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