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2 years ago I noticed the inner wheel arches rusting and now the paint on the outter section on both sides is bubbling in the same places.
It's perhaps a bit late now, but as you've owned the car from new and if you're still dealing with the same dealer, then you may well have had a Sale of Goods act case on the grounds of durability.
That happened on many MB cars in a certain age range, and MB will repair them, under goodwill, even if they've been serviced outside the MB network.
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How old is your car? I'd be interested to know how you get on but I suspect that as new ones are available for £5999 (plus the £150 servicing package) then that's going to murder the value of used versions. I would guess anything 2+ yrs old is going to under 3 grand in p/x against the heavily discounted new car.
My CZ1 (no aircon) was registered May 06. Only had one service with another needed in late March with the miles this year. 1k loss per year is acceptable on a new car the way I see it, so perhaps 2k to change will do it for me as long as I get the 3 years servicing.
I suspect Mitsubishi will have even more fields full of Colts by the end of March, as they have been shifting even less cars of late.
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I suspect Mitsubishi will have even more fields full of Colts by the end of March as they have been shifting even less cars of late.
I did wonder about that - even a year ago when we got our Colt it was a real novelty to see another one in our area but recently they've become noticeably more common. The Chester area dealer (not the one we used) certainly advertises the £5999 deal pretty hard in the local papers, and they've started noting that the 5dr is available for £6499, which is £500 less than we paid a year ago (not including the a/c cost).
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