Another rant about Macklin Edinburgh West (now Vertu Newbridge)

[Rolfe]

Two-year service time. I won't repeat my furious rants about what happened at the time of the one-year service, that's covered elsewhere. I had hoped to go to a different dealer for the two-year one, but circumstances (a door lock/unlock button failure) conspired against me and I found myself booking in to Macklin again, under its new identity as Vertu. I had a fairly simple wish-list.

• do the service
• apply the SC077 service bulletin (the LKA fix)
• infotainment version R38 please
• sort out the problem that the car still won't pre-heat while it's plugged in but not charging
• fix the passenger door button

I told them in advance about the door button, I even took the car there in advance of the service and asked if they could sort out the new door handle so that it could be fitted at the time of the service, but although they eventually, after a fair bit of nagging, promised to do that, they didn't. So I'm back there again come what may.

As far as I know the software updates have been done properly this time. The infotainment update has been done, but I haven't checked the rest yet. So far so good, but then comes the bit that propelled me towards my inevitable incandescent fury.

I was told they had found a couple of things that were safety issues that should be addressed. The "couple of things" turned out to be as follows.

• two new front undertrays due to damage. On the video they showed me this didn't look particularly serious, but I got an earful about how it could damage the "engine" (sic.) if débris got in there. A marked change of attitude from their dismissal of my concerns about the saggy rear undertray scooping up everything in its path

• Damage to a wheel arch again necessitating a new part. This is apparently poised to cause the car to crash if something does something and stops the wheel from turning

• new brake pads and discs all round, by the sound of it, because heavy corrosion

• regas the aircon, recommended at two years. (I would have thought this would have been included in the service if it was required maintenance, but apparently not).

I was handed a two-page list of costings for all this, which without adding up the detail looked like a big bill. My spidey-sense was going off all over the place warning me that this looked like a scam or at the very least over-selling. I was told that the brakes could be done right now because they had the parts, but that the undertrays and wheel arch liner would have to be ordered in. I said I couldn't afford all that right now and they started telling me about their finance options. I said no thanks, I need to think about this. I was also given an earful about how it all had to be genuine MG parts, which could only be supplied by an MG dealer, which suggests to me they had some idea which way my mind was tending.

I left it that I'd take the car as it was, and book it in for the door handle, and think about the rest. I didn't tell them I wasn't going to have it done, just that I wanted to think about it.

I was given the usual sheaf of paperwork, and I particularly asked for the list of advisories to be included, as somehow that had been spirited away from me. I was scolded that these weren't "advisories", they were essential, indeed urgent work. I assumed the detailed estimates for the work had been included as I asked, but when I got home it wasn't there, just the basic service ticks and crosses with no prices at all. I phoned the dealer back and was told that that work had been purged from the system as I had declined it. I said I wanted that copy of the estimates so that I could see the detailed costings to add it all up and think about it. I was told it was their property and it wasn't policy to let customers have that information. Finally the guy agreed to tell me the total cost of all the items they had listed. Almost £2,000. I yelled a bit and put the phone down. This is getting to be a bit of a habit.

Anyway, I did what I had intended to do anyway and went to my own garage with the list. The car is booked in there on Tuesday anyway, to have the tyre situation sorted out post Hardknott Pass adventures, so he will have the chance to look at these issues while he's at it. It's possible, indeed likely, that the undertray and wheel arch liner damage happened during the Hardknott pass incidents, but the question is, is it bad enough to need replacement parts?

I'm also pretty dubious that the car needs a whole new round of brake blocks and discs after 20,000 miles. At the very least I want a second opinion about this.

So I guess my present position is that if Andrew confirms some or all of this work needs done, I'll get it done. But I'm extremely reluctant to let Macklin/Vertu near it. Andrew confirms that he can order up genuine MG parts, they're not only available from MG dealers, and I'm pretty damn sure that (a) he won't recommend work unless it's necessary, and (b) he won't charge me what Macklin/Vertu were proposing to charge. But we'll see.

OK, comment away. What do you guys think? Am I being oversold/scammed? Or is the stealer on the level?

