clanixion Posted August 26, 2004 Posted August 26, 2004 Back in June, I had my Bling in for a service. Got a phone call later that day telling me that the brakes needed cleaning and re-adjusting. Possible cost £70. I informed the garage that they had carried out brake cleaning, re-adjustment and re-lining at teh last service - about 3 months before. They said they would look in to it and the problem miraculously vanished ! Got the Bling back and again despite promises it hadn't been washed or cleaned. A day or so later I notice that the engien is sounding rough. I phone the garage and they tell me to bring it in the next morning "for a quick look". At home I discover a pool of oil in the driveway and a check under the bonnet reveals that the oil filler cap is missing and the contents of the sump have been sprayed all over the engine compartment. I find the filler cap down the back of the engine and top up the oil. Strangely the oil which was all over the engine and the driveway was black and dirty - after only two days ? I take the Bling back to the garage at 8am the next day and they say they will have a quick look. I tell them it needs to be quick because iI have to be at the airport for 9:45am. After an hour I enquire as to what is happening and am informed that they have removed the steering wheel and the steering column to fit a new indicator stalk - a problem that was not fixed at the service. Needless to say my bllod is boiling and I am late for the appointment at the airport. Later on, when I check the Bling, I find out that they haven't bothered to change the oil, just clean the engine. I also notice that the washer reservoir is empty - after I was charged for washer fluid. So I write to the garage and hear nothing. 4 weeks later I contact Citroen UK and they tell me to write to the franchise owner. I do this and still nothing. Early August, I contact Citroen UK again and they ask me to forward all correspondence to them and they will deal with it. I do this - and hear nothing. Lo and behold, today (26th August) I get a phone call from the garage telling me that they have received my complaint and are dealing with it. It has taken 2 months for Citroen to acknowledge that I have made a complaint. God only knows how long it will take for them to do anything about it. Quote
clanixion Posted September 21, 2004 Author Posted September 21, 2004 Got a reply from Citroen Retail World in Glasgow - eventually. Nearly three months after writing to them Ireceived a letter which in a round-a-bout sort of way says. "Not our fault." What they did mention was that they have seen instances of the oil filler cap working loose on a few 2.0Hdi engines of it's own accord. So be aware - it could happen to you. Citroen service - my *rse ! Quote
PhilW Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 "they have seen instances of the oil filler cap working loose on a few 2.0Hdi engines of it's own accord." What b*llocks! Just an excuse - bet they didn't offer any evidence. Is it worth a complaint to Trading Standards? I would be tempted to write back and say that as well as the fact that you will never use their garage again you will derive great pleasure from posting about this on every motoring/motoring magazine website you can find as well as Watchdog, local papers etc - all for the sake of an oil change and washer fill - bloody hell for what that would cost them it would be worth them giving you an oil change and washer fill even if they thought you had deliberately taken the oil cap off and emptied the washer bottle. What has happened to customer relations? Quote
hertsnminds Posted September 22, 2004 Posted September 22, 2004 [quote]"they have seen instances of the oil filler cap working loose on a few 2.0Hdi engines of it's own accord."[/quote] If this is the case then this sounds like a SERIOUS safety problem and would warrant a Citroen recall of all vehicles fitted with that engine and oil filler cap. It would be interesting to know what the AA or RAC have to say about how safe a car with hot oil being sprayed over the engine and an empty sump is. I would write a letter to the Motor Manufacturers Association cc The AA, The RAC, Citroen, Watchdog, Top Gear and the Service Manager of the dealership that informed you of this KNOWN ISSUE and then see what response you get. Ian Orange 03 Senso (Pluriel) Quote
DickieG Posted September 22, 2004 Posted September 22, 2004 Call me a cynic but personally I would treat this 'Known fault' diagnosis with a pinch of salt. Quite clearly the cap was not replaced correctly by the 'Mechanic' refilling the oil, so in order to pass the buck away from the service dept a 'Cock and Bull' story was invented. If the dealer insists that it is a known fault then ask him to show you the Citroen 'Service Bullitin'. I fear that he will be looking for it for some time............................................................ Quote
pork_pie Posted September 22, 2004 Posted September 22, 2004 This concept of oil filer caps unscrewing themselves is the biggest slice of bull5hit ever to be uttered from any dealership. What has happened to modern cars and the service that goes with it nowadays? It is a complete joke. Quote
