View Full Version : not a good start
so ..... I was due to pick up my new motobility car on Friday , but I got a phone call from the dealer telling me that it had been recalled by citroen due to a safety issue ..... the bonnet catch can come loose / open :eek: , as a result citroen wont allow me to have it until its rectified :rolleyes:.... the dealer has no idea how long this will take :rolleyes: ...... meanwhile I'm allowed to drive Florence until its sorted ......... not a good start is it ? :confused:
jims-terrano
14-09-2016, 21:12
Oh bugger:doh
Hope its not too long pal.
Lazy-Ferret
14-09-2016, 21:18
You would think in this day and age, something as simple as a bonnet catch should be pretty mundane even for the lowliest of designers, how they can mess that up, goodness only knows...
Hope there is nothing complicated like a steering wheel, or brakes on the car they could have messed up as well....
emjaybee
14-09-2016, 21:38
You would think in this day and age, something as simple as a bonnet catch should be pretty mundane even for the lowliest of designers, how they can mess that up, goodness only knows...
Hope there is nothing complicated like a steering wheel, or brakes on the car they could have messed up as well....
Thats hilarious...
...you actually still think car design is controlled by engineers!
Accountants dear chap!
Accountants.
Cars are built down to a price, not up to a spec!
This is why most cars have "issues", X-trail diesel ingines, Navara chassis, Ford Ecoboost engines, Vauxhall water pumps, Transit fuel systems, Passat handbrakes, etc., etc., etc.!
:nenau
Thats hilarious...
...you actually still think car design is controlled by engineers!
Accountants dear chap!
Accountants.
Cars are built down to a price, not up to a spec!
This is why most cars have "issues", X-trail diesel ingines, Navara chassis, Ford Ecoboost engines, Vauxhall water pumps, Transit fuel systems, Passat handbrakes, etc., etc., etc.!
:nenau
:lol
So accurate
solarman216
14-09-2016, 22:22
Been that way for a long time, it effects all areas, including Plumbers/Builders merchants etc if an item does not shift X number per week, it is no longer stocked and has to be ordered in, makes life very difficult, Rick
macabethiel
14-09-2016, 23:25
Having worked at a Main MB dealer for the last 12 years I can confirm what others have said it's accountants and spreadsheets that rule the roost.
The olden days of vehicles being tested globally for over a 500,000 miles are long gone. If a manufacturer can save 10 p on a component for a production run globally of say 2 million vehicles that is a saving of £200,000 then they will opt for the saving.
A classic has been the petrol flap on Mercedes Cars that has been pretty much the same for the last 25 years. You push against the front of the flap and it opens - works brilliantly.
About 3 years ago the design was changed with a small plastic button much like a soft close kitchen drawer fitted inside the flap. Nice in the summer when you push the flap in slightly and hey presto it opens - or not as is the case in the winter or by the heavy handed. Old system had an emergency manual lever inside the boot. New system "Nada " QED !
Modern vehicles are tested by the first Tranch of owners and then the annual face lift are work in progress each revision during a model 3 or 4 year cycle being fixed for faults that should never have gone to market !
melissachels
15-09-2016, 00:39
Thats hilarious...
...you actually still think car design is controlled by engineers!
Accountants dear chap!
Accountants.
Cars are built down to a price, not up to a spec!
This is why most cars have "issues", X-trail diesel ingines, Navara chassis, Ford Ecoboost engines, Vauxhall water pumps, Transit fuel systems, Passat handbrakes, etc., etc., etc.!
:nenau
it wasn't me :doh
Terrano Steve
15-09-2016, 06:39
You would think in this day and age, something as simple as a bonnet catch should be pretty mundane even for the lowliest of designers, how they can mess that up, goodness only knows...
Hope there is nothing complicated like a steering wheel, or brakes on the car they could have messed up as well....
I think this is a valid point & building a car down to a price which then needs to be recalled can not be that profitable :nenau, but I am no accountant.
macabethiel
15-09-2016, 10:21
I think this is a valid point & building a car down to a price which then needs to be recalled can not be that profitable :nenau, but I am no accountant.
Trouble is by the time the lesson has been learnt that accountant has left and another arrives so they keep re-inventing the wheel so as to speak.
They are the Butterfly Managers that go from flower (firm) to flower(firm) before the truth ever catches up with them. Then there are the designers like Chris Bangle who come up with a new look for a vehicle - the sale drop. He leaves before the true legacy of a good design bears it's long term fruit.
I remember when the Ford Sierra first came out everybody called it the Jelly Mould and it took years to be accepted.
Mind you Pete, had you had a Renault Clio, they would have let you have the car with the bonnet fault well documented, and they would do nothing about it, until "Watchdog" get involved.
So... I would be happy knowing the car was perfect when handed over, and I would hope they would recall the car, as and when required, should there be any other issues.
I know which french car I would opt for lol.
:thumb2
It doesn't take away the disappointment though. :(
Do you have a new name for the new car, can't be Florence, there was only one like that, and she served you well? .:thumb2
Rustic
it wasn't me :doh
Brains and you mess with cars!!!!!! Your chap is a lucky beggar :bow
melissachels
15-09-2016, 13:35
Brains and you mess with cars!!!!!! Your chap is a lucky beggar :bow
I don't know about, complains I'm too independent.
Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk
I don't know about, complains I'm too independent.
Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk
Sounds like he's too insecure [emoji38] You need a real man ;) ........... RICKKKKKKKKK.........