 

[Archev]

Two-year service time. I won't repeat my furious rants about what happened at the time of the one-year service, that's covered elsewhere. I had hoped to go to a different dealer for the two-year one, but circumstances (a door lock/unlock button failure) conspired against me and I found myself booking in to Macklin again, under its new identity as Vertu. I had a fairly simple wish-list.

• do the service
• apply the SC077 service bulletin (the LKA fix)
• infotainment version R38 please
• sort out the problem that the car still won't pre-heat while it's plugged in but not charging
• fix the passenger door button

I told them in advance about the door button, I even took the car there in advance of the service and asked if they could sort out the new door handle so that it could be fitted at the time of the service, but although they eventually, after a fair bit of nagging, promised to do that, they didn't. So I'm back there again come what may.

As far as I know the software updates have been done properly this time. The infotainment update has been done, but I haven't checked the rest yet. So far so good, but then comes the bit that propelled me towards my inevitable incandescent fury.

I was told they had found a couple of things that were safety issues that should be addressed. The "couple of things" turned out to be as follows.

• two new front undertrays due to damage. On the video they showed me this didn't look particularly serious, but I got an earful about how it could damage the "engine" (sic.) if débris got in there. A marked change of attitude from their dismissal of my concerns about the saggy rear undertray scooping up everything in its path

View attachment 36661 View attachment 36663View attachment 36662

• Damage to a wheel arch again necessitating a new part. This is apparently poised to cause the car to crash if something does something and stops the wheel from turning

View attachment 36664

• new brake pads and discs all round, by the sound of it, because heavy corrosion

View attachment 36665

View attachment 36666

• regas the aircon, recommended at two years. (I would have thought this would have been included in the service if it was required maintenance, but apparently not).

I was handed a two-page list of costings for all this, which without adding up the detail looked like a big bill. My spidey-sense was going off all over the place warning me that this looked like a scam or at the very least over-selling. I was told that the brakes could be done right now because they had the parts, but that the undertrays and wheel arch liner would have to be ordered in. I said I couldn't afford all that right now and they started telling me about their finance options. I said no thanks, I need to think about this. I was also given an earful about how it all had to be genuine MG parts, which could only be supplied by an MG dealer, which suggests to me they had some idea which way my mind was tending.

I left it that I'd take the car as it was, and book it in for the door handle, and think about the rest. I didn't tell them I wasn't going to have it done, just that I wanted to think about it.

I was given the usual sheaf of paperwork, and I particularly asked for the list of advisories to be included, as somehow that had been spirited away from me. I was scolded that these weren't "advisories", they were essential, indeed urgent work. I assumed the detailed estimates for the work had been included as I asked, but when I got home it wasn't there, just the basic service ticks and crosses with no prices at all. I phoned the dealer back and was told that that work had been purged from the system as I had declined it. I said I wanted that copy of the estimates so that I could see the detailed costings to add it all up and think about it. I was told it was their property and it wasn't policy to let customers have that information. Finally the guy agreed to tell me the total cost of all the items they had listed. Almost £2,000. I yelled a bit and put the phone down. This is getting to be a bit of a habit.

Anyway, I did what I had intended to do anyway and went to my own garage with the list. The car is booked in there on Tuesday anyway, to have the tyre situation sorted out post Hardknott Pass adventures, so he will have the chance to look at these issues while he's at it. It's possible, indeed likely, that the undertray and wheel arch liner damage happened during the Hardknott pass incidents, but the question is, is it bad enough to need replacement parts?

I'm also pretty dubious that the car needs a whole new round of brake blocks and discs after 20,000 miles. At the very least I want a second opinion about this.

So I guess my present position is that if Andrew confirms some or all of this work needs done, I'll get it done. But I'm extremely reluctant to let Macklin/Vertu near it. Andrew confirms that he can order up genuine MG parts, they're not only available from MG dealers, and I'm pretty damn sure that (a) he won't recommend work unless it's necessary, and (b) he won't charge me what Macklin/Vertu were proposing to charge. But we'll see.

OK, comment away. What do you guys think? Am I being oversold/scammed? Or is the stealer on the level?

