Macklin Motors MG Edinburgh West - MG Dealer Discussion, Opinions & Experiences

[Rolfe]

I was at this branch yesterday and I’m pretty certain they are providing me with false information. It went in for water in the tail light apparently very common for condensation. I was threatened with “it will cost you £168 for labour if we cannot find anything. The car is 7 months old and whilst washing it soap was running down the inside. They called me later saying they have not charged me the inspection charge but it repair will be £2440 as there is scuffing and a crack on the tail light. I knew about the scuffing, it’s with the plastic casing of the charging cable rubbing on the car. However there is no visible cracking to the lights. I asked for the engineer to show me where and was told he was busy so the advisor said she would come and and show me. She pointed to the seam of the panel and said it was a hairline crack. I can’t see anything but said I would test with water.

I still can’t see anything after the water test so I have emailed them back asking for pictures which they refused to provide earlier. Something isn’t sitting right with me.

I got the same thing when my charging port lights failed. If we don't find a warranty issue we'll charge you - I think it was £140 at the time. I said I thought it might be software-related, because some people on the forum had had that fixed with a software update. I was sneered at for going anywhere near the forum, don't believe anything you read there, and then when it did turn out to be a hardware issue there was a lot of "I told you so, never believe anything on that forum." (I had only suggested it might be software-related.)

They have done the work eventually, but always with poor grace and rudeness and condescension. I think I know the woman you're referring to. I tried to be nice to her, and she was moderately pleasant to begin with, but when I asked her if someone would just check the car's door button now, more than a week before the service was due, so they could do all the work at once, she started with the "we're very busy" line. Finally she said they would do it, but of course they didn't and I have to go back next week for the door handle.

The only genuinely pleasant person there is Alanna (not quite sure how she spells it), and she's about twelve. Everyone else is rude, condescending, unhelpful, and now manipulative. And that's a ridiculous bill for a tail-light. And it should be covered under the warranty.

 

[Rolfe]

all your brake shenanigans should have polished the disks up nicely, I'm betting Andrew says they're the best he's seen, on a BEV with regen.

Andrew's preliminary verdict is in. He thinks the undertray is OK, the damage is slight and the tray is secure. He says the wheel arch liner has a defect that's literally an inch square and not doing anyone any harm. He did say if it gets worse it will need replacing, but nothing about it being dangerous in its present state. I got a slightly coded lecture about not going over the Hardknott pass again!

I also got the usual lecture about turn down the regen and use your brakes more. Point taken. He said, since he has the wheels off anyway - the car was in for the tyres to be changed - that the brakes could do with a clean-off, and they'll be fine. Oh and turn down your regeneration.

Now, do I wait until I have the door button fixed before I aim both barrels at Macklin/Vertu, or do I let fly right now...?

 

[siteguru]

Keep your powder dry until you know you're well clear of them.

 

[Rolfe]

That's probably the wise move.

 

[Macadoodle]

Andrew's preliminary verdict is in. He thinks the undertray is OK, the damage is slight and the tray is secure. He says the wheel arch liner has a defect that's literally an inch square and not doing anyone any harm. He did say if it gets worse it will need replacing, but nothing about it being dangerous in its present state. I got a slightly coded lecture about not going over the Hardknott pass again!

I also got the usual lecture about turn down the regen and use your brakes more. Point taken. He said, since he has the wheels off anyway - the car was in for the tyres to be changed - that the brakes could do with a clean-off, and they'll be fine. Oh and turn down your regeneration.

Now, do I wait until I have the door button fixed before I aim both barrels at Macklin/Vertu, or do I let fly right now...?

These large national dealer groups are only concerned with maximizing profit to the point of downright fraud, not saying some indies aren't dodgy too, but there's a far better chance of finding an honest one IMO.

As for the 'faults' on your car, my Dec 22 with 34k has similar non-issues. Hit a large flood patch in the dark last winter and put a crack/ hole in the passenger wheel arch liner, they seem pretty fragile.
Undertray has a few scuffs but I installed a plate made from scrap aluminium to flatten the standard issue bulge so it's otherwise ok.

Brake discs are a bit pitted for sure but as your honest mechanic says, nothing a strip down and clean up won't solve for now.
The calipers on these cars, an in - house SAIC design, apply pretty uneven pressure to the outer pad unfortunately, giving that scabby appearance to the outer disc surface.

The brakes work just fine though.
If it passes an MOT, that's good enough for me

 

[Rolfe]

Exactly. The thing that really took the biscuit was the solemn warnings about all the dirt and crud that could get into the "engine" from the small defects in the undertray and how awful that would be, standing in just the same place where I'd been standing when I was saying exactly that about the standard-issue bulge and being fobbed off with "they're all like that", and "MG won't do anything" and "why do you want a flat undertray anyway?"

