I'm currently in yet another dispute with Nationwide Autocentre. I'm happy in resolving it myself as I have done it so many times before. However, these problems have been going for over 5 years with several different cars and now I have simply had enough of them so I'm going to do everything I possibly can to advise people to stop using them.
Basically, I would like anyone who has also had a problem with Nationwide Autocentre to post their issue on this thread. I intend to use this as a source of information for the likes of Trading Standards, Health & Safety Executive, Watchdog and the Nationwide Partnering Manager at The AA.
I want this lousey company sorted out once and for all because I believe they are ripping people off and many of these people have no idea what's happening to them.
Anyway. Here's an email I sent recently to one of their Regional General Managers. It's a shocker:
Thank you for telephoning me earlier and apologies for being agitated on the phone, as I know you do not have all the facts yet about what has been happening, so I will happily update you. Firstly, please do not be put off by the length of this email. Once you have read it, I'm sure you'll agree, that given the detail of what has happened, it is very concise and very important that you are made aware.
I have been waiting for Andy Webb to contact me all week and have been telephoning the head office and have spoken with Donna and one or more of her colleagues on separate occasions, trying to find out why I have not been contacted.
Late last week Andy and myself agreed that an employee would inspect our vehicle to complete an assessment of what has happened. We also agreed that Andy would contact me early in the week so we could discuss a way forward once he had received his report from the employee who inspected the car.
The employee who inspected the car was also called Andy and advised me that the car should not be driven. He advised me that he was certain that the car had been "driven with some considerable force directly into a pavement at a slight angle". This has caused extensive damage to both front wheel rims which he explained would require replacement along with two new tyres.
Andy went on to explain that he was deeply concerned about the quality of the major service, MOT and 4 wheel tracking that had been carried out at the Maidstone branch. His verbal report to me was very detailed, but in brief he explained that the wheel balancing had not been carried out correctly, the coolant system had not been drained and refilled, the oil had an insufficient level in the engine, a rear wiper that had been charged at an additional cost had not been fitted to the car. You will find full and further details in Andy's report.
When I collected the car from the Maidstone branch after the major service, MOT and 4 wheel tracking I was shocked at what I discovered. My partner and I were handed an invoice for the works without an MOT certificate, emissions certificate or the service schedule. It took one lengthy discussion with Richard, branch manager, and two additional phone calls with him in order to obtain all of these documents over the subsequent 7 days.
My shock turned to disbelief when my partner, who owns the car in question, asked that I test drive the car as it felt completely different and even felt unsafe. It was clear that something was significantly wrong with the car and an initial inspection of the car revealed that several items had not been attended to as part of the said works.
I contacted Richard at the Maidstone branch and we agreed that the car be returned immediately so that the original works could be carried out. These works were never done and it was only when Andy visited us to inspect the car that he took it to the Strood branch to carry out the works himself.
Once the car was returned from Strood, it was clear that although most of the remedial works had been carried out, there was still something very wrong with the car that had been there since it had been at the Maidstone branch. This is what prompted further discussions with Andy Webb about what had happened with the two front wheels.
The question at the point is why did Andy Webb not only not contact me this week, but did not return any of my calls, even just to say that he was not going to pursue this any further. This is when he knew full well that we had yet to agree a refund on the works that had not been carried out, ie. coolant system. Andy provisionally said that he would offer a 50% discount on our next service. You can probably imagine what my reaction was at this point.
This is where things become deeply troubled; over a year ago I was in discussion with Alan Stenning who had to step in to resolve an issue I had with the Sturry branch who single handidly managed to ruin my previous car by incorrectly rewiring it when they replaced the clutch. The car would not start most of the time for circa 9 months. At first the car went in to the Strood garage because although I then used to live in Margate, because the car broke down in Margate, it went to the Sturry branch but subsequently went to Strood because I then worked in Chatham.
The Strood branch were given the opportunity to rectify the damage done to the wiring but failed to fix it and refused to take any action. After that I had an electrical specialist discover that the earthing cable had not been fitted correctly to the gear box and clutch system. A mistake which the specialist described as "amatuer". He was so concerned that he even gave me further contact details and notes so that Nationwide could discuss the issue with him.
I asked for Nationwide to cover the cost of the new battery that was fitted, time spent on identifying the fault and the work by the specialist in isolating the problem and fixing it. Nationwide refused several times over until I escalated the matter to Alan Stenning, who having had opportunity to examine the facts, was clear in his mind that Nationwide had delivered an appaling service.