You would need to be very hard on the brakes to need a complete set at 20000 miles I’d say.
When I traded in the Magnette ( my MG5) at 32500 miles approximately there was minimal wear on the pads or rusting of the discs

 

[Tight Git]

Similar experience to you at my third service - recommended wheel alignment at about £160 - measurements across all 4 tyres didn't vary by even 0.1mm in each of the 3 places so why does it need alignment???

Also 'needed' rear disks and pads at about £550 but they didn't have them in stock and needed 5 days to order them in. When they called me back a couple of weeks later to book it in I asked why they hadn't replied to my email asking why SC0077 hadn't been done despite me asking before leaving, and them saying it had been done (it wasn't!). They said they would get back to me but haven't (no surprise) so the brakes will get left until the MOT in November assuming it fails. I did ask Cleevely for a quote for the disks and pads and they were more expensive than MG. Be careful with non MG doing the brakes as there is an odd way of doing them that has caused major issues with some, meaning the car had to be transported to MG to sort (something to do with winding the pistons back if I remember correctly)

I know MG probably don't allow the dealers any slack and make things difficult but the dealers don't help themselves either.

 

[Rolfe]

You would need to be very hard on the brakes to need a complete set at 20000 miles I’d say.
When I traded in the Magnette ( my MG5) at 32500 miles approximately there was minimal wear on the pads or rusting of the discs

They're talking about corrosion and pitting, not wear.

 

[Tight Git]

You would need to be very hard on the brakes to need a complete set at 20000 miles I’d say.
When I traded in the Magnette ( my MG5) at 32500 miles approximately there was minimal wear on the pads or rusting of the discs

The problem (not just with MG) seems to be that the poor quality steel rusts very quickly and as they don't get used much due to the regeneration they need replacing fairly soon.

 

[Rolfe]

Similar experience to you at my third service - recommended wheel alignment at about £160 - measurements across all 4 tyres didn't vary by even 0.1mm in each of the 3 places so why does it need alignment???

Also 'needed' rear disks and pads at about £550 but they didn't have them in stock and needed 5 days to order them in. When they called me back a couple of weeks later to book it in I asked why they hadn't replied to my email asking why SC0077 hadn't been done despite me asking before leaving, and them saying it had been done (it wasn't!). They said they would get back to me but haven't (no surprise) so the brakes will get left until the MOT in November assuming it fails. I did ask Cleevely for a quote for the disks and pads and they were more expensive than MG. Be careful with non MG doing the brakes as there is an odd way of doing them that has caused major issues with some, meaning the car had to be transported to MG to sort (something to do with winding the pistons back if I remember correctly)

I know MG probably don't allow the dealers any slack and make things difficult but the dealers don't help themselves either.

I haven't checked about SC077 to be honest, but as I told them in writing to do it, and the other dealer I talked to was able to look up my car and see that it was listed as being due for SC077, I was assuming it had been done. Is there any way to know, other than that the LKA no longer tries to kill you?

I'll be careful about the brakes, and if there is a particular issue I'll be sure to let Andrew know the details.

 

[Archev]

They're talking about corrosion and pitting, not wear.

Aye but the corrosion and pitting is the rusting of the steel discs which in turn wears the brake pads a bit like sandpapering which makes them thinner. It’ll be interesting to see what your local chap says.

 

[PeteC]

They're talking about corrosion and pitting, not wear.

I was told that my brakes had corrosion at my 2 year service (c.24000 miles). They asked if I used regen a lot (I do) and simply advised me to use the brakes more, which seemed to be a reasonable response. So now I try to do that every now and then. My corrosion could be less than yours, of course, so you're sensible to let your own garage take a look.

I also had to have new front undertrays as I had caught the underside of the car on a hidden rock when pulling onto a verge on a narrow road to let a car pass. The undertrays cost just under £270. I wasn't charged any labour as they were also renewing some front suspension bushes under warranty and they had to take the undertrays off to do that, so they put the labour charge for removing and refitting the trays under the warranty claim.