[emoji38]
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
melissachels
15-09-2016, 21:15
Sounds like he's too insecure [emoji38] You need a real man ;) ........... RICKKKKKKKKK.........
[emoji38]
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
I'm good, thanks
Briggie, it's better they sort it now rather than later. There a push on the automotive industry to clean up. :thumb2
solarman216
15-09-2016, 22:22
Sounds like he's too insecure [emoji38] You need a real man ;) ........... RICKKKKKKKKK.........
[emoji38]
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Yea I wish she lived nearer, be more than happy, :D Rick
Mind you Pete, had you had a Renault Clio, they would have let you have the car with the bonnet fault well documented, and they would do nothing about it, until "Watchdog" get involved.
So... I would be happy knowing the car was perfect when handed over, and I would hope they would recall the car, as and when required, should there be any other issues.
I know which french car I would opt for lol.
:thumb2
It doesn't take away the disappointment though. :(
Do you have a new name for the new car, can't be Florence, there was only one like that, and she served you well? .:thumb2
Rustic
the working name for the new car ( when it arrives :rolleyes: ) is Alice ( although that might change ) , she has got 10 bhp more than my current car !!!!!.... AND HAS A STAGGERING 100 BHP ..... oh and is ice white
Blocky10
16-09-2016, 07:15
the working name for the new car ( when it arrives :rolleyes: ) is Alice ( although that might change ) , she has got 10 bhp more than my current car !!!!!.... AND HAS A STAGGERING 100 BHP ..... oh and is ice white
Hope things are resolved soon Briggie.
We all know her as Alice now!:)
well , still no news :o
What a farce :doh
What a farce :doh
no phone calls / nothing at all :nenau
no phone calls / nothing at all :nenau
If there's anything I can do to help let me know, even if it means me calling them up on your behalf as a "disgruntled son" who is disgusted at how you are being treated when so dependant on transport?
:nenau
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If there's anything I can do to help let me know, even if it means me calling them up on your behalf as a "disgruntled son" who is disgusted at how you are being treated when so dependant on transport?
:nenau
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
I still have Florence to run about in , they have extended the lease / insurance
after several phone calls and a visit to the garage , I finally got to speak to the head of service :rolleyes: , it seems citroen will not allow the car to be registered until the issue is fixed ( didn't know they could do that :( ) , the technician ( mechanic in old terms ) said that the cure is to fit 2 washers to the bonnet catch , but despite them having hundreds of washers in the workshop , they cannot fit those :rolleyes: , they have to wait for authorisation from citroen ( who recalled it in the first freaking place ) and also wait for them to send the kit to fix it ( 2 washers )
Blocky10
26-09-2016, 21:57
Disgraceful. Makes you feel like telling them to insert it somewhere:(
If there is a set approved modification with certain approved parts to be used, and a worksheet on how to fit them, but the garage chooses to fit an alternative, and let's say something happened, then it wouldn't be Citroen who would be responsible, it would be the dealer, some of these dealers are franchises, not owned by Citroen. If it was traced back to a technician who was doing you a favour then he could loose his job, or be facing court action.
We are in a blame society, some one is always responsible, sounds mad for a couple of washers, maybe if they called them "bonnet latch adjusting shims" it would sound more professional.:augie
I can imagine the big picture, of thousands of Citroen technicians having to go to France to be trained on how to fit these "shims" and receive a Certificate of competence.
I instigated a total recall on a piece of weighhing equipment used in a hazardous area, this is serious stuff, the error was with the approval company, when I confronted them with my calculation of electrical energy dissipated in the hazardous area under certain fault conditions, and they had screwed up, their words to me were classic... "We are insured !!!"
As we were an ISO 9000 supplier, we knew every serial number and location of every installation, we did an immediate shut down of all equipment, Worldwide, for most applications, the hazzard wasn't that great as it depended on the flammibilty of the product, and most were able to continue to use it safely provided they gave a written acceptance of the downgrade.
So what did this recall do to the reputation of the company?
This is my point, if recalls are handled well, then the customer feels important, cared for, the outcome was, lthe company reputation actually increased, and in fact more sales came as a consequence.
I think the problem with your dealer was telling the customer they were waiting for two washers, had they chosen to say that they were waiting for two shims, or load spreading devices (washers) it wouldn't have made the upgrade look so trivial.
Think of the dealer, he wants shut of the car, it's taking up space, their cash flow and monthly figures are screwed up. The dealer's hands are tied.
I really understand them not registering the car, in days gone by, Ford would sell the car and then do a recall months later. We bought a new Mk III escort in 1981 it had an electronic dip stick, but it was faulty, and people simply added another litre of oil everytime the oil light came on :doh:doh
They let the cars out, with a note to ignore the oil level light but to check the level on the dipstick first. As this was a "non safety" issue, they got away with it, and replaced the dipstick within a month or so.
Not a safety issue !!! imagine doing 80 mph on the motorway, oil lamp comes on... mad dash to the hard shoulder, get out on a busy motorway check oil level, if ok try and join the motorway again, all this before Hi Viz jackets.
You still have transport, imagine (best not) if they had taken your original car away.:doh
It might be a good PR jesture to give you a few free tanks of fuel, and may be some nice citroen carpets. Show how patient you have been, and acknowledge it isn't the dealer's fault, speak to the dealer manager, not the salesman, and see what goodies you can get. PS an air freshner hanging from the interior mirror does not count.:lol
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