hertsnminds Posted September 23, 2004 Posted September 23, 2004 I suspect it is BS too that is why letting all the major motoring organisations know what BS is being punted out as sound advice will show up the dealership as the plonkers they are. Maybe we need a BS quote of the week thread... "They all do that sir" "We are waiting for the parts" "This is the first time we have seen that" "You need to push down on the door for it to shut correctly" "I can't hear any noise Madam" etc etc etc Ian Orange 03 Senso Quote
clanixion Posted October 1, 2004 Author Posted October 1, 2004 So here's the thing ...... Went back to Belmont Citroen in Stirling to get them to fix a couple of problems before the warranty runs out (60,000 miles in 18 months) and I "bump" into the girl who sold me the original Bling. Starts to tell her all the woes I have had with the service over the last 18 months and tell her that it will be a cold day in hell before I reccomend Citroen to anyone. Hmmm, says she. Howabout you give my your Bling, I give you a new one and you just continue to pay what you were paying for the next three years ? Nah, says I, wouldn't work. I go home, look up the value of an 18 month old 2.0 Hdi with 60,000 miles on it, cry at the pitiful amount Parker's thibnk it's worth and come rapidly to the conlcusion that a new Bling might not be a bad idea. One week later I have an Artic Silver 2.0 Hdi 54 plate Bling, £500 quid in various cash back / trade in deals and a new 12 month warranty. Happy ? Me ? BTW It's amazing how many things work loose in 60,000 miles. The new Bling feels great. Quote
PhilW Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 That sounds like a damn good deal to me. Has your new Bling got all the extras, ABS, full airbags etc or did your old one have them anyway? And surely the warranty is for 3 years? Quote
tronboy Posted October 3, 2004 Posted October 3, 2004 [quote name='PhilW' date='Oct 2 2004, 11:55 PM'] And surely the warranty is for 3 years?[/quote] The warranty is for 3 yrs, 60,000 miles, whichever is the sooner I think. As for Parker's and Glass's Guides, the values of Blingos bear no relation to the prices achievable in a private sale. The values ARE however valid for trade-in figures. Your dealer gave you an unusually good deal because there is high demand for new Blings. I expect she had a punter waiting in the wings for it, and if not, just watch the screen price when it appears on the forecourt! A year ago to the day I sold my 80,000 mile 98S Berlingo 1.8 petrol 3door original model (They all had electrics pack, funky upholstery and sunroof) for a shade under 4 grand. I had to fight them off with the proverbial slippy stick, so I guess even at that it was underpriced. Next year, when my current one gets sold, ( it will be by then a 40,000 mile 53reg HDi with air-con and other toys) I expect to get around 6.5k for it, yet this is precisely what Glass's value it at now with 20K on the clock. Take a look at the prices these cars are going for in Auto Trader. They're the only Cits that have decent residuals. What spec did your Bling have? Anything with aircon seems to be in demand, possibly because few Blings are thus equipped...... TronX Quote
clanixion Posted October 7, 2004 Author Posted October 7, 2004 My Bling was an 03 2.0 Hdi with no extras. I had clocked up 60,000 in 18 months. According to the dealer, they were going to send the Bling straight to auction as it had too many miles in too short a time for them to stick in on the forecourt. The model I got in exchange was exactly the same apart from the colour (which I like better). Quote
tronboy Posted October 8, 2004 Posted October 8, 2004 I bet some member of staff wanted it then! Quote
Oxymoron Posted October 8, 2004 Posted October 8, 2004 Hi, I expect that now the standard spec has changed, a few dealers are trying to offload old stock and some good deals can be had! Cheerz. :blink: Quote
clanixion Posted October 11, 2004 Author Posted October 11, 2004 Ah well. It was too good to be true. I took the new Bling for it's 1,000 mile service (a week after I got it) and had my latest run in with Citroen service. The horn doesn't work and the airbag light comes on all the time. Service man tells me that they cannot fix these problems as I have fitted a JVC CD player which invalidates the warranty. I march round the corner and tell the sales person I want my old Bling back as it worked with the CD player. Turns out that there has been a change made to the multi point wiring and the diagnosrtic machine used by the service people can't work unless the original radio is there. Cue much high blood pressure and heated discussion with the service people. I put the original radio back in (which takes 5 minutes) and an hour later they come to the conclusion that ........ wait fo it ............. the horn doesn't work and the air bag light is coming on. They're attitude is that it is up to me to have the original radio fitted everytime I hand the Bling in for a service. Somehow I don't think that it's my problem when the tools they want to use don't work on my Bling, get different tools that work !! Quote