I explained to Alan at the time that I believed he didn't know the half of it when I then went on to explain how one time when I collected the same car from the Sturry branch after a service my girlfriend and I nearly lost control of the car and crashed because the underside engine guard had not been replaced correctly by the garage. It fell onto the road and the car swerved onto the verge.
At that point I was reimbursed by Alan and he gave me assurances that this sort of thing would not happen again and that I should contact him directly next time I wanted to book my car in at Nationwide, so that he could oversee the process personally.
Naturally I had many reservations about doing such a thing, until my partner Katie Nichols asked that she wanted her car to have a major service, MOT and tracking, so I promised her that Alan Stenning would take care of it. I tried telephoning him but his number was no longer in operation. I believed at that time that he had left the company.
I have been made to look like a complete fool because of the assurance I passed on to my partner from Alan. Over the past five years I have used Nationwide extensively and you will see that I have spent a considerable amount of money for your service and every time I have been delivered an appaling, rude, arrogant, inadequate service. Every branch I have used has had problems which have required the intervention of senior management in order to resolve. 5 years later after more failed promises I find myself in an even worse position with Nationwide than when I was told things would be improved at Branch level.
Given the extreme seriousness of these events I have been left with no choice but to report Nationwide to the police for theft of money - the refund which has not been provided to my partner Katie Nichols - and the criminal damage to the car which must have happened when I returned the car to the Maidstone branch. I know that in whole this is a civil matter which the police will not themselves investigate, but I will be discussing it with my solicitor in order to ensure that legal action is taken.
In addition to this I will provide a full and comprehensive report to trading standards, the national and local press, internet motoring forums and do I everything I can to ensure that consumers do not use Nationwide at all.
I now ask for you to check my account of events with both Alan Stenning, Andy who has inspected the car, the Sturry, Strood and Maidstone branch and Andy Webb, and then invite you to call me and offer a pragmatic solution to this entire mess which has left my partner with a car she can no longer drive. I will later request a written apology to Kate from the chief executive of Nationwide.
There is clearly a lot that you can do to try in someway to rectify this and there is much that I hope I can explain in further detail about this to you that will help Nationwide in preventing this sort of thing happening again. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
My details are as follows: Mob: XXXXX XXXXXX (available at any time) Address: XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX Kate's car: XXXX XXX My previous car: XXXX XXX
OTHER THAN NEEDING AN EXHAUST REPLACEMENT MOT AND SERVICE MY VEHICLE WAS FULLY DRIVEABLE AND IN FULL WORKING ORDER BEFORE I TOOK IT TO NATIONWIDE AUTO CENTRE.
BASICALY I TOOK MY CAR INTO NATIONWIDE AUTO CENTRE FOR AN MOT, SERVICE AND EXHAUST REPLACEMENT A FEW DAYS LATER I WAS CONTACTED BY THE MANAGER FROM AUTOCENTRE AND INFORMED THAT MY VEHICLE WAS READY FOR COLLECTION, I PROMPTLY COLLECTED MY CAR AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS NOISE EMANATING FROM THE VEHICLES EXHAUST, WHEN I ASKED THE MANAGER AS TO WHAT THE NOISE WAS, THE MANAGER TOLD ME IT WAS THE TURBO, AT WHICH POINT I INFORMED HIM THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NOT A TURBO MODEL . THEN I WAS TOLD THE NOISE WOULD REMAIN UNTIL THE NEW EXHAUST HAD CARBONED UP, I DROVE MY CAR FROM THERE AND NOTICED THAT WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF ME DRIVNG IT FROM OUTSIDE AUTO CENTRE TO MY HOUSE AROUND 5-7 MINUTES DRIVE MY CAR STALLED, A NUMBER OF TIMES WHICH I PUT DOWN TO THE HOME. I PUT THIS DOWN TO THE ENGINE BEING COLD, WHEN I GOT HOME AND WAS GOING THRU THE PAPER WORK, MOT CERTIFICATE AND RECEIPT I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT MY VEHICLE AFTER SUPPOSEDLY BEING SERVICED HAD NOT EVEN BEEN TESTED.