I think I must be lucky with my dealer (Brown & Gammons) as they are very helpful. I'd mentioned at the first service that our car didn't have a soundproofing pad under the bonnet. I'd then forgotten all about it until I went for the second service. I mentioned it again and was told that they'd got one in ready to fit to the car, so they had taken notice and not forgotten. And this is a dealer that MG has seen fit to drop from selling new cars because their showroom isn't big enough!

 

[Rolfe]

Aye but the corrosion and pitting is the rusting of the steel discs which in turn wears the brake pads a bit like sandpapering which makes them thinner. It’ll be interesting to see what your local chap says.

It will be. I trust him. He did all the servicing on my Golf, from new, and he was able to satisfy VW that he'd done it right when the engine blew up inside the warranty period. VW kicked and screamed, but they had to give me a new engine under warranty. Also, when I took him my 10 year old dealer-serviced Peugeot to service, at a time when I thought it was clapped out but I had just bought a house and couldn't afford a new car, when I collected it after the service it was driving like a new car. It kept going for another couple of years until I fed it to the scrappage scheme and bought the Golf from the proceeds.

It's possible the MG4 does need all that stuff done but the undertray damage looks fairly minor to me, and I wonder if the brakes would do with a clean-off. Even if it all does have to be done, I imagine he can bring it in under £2,000.

 

[Rolfe]

Similar experience to you at my third service - recommended wheel alignment at about £160 - measurements across all 4 tyres didn't vary by even 0.1mm in each of the 3 places so why does it need alignment???

Also 'needed' rear disks and pads at about £550 but they didn't have them in stock and needed 5 days to order them in. When they called me back a couple of weeks later to book it in I asked why they hadn't replied to my email asking why SC0077 hadn't been done despite me asking before leaving, and them saying it had been done (it wasn't!). They said they would get back to me but haven't (no surprise) so the brakes will get left until the MOT in November assuming it fails. I did ask Cleevely for a quote for the disks and pads and they were more expensive than MG. Be careful with non MG doing the brakes as there is an odd way of doing them that has caused major issues with some, meaning the car had to be transported to MG to sort (something to do with winding the pistons back if I remember correctly)

I know MG probably don't allow the dealers any slack and make things difficult but the dealers don't help themselves either.

The problem with this outfit is rudeness. Condescending and unhelpful. Positively obstructive. First service I asked them to sort the washer jet alignment. When I came to pick it up the manager insisted the jets weren't adjustable. But could I take a picture of the smearing. I said I had brought the car in with the smearing very visible, and told them so when it was booked in. I had also declined the offer of a car wash. They had washed the car anyway, and now the evidence was gone. Then when I was driving home I discovered they had fixed the alignment!

The saga of R33 and taking five months to install it is told elsewhere.

This time, I called in more than a week before the service was due to check they had a note of everything, and asked if they could order the door handle in advance so they could fit it while the car was in. "We're very busy!" snapped the receptionist, twice. Now that's as may be, but there are ways of saying that, and that isn't one of them. Eventually she did go to check with the mechanic, with bad grace, came back and said they'd do it (without anyone looking at the car), and in the end they didn't do it at all.

Constantly telling me not to come on this forum, don't read the forums, it's all misinformation. We never read the forums! I refrained from saying that they might learn something if they did. There is precisely one staff member who has a pleasant and friendly attitude, and she's about 17.

Oh, and they've dumped their Peugeot dealership, offloaded it to Arnold Clark because it wasn't profitable, and they're going to expand the MG department into that space.

 

[dsimpkins]

New discs after 20,000 miles. THey are taking the pee unless you have seriously abused the car. This is definitely let's see how much we can squeeze out an unsuspecting customer. The photos are quite poor quality, but I couldn't see significant pitting or corrosion on the discs. Taking it to your local friendly garage is definitely the right move. I have my second year service next week, and have also nearly reached 20K miles. They were a MG dealer, but MG decided to drop them. They are a family owned business with an excellent reputation. It will be interesting to see what they say too.

Also, air con regassing is a common upsell by dealers. Got that with the Golf I had, and declined it. They also told me I needed new disc and pads all round after two years. Get a grip!

 

[ReintjeWA]

Surely if the issue of the brakes is just pitting they can be put on the lathe? The pitting happens because they don’t get used under regenerative braking as mentioned, so they can’t have worn down too thin to be resurfaced. Sounds like complete nonsense to me.