hertsnminds Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 So what is different about Blaupunkt or Dayton ICE systems compared to JVC. Both Blaupunkt and Dayton systems are offered on the Citroen website as accessories for the Bling, so does this mean if you choose these options they cannot service your car? Ian Orange 03 Senso Quote
tronboy Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 The original equipment is either VDO Dayton or if you're lucky, a Clarion. Both units are visually identical, but if it's a Clarion, they mark it with their logo. Blaupunkt is no longer specified as a Lingo OEM. The VDO Dayton units have shite radio reception, and the Clarion units have over-enthusiastic station auto-search. Take your pick. I can see why you wanted a JVC unit, although the CD player section is very fussy about the disc being exactly Red Book standard. The Sundae Club CD for example (PLUG PLUG PLUG....) has a special feature on track 1, and JVC units can't access it. Is it a JVC changer using the original head unit, or an in-dash unit? Tron Quote
Oxymoron Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 Hi, I was going to change the door speakers on my car, as the sound quality is very tinny!....But six months on, I still haven't got round to it! :D With regard to Citroen service departments...My car developed a running fault, whereby it would speed up and slow down of it's own accord, on the motorway and seemed very hesitant.The dealer said that because the fault occured above 70mph they couldn't help, because it is above the national speed limit!! :o Anyway, they did give it a test run and couldn't find anything wrong!....and ran lots of tests!?....In the end I had to look under the bonnet myself and found that an electrical connector was loose!...I pressed it back together and since then there's been no re-occurence of the problem! I didn't buy a new car to have to fix it myself!...I've spent too many years doing that on old cars! :o Cheerz. :blink: Quote
clanixion Posted October 15, 2004 Author Posted October 15, 2004 Turned up on Wednesday morning 9am to get my comms unit changed which would fix the horn adn the airbag light. "Ummm, Errrr, Ummmmm" says the service man, "The parts aren't in and won't be until 29th October." So another wasted journey because no one at teh dealer could be bothered to phone me and let me know. I created hell and after two days they offered me a C3 courtesey car while mine waited on the comms unit. What use is a C3 to man or beast ? I bought a Berlingo, I need a Berlingo and the only thing they were willing to do was lend me a C3. Quote
StephenM Posted October 20, 2004 Posted October 20, 2004 Beware of guide prices... The industry standard is 'glasses' but by that I mean - dealers will always give bottom book (trade) or less and sell at top book (or more) so if you go armed with a book they will make you feel grateful to go just under top book! example I was going to trade in my clio 1.2 for the blingo, the car had 40k on the clock, was totally mint with history - top price (dealer) was £3400 ish, bottom (trade) was £2400 approx. Arnold Clark offered £1800 max as a trade in and no discount of new blingo! (they has clios like mine at £3500+) Citroen retail world offered £2000 but again no discount so got fed up - sold clio to relative for £2800 and got a whopping £600 reduction + the £1000 cashback from Parks. My advice is always sell private. When I flog the blingo in a year and a half it will be 3 years old with 60k miles and a FSH - I expect to sell it easier than any car I have ever owned at a great price! Even my saxo VTR had 70k was mint and 4 years old - got £3700 for that! If the car is tidy it will sell. Quote
Oxymoron Posted October 21, 2004 Posted October 21, 2004 Hi, Has anyone tried trading their Berlingo in at 12 months old?....What sort of trade in price could be expected? I'm a bit annoyed that abs and passenger airbag are now standard fit, when the dealer forgot to add them to my original order when they were only available as extras extras! Cheerz. B) Quote
diggerdog Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 [quote name='clanixion' date='Oct 15 2004, 07:03 PM']Turned up on Wednesday morning 9am to get my comms unit changed which would fix the horn adn the airbag light..........What use is a C3 to man or beast ? I bought a Berlingo, I need a Berlingo and the only thing they were willing to do was lend me a C3.[/quote] Clanixion, This sounds so familer im now at the stage where the dealership cant sort the prob would you mind PM me to let me know how you got on and if the comms unit sorted the prob (im now on comms num 3, No 4 just been ordered !)many thanks Quote
tronboy Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 [quote name='Oxymoron' date='Oct 21 2004, 06:23 PM'] Hi, Has anyone tried trading their Berlingo in at 12 months old?....What sort of trade in price could be expected? [/quote] I traded mine in at 24 months old with 56,000 miles and got 6.5k for it. Quote
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