THE NEXT DAY I DECIDED TO GO AND VISIT A FREIND IN CENTRAL LONDON AND DURING MY DRIVE THERE AND BACK HOME MY CAR WAS CONSTANTLY STALLING, WITH SOME DIFFICULTY I GOT MY CAR HOME, AT THIS POINT I WAS GETTING EXTREMELY FUSTRATED WITH THIS WHOLE SITUATION, THE FOLLOWING MONDAY I TOOK THE CAR DOWN TO AUTO CENTRE AND TOLD THEM ABOUT WHAT HAD BEEN GOING ON WITH THE CAR, THE MANAGER TOLD ME TO LEAVE THE CAR WITH THEM AND THEY WOULD LOOK AT IT, WHICH I DID, AND THEN I WENT BACK THE FOLLOWING DAY AND WAS INFORMED BY THE MANAGER THAT THEY HAD LOOKED THE CAR OVER AND COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND WAS INFORMED THAT I WOULD NEED TO SPEND FURTHER MONEY ON THE VEHICLE IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE CAR, TO WHICH I TOLD THE MANAGER THAT WHERE I HAD SPENT A CONSIDERABLE FUNDS TO HAVE A SERVICE MOT AND EXHAUST REPLACEMENT THEN SURELY MY VEHICLE SHOULD WORK AND DRIVE BETTER THAN IT HAD DONE BEFORE I HAD HANDED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THEM, TO WHICH THE MANAGERS REPLY WAS A FURTHER REITERATION OF HIS PREVIOUS REPLY.
ALTHOUGH I HAVE SPENT FURTHER MONEY AND HAD IT SERVICED PROPERLY, NOW IN JANUARY 09 MY CAR IS STILL MAKING NOISE FROM THE EXHAUST.
HE BASICALLY FOBBED ME OFF, SINCE THIS TIME I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE CHECKED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE MECHANICAL AND WAS INFORMED THAT IN HIS PROFFESSIONAL OPINION ALTHOUGH THE EXHAUST HAS BEEN REPLACED, THE SPARK PLUGS WERE NOT CHANGED, THE OIL HAD NOT BEEN CHANGED AND LITTLE OR NO WORK HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT WITH REGARDS TO A SERVICE OF VEHICLE, SO IN EFFECT THE NATIONWIDE AUTO CENTRE HAVE BASICALLY RIPPED ME OFF FOR £887.48 PENCE. BASICALLY I AM DISGUSTED WITH THIS TREATMENT FROM A COMPANY LIKE NATIONWIDE AUTOCENTRE.
THE LITTLE MAN BEING RIPPED OFF BY GREASE MONKEYS NOTHING CHANGES, I THOUGHT THIS KIND OF PRACTICE HAD BEEN DONE AWAY WITH OBVIOUSLY NOT.
OTHER THAN REQUIRING A SIMPLE CLUTCH REPLACEMENT MY CAR WAS IN ABSOLUTELY GOOD WORKING CONDITION AND PERFECTLY DRIVEABLE.
I GOT QUOTED A FREIGHTENING £600+. IT TOOK ME TWO WEEKS TO GET MY CAR BACK. ONCE I PICKED IT UP, EVERYTHING POSSIBLE WAS WRONG. IT HARD INTERMITTENT STARTING PROBLEMS, IT WAS VERY NOISY AND MOST SIGNIFICANTLY ALL INSTRUMENTATION ON THE DASH BOARD WAS NOT WORKING. MY BATTERY HAD ALSO BEEN DAMAGED WHICH I HAD TO REPLACE IN ORDER TO GET IT MOVING AGAIN.
I COMPLAINED TO THE BRANCH MANAGER AND WAS ASKED TO RETURN THE CAR. I ALSO REQUESTED FOR A MAJOR SERVICE ALONG WITH THE INVESTIGATION ON THE DEFECT. I WAS CHARGED £504 WHICH ALSO INCLUDED COST OF REPLACING MY BRAKE CYLINDER.
TO MY UTTERMOST SURPRISE, THE DASH BOARD INSTRUMENTATION FAULT WAS NOT RECTIFIED.
THE MOMENT I SENSED INCOMPETENCE WAS BEING TOLD ABOUT NOISE EMANATING FROM THE CAMBELT WHICH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED: I WAS IN UTTER SHOCK BECAUSE I REPLACED MY CAMBELT LAST YEAR AT ANOTHER NATIONWIDE BRANCH, SO IF PROPER INVESTIGATION AND SERVICE WA DONE ON THE CAR, THEY WOULD HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT THE CAMBELT HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED, RATHER THAN GUESS WHAT THE FAULT WAS.