If your a/c needs a re-gas you would know, because it would not cool the air properly. You can even test this yourself by setting it as low and fast as it goes, and measure the temp coming out the vents. I remember my local mechanic was pleased with 6,5°C for the RCZ. (They had sorted a leak in the system).

[ Edit moderator: "would cool" —> "would not cool". ]

 

[decrep]

I think, regen can cause disk corrosion. I thought charging to 100% would sort this, but regen starts kicking in around 95% so unless you do very short trips the brakes don't get much use. also "regen mode", doesn't actually affect regen very much, only the way the go pedal works. pressing the bake pedal will also activate regen.

Friction brakes are only activated under hard braking, when regen isn't enough. Or when in reverse, regen doesn't work in reverse.

So Rolfe, go backwards down a slope so you need to use friction brakes and see if there's any squealing, your pics didn't look like a lot of corrosion.
Definitely do this before taking to your mechanic, that will get rid of any minor corrosion and give him a better idea of what's going on.

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks for the comments lads. I was also suspicious of the quality of the video. These are stills from what is presumably a phone video, but surely in 2025 one would expect better resolution. I felt I was being bullied into agreeing to all that work, even telling me it was an urgent safety issue and the wheel arch liner could cause the car to crash any minute.

I have 150 miles to do today, in two trips (25 miles to Edinburgh in the morning and 50 miles to Glasgow in the evening), so I'll try to stand on the brakes a bit.

The brakes seem fine to me. And the aircon is blowing cold. I think the update to R38 has sorted out the minor kinks in the HVAC.

 

[ReintjeWA]

I felt I was being bullied into agreeing to all that work, even telling me it was an urgent safety issue and the wheel arch liner could cause the car to crash any minute.
.

if they really thought it was that dangerous they wouldn’t have let you leave.

In my time as a tyre salesman we only ever had one case where we said to the customer we really couldn’t let him drive out the way he came in, he had little kids in the car and his tyres where more wire than rubber. He didn’t have the money so we did what we could with some second hand ones and some guys volunteering to fit them, that was a genuine safety issue. We would’ve called the cops if he had left (we obviously couldn’t take him hostage haha).

 

[decrep]

I certainly don't blindly trust garages.
Once I was shown a broken part out of a completely different gearbox, with a large quote to fix it. Luckily I didn't have the money and said I'd do it later. When I pulled my gearbox apart, everything was fine and completely different to what I was shown.

 

[Rolfe]

Bloody hell!

I can see there is some minor damage to the undertray, thanks Hardknott Pass, but to me it's nothing as bad as the warp they spent over a year telling me was a nothing-burger and why was I bothered about it.

The wheel arch they said was the dangerous thing, but "if it gets worse". Sure.

Not letting me keep a copy of the detailed list of work they wanted to do and the costings was a huge red flag, even if red flags hadn't been dancing in front of my eyes by then.

 

[decrep]

Hitting water at speed may increase the damage, but I doubt you're going to do that.

I'm afraid it's that old male, here's a woman we can easily convince her this stuff is serious.

 

[mystreet]

@Rolfe you can always go back to then with a Data Subject Access Request. This will provide you all the information that they hold about you and the car. If they say that they cannot provide the information about 'a car' as it is not about a person, the car identifies you, so it is about a person.

Had the same issue about being sold our ZS, they were very sorry when I got all the information.

 

[Anon70]

You have several ways to escalate any issues:
Vertu - head office or social media channels (which tend to elicit the quickest response)
Retail Motor Industry - as Vertu are a member RMI | Retail Motor Industry Federation
The Motor Ombudsman - again Vertu are a member Home

and of course the Supply of Good and Services Act as outlined here

Vehicle servicing and repairs

Taking your car or vehicle to be serviced requires you to put trust in the garage or mechanic who is doing the work for you. However, you don’t need to rely on trust alone to get a fair deal.

www.araglaw.co.uk

I also suspect, as has been the case with my wife and I when we enter a car dealership, there are still those in the motor trade who treat men and women differently when explaining things.