Fortunately the garage that's just 15 minutes walk away from me has given me excellent service for the past 18 years. Anything that isn't warranty work or related to the battery/motor/drivetrain, I'll get him to do.

I tested the brakes every which way to Tuesday on Saturday and Sunday - stamping on them for emergency stops, braking when the battery was at 100%, and reversing down a hill, twice. Couldn't fault them.

 

[Rolfe]

I brought Caliban home a couple of hours ago, and had a chat with the mechanic when I collected the key. He said the brakes are fine, just needed a bit of a clean-off. He said that when he drove the car it stopped on a sixpence. He said the undertray and wheel arch liner damage is slight and in no way a safety issue. We agreed that when the tyres are changed again in the autumn they'll have another look to see if anything has got worse.

Once the door handle has been fixed I will never darken Macklin's door again. Even if the other door button were to go, or another warranty issue were to arise that the Galashiels dealer can't handle, I'd go somewhere else.

 

[QLeo]

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?

" I was told it was their property and it wasn't policy to let customers have that information."
There you go - that's the story right there. It's a shameful, frankly nauseating scam.
Very sorry you're having to face this. Sounds like you have a gem in Andrew though, so if I were you, I'd take his advice.

 

[Rolfe]

I've used Andrew's garage for 18 years. He revived Ariel (my Peugeot) to run another two years until I could afford to replace it. He then did all the servicing on Prospero (the Golf) from new, well enough so that when the engine blew up within the warranty period, VW had to give me a new engine under warranty, even though they tried their best to repudiate the claim because the car hadn't been dealer-serviced.

Several times he has talked me out of things I thought of doing (or tried to), because he said it wasn't worth it. I actually had to talk him into getting me winter tyres for Prospero, and even then he said he'd just get me two to see how I got on. Of course I was back for the other two the following year. Then after a couple of mild winters I remember him remarking that he felt a bit guilty about all the people he was putting winter tyres on for, because they weren't getting the use out of them. It was me who had to tell him that the better performance in heavy rain, and at cold but not freezing temperatures, was still worth it, and that in any case what people wanted was the peace of mind of knowing that if they woke up to six inches of snow one morning, they weren't stranded.

I think if you run a garage in a rural village you're not going to do well if you get a reputation for shoddy workmanship or rudeness or upselling. Macklin will get away with it, because there's always a steady supply of new marks who haven't heard the tales of woe from the previously stung. That doesn't apply in rural Peeblesshire.

 

[decrep]

I think if you run a garage in a rural village you're not going to do well if you get a reputation for shoddy workmanship or rudeness or upselling. Macklin will get away with it, because there's always a steady supply of new marks who haven't heard the tales of woe from the previously stung. That doesn't apply in rural Peeblesshire.

Similar in Mandurah Western Australia, there's still the big brand garages, but several smaller family businesses. They developed when the place wasn't much more than a village, fortunately their business model hasn't varied, even though we've gone from zero traffic lights, to about 30 in the meantime.

 

[QLeo]

I brought Caliban home a couple of hours ago, and had a chat with the mechanic when I collected the key. He said the brakes are fine, just needed a bit of a clean-off. He said that when he drove the car it stopped on a sixpence. He said the undertray and wheel arch liner damage is slight and in no way a safety issue. We agreed that when the tyres are changed again in the autumn they'll have another look to see if anything has got worse.

Once the door handle has been fixed I will never darken Macklin's door again. Even if the other door button were to go, or another warranty issue were to arise that the Galashiels dealer can't handle, I'd go somewhere else.

For what it's worth, I'm doing what I can to warn others of this blatant attempt at shaking you down.

 

[Rolfe]

When this thread has run its course, I'm going to merge it into the appropriate thread in the MG Dealer Discussions forum.

Did they think I came up the Clyde on a banana boat?

 

[Rolfe]

I was at this branch yesterday and I’m pretty certain they are providing me with false information. It went in for water in the tail light apparently very common for condensation. I was threatened with “it will cost you £168 for labour if we cannot find anything. The car is 7 months old and whilst washing it soap was running down the inside. They called me later saying they have not charged me the inspection charge but it repair will be £2440 as there is scuffing and a crack on the tail light. I knew about the scuffing, it’s with the plastic casing of the charging cable rubbing on the car. However there is no visible cracking to the lights. I asked for the engineer to show me where and was told he was busy so the advisor said she would come and and show me. She pointed to the seam of the panel and said it was a hairline crack. I can’t see anything but said I would test with water.

I still can’t see anything after the water test so I have emailed them back asking for pictures which they refused to provide earlier. Something isn’t sitting right with me.

Any further update on this outrage?

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I've used Andrew's garage for 18 years. He revived Ariel (my Peugeot) to run another two years until I could afford to replace it. He then did all the servicing on Prospero (the Golf) from new, well enough so that when the engine blew up within the warranty period, VW had to give me a new engine under warranty, even though they tried their best to repudiate the claim because the car hadn't been dealer-serviced.