IN FACT MY CAR WAS IN A WORSE WORKING CONDITION THAN BEFORE THE INITIAL CLUTCH REPLACEMENT AND LESS ThAN 2HOURS AFTER A MAJOR SERVICE. ONCE I GOT HOME ON THE SAME DAY, THE CAR FAILED TO START. I COMPLAINED AGAIN TO THE MANAGER AND WAS ASKED TO BRING THE CAR IN. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT TAKING MY CAR BACK THERE BECAUSE I KEEP GETTING RIPPED OFF, I SENSE GREAT INCOMPETENCE AND I CANT EVEN GET IT TO START.
I AM GUTTED THAT AFTER BEHAVING SPENT SO MUCH MONEY AND CONSITENTLY SERVICED AND REPAIRED MY CAR AT NATIONWIDE TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS.
DO NOT USE NATIONWIDE AUTOCENTRES - they have OVERCHARGED me! At Nationwide Autocentre, Shirley Retail Park, Solihull my bill totalled £283 for a radiator replacement on Friday 12th June 2009.This was for a job taking less than 1/2 hour on my Peugeot 206 1.1. I suspected that I had been overcharged so contacted Nationwide Autocentre, Olton Branch, to see what they would quote..I am now in receipt of a fax quoting £198 for the same job! So I have been overcharged more than 40% and completely ripped off!! DO NOT USE NATIONWIDE AUTOCENTRES
I have since made a complaint to their Customer Services Department in Olton, Solihull on 0121 707 5811. They have confirmed the overcharged and tried to attribute blame to themselves being given an overinflated price on the radiator part from one of their suppliers. I do not believe this as the part was in stock and fitted immediately! They are simply trying to cover up their overcharge rip-off inflated labour price.
As Nationwide Autocentre is "audited by the AA every 6 months to ensure costs are correct and quality is to high standards" ..they have a lot to loose. I will be writing to the Managing Director of Nationwide Autocentre, Duncan Wilkes, and also the Operations Director Bill Duffy to highlight this appauling service which I have received. Nationwide Autocentre is also a member of the trade association "Traders of the Retail Motor Industry Federation" and so I will be writing to them also to highlight Nationwide Autocentre's overcharging as this trade association is supposed to ensure certain standards are complied with, which Nationwide Autocentre has breached in my experience.
Under consumer law, for example the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (and subsequent Acts) consumers have the right to complain if the service or repair work is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, in a reasonable time and for a reasonable PRICE.
Make sure you complain about your experience if you suspect that you have been treated unfairly.. I have written to the BBC..at The One Show, and also intend to write to Trading Standards, the Managing Director and Operations Director at Nationwide Autocentre, and the Traders of the Retail Motor Industry Federation.
If you visit other websites such as www.ciao.co.uk and [www.dooyoo.co.uk] (link: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk) you will see other similar complaints about Nationwide Autocentre...get justice and complain now..let your voice be heard and for your complaint to count, to hopefully stop this scandalous over pricing happening to other members of the public.
I brought my car in on the 15-08-08 to have some work done on my breaks and this was done and the service was indeed good, however after I got the car back I was getting an noise from the front drivers wheel?, I reported this and made arrangements to pop it in when I was having the MOT in Decmeber as long as it didn't get any worse,? the MOT was done and was told that they couldn't find anything wrong and couldn't hear any noises at all?, so drove the car away and got half way down the road and started to hear the noise so called them to log the call again, I was feeling a little like it was me so I asked 2 different people to come in the car and listen to see if they could hear anything? "they heard the noise plan as day?" so when I took it back in I told them again that I had had two others in the car that had heard it so it wasn't me hearing things ha ha, again i was told that they had one of their guys to take it out on he road but still he heard no noises? but said that they had checked it over anyway, after 3 days of getting the car back and still hearing the noise from the front wheel I started to get the oil light staying on and the oil was fine? called them again,and was told I needed to book it in and not to drive it, (things don't last forever right?) so booked the car in, I was told the sensor switch's were faulty on the break pedal? your the experts?? told them about this noise problem from the first repair again and they said they couldn't do anything if they cann't hear it?, told them that its been doing it all the time so a little unsure why they can't hear it? told them that its still doing it now and happy to take someone out in it to show them?, was told they they are all busy at the moment and it was impossible right now. (Ok I understand)
Picked the car up again and was told again that they still couldn't find anything wrong? and no noise,? got the car back and the noise is still there but also seem to have another problem after this repair to do with the gear change? I'm now finding it hard to change gear so not happy and will again need to book it in, I called them again and booked it in again, after they looked at it I was told i needed a new gear box?? and its not cheap (whats going on?) so got dropped off by my girlfriend to pick my car up and guess what? they had lost my keys so I sat around waiting and waiting and waiting for about 30/40 minutes and they told me they close in half hour??and that they couldn't find my key? "is this a joke right?" so asked what happens now then I need my car? I was asked if I had a spare key that someone could bring down for me? I told them i hadn't and could they not get someone out to issue new keys buy getting the number from the lock?, they said but that would cost money? they wanted me to come back on Monday and it should turn up? I told them i had no way to get home and that I needed a lift or a car and after allot of talking and realizing I still needed to get to work I got them to agree to borrow a car.