Several times he has talked me out of things I thought of doing (or tried to), because he said it wasn't worth it. I actually had to talk him into getting me winter tyres for Prospero, and even then he said he'd just get me two to see how I got on. Of course I was back for the other two the following year. Then after a couple of mild winters I remember him remarking that he felt a bit guilty about all the people he was putting winter tyres on for, because they weren't getting the use out of them. It was me who had to tell him that the better performance in heavy rain, and at cold but not freezing temperatures, was still worth it, and that in any case what people wanted was the peace of mind of knowing that if they woke up to six inches of snow one morning, they weren't stranded.

I think if you run a garage in a rural village you're not going to do well if you get a reputation for shoddy workmanship or rudeness or upselling. Macklin will get away with it, because there's always a steady supply of new marks who haven't heard the tales of woe from the previously stung. That doesn't apply in rural Peeblesshire.

Ariel, Prospero, Caliban... Which character from the Tempest is your next car...?

 

[Rolfe]

I've run out. Caliban will have to do me into my dotage.

(My first Fiesta was Miranda, and the XR2 that succeeded her was Ferdinand. That's how it started.)

 

[QLeo]

Responses to mentioning the sorry episode @Rolfe has had to endure at the hands of Macklin, one person mentioned having had a Lexus some years back, when a red light saying "stop NOW or perish" or words to that effect. They took it to Arnold Clark in Edinburgh who diagnosed an issue with the exhaust system (remember those? ) and quoted him £3500 to repair. He wasn't having that, so took it to a more local exhaust garage in Tain. They replaced the sensor on the exhaust for £30 and resolved the problem.
Perhaps the moral of these stories is to avoid the large corporate chains if at all possible.

 

[Rolfe]

I've been avoiding them for 18 years, but having bought Caliban from Macklin's and wanting to both maintain the warranty and get the software updates, I gritted my teeth and used them for the servicing. No more.

 

[Rolfe]

Next chapter. I was phoned this afternoon by Macklin's, confirming that the car is due in for the door handle replacement at nine tomorrow. I checked that they did actually have the handle ready and was told yes, so I said fine, I'll be there. I was about to hang up when the guy said, we'll be checking the brakes and the tyres again while it's here. I told him sharply to do no such thing, and that I'd had the brakes and tyres checked by someone a lot more competent than he was, thankyouverymuch. (In fact the car isn't even wearing the same tyres as it was on the day of the service, it's back on the original Continentals for the moment. I wonder if they'll figure out how come the car has done 21,000 miles, but the tyres are only showing about 5,000 miles of wear.)

He said something about them being under an obligation to the manufacturer to do these checks when the car is in the dealership. I said I don't want anything else done to the car, you have already tried to scam me out of nearly £2,000 worth of unnecessary work.

He put the phone down on me.

So now what. I thought I could just get that door handle done and I'd be free and clear. Now they're going to try to pressurise me again to have more work done, I think. I don't see how they can ignore my instruction that they are not to do anything else to the car, or avoid giving me the car back as it is. I don't see how they can void my warranty because of a refusal to have a new undertray, wheel arch liner and brakes, when I've had all these things checked independently and been told that the brakes are fine and the other things aren't a safety issue.

But I get the horrible feeling I'm being set up to be pressurised into a scam again.

 

[QLeo]

Next chapter. I was phoned this afternoon by Macklin's, confirming that the car is due in for the door handle replacement at nine tomorrow. I checked that they did actually have the handle ready and was told yes, so I said fine, I'll be there. I was about to hang up when the guy said, we'll be checking the brakes and the tyres again while it's here. I told him sharply to do no such thing, and that I'd had the brakes and tyres checked by someone a lot more competent than he was, thankyouverymuch. (In fact the car isn't even wearing the same tyres as it was on the day of the service, it's back on the original Continentals for the moment. I wonder if they'll figure out how come the car has done 21,000 miles, but the tyres are only showing about 5,000 miles of wear.)

He said something about them being under an obligation to the manufacturer to do these checks when the car is in the dealership. I said I don't want anything else done to the car, you have already tried to scam me out of nearly £2,000 worth of unnecessary work.

He put the phone down on me.

So now what. I thought I could just get that door handle done and I'd be free and clear. Now they're going to try to pressurise me again to have more work done, I think. I don't see how they can ignore my instruction that they are not to do anything else to the car, or avoid giving me the car back as it is. I don't see how they can void my warranty because of a refusal to have a new undertray, wheel arch liner and brakes, when I've had all these things checked independently and been told that the brakes are fine and the other things aren't a safety issue.

But I get the horrible feeling I'm being set up to be pressurised into a scam again.

Surely there's some way of escalating this. It's staggeringly transparently extortion.

 

[Rolfe]

I will say things about the motoring ombudsman if they don't do as I ask.