This took two days and was told my car key was given to a different customer and that they needed the car back asap but told them i was shpping so it had to wait ..It always seems to be a problem after I've had work done and the strange thing is that the car was working ok before it went in for the breaks and was always a releiable car and always passed its MOT?..this cost me allot of time and money.
This complaint is about the standard of competence shown by the staff of Nationwide Autocentres in Oldham, and about the total indifference of their staff, including their Chief Executive, Mr Duncan Wilkes, and the reluctance of the Automobile Association to champion the cause of a member (soon to be an ex-member) of 26 years standing. I have taken the bulk of the text from my first letter to Nationwide Autocentres.
I have three general complaints about this garage, the final one I shall get to being the most serious.
I had my car, a Rover 75, serviced at the Nationwide branch in Oldham, in 2007, together with an MOT test. On this occasion, I had an exhaust fitted. A few weeks later, I noticed the exhaust began to rattle against the bodywork of the car. I contacted the Nationwide, to be told that as they were particularly busy, I would have to wait until the following weekend before they could inspect it. However, the noise of the vibration became so loud that I feared either damaging the car or being stopped by the Police. I asked my father in law to take a look. He found that that the clamp which was supposed to secure the new pipe to the original part of the pipe, had been put in the wrong place, and consequently, the new pipe was relying purely on friction to stay in place. He corrected this fault, and I took the car back to Nationwide to verbally complain and also to ask them to inspect the pipe to ensure continuation of the warranty.
My car went to Nationwide for its MOT in July 2008, and they reported several problems to me, namely excessive corrosion on the brake pipes, excessive corrosion on the brake drums, and (already known to me) a snapped handbrake cable. They suggested replacement of the brake pipes and brake drums, and of course the brake cable. They told me that the brake cable was a dealer only part, which was only available as a pair, and would have to be ordered in, so work on the car could not commence at that point. This was fortunate, because considering their ineptitude over the exhaust pipe, my father in law suggested that he should take a look at the car first. He found a little bit of surface rust on one of the pipes, which he was able to remove with the gentle use of a wire brush and no corrosion whatever on the brake drums. Finally, he was able to obtain a pair of brake cables form his local motor factor off the shelf for the price of a single one quoted by Nationwide. At his suggestion, I took the car for an MOT test at a station which he knows to be firm but honest. They found no fault with the brake pipes or drums, and of course were happy with the new handbrake cables. However, they discovered a break in one of the coil springs on a rear wheel. This was about three inches from the end of the spring, and had this not been spotted could have caused a serious accident. I know this was genuine because I saw the original spring as it came off the car to be replaced. Considering how obvious this break was, I am amazed the MOT inspector at Nationwide did not see it.
The final point of complaint, and the most serious, concerns a repair carried out by Nationwide in 2007. The head gasket failed and I had to be towed in to Nationwide by the AA for the repair. They replaced the head gasket and as a precautionary measure, the water pump and the thermostat. A few weeks later, my car started to overheat, and so I was again towed to Nationwide by the AA. They inspected the car, and concluded that the thermostat that they had installed had failed. They replaced the thermostat. A few weeks later, the car overheated again, so I took it in to Nationwide. They told me that the problem was that the thermostat housing had not been tightened up by the mechanic who replaced the thermostat, allowing water to escape! They said they’d tighten it up, and after they were satisfied it was okay, I left. A few weeks later, it overheated again. I took it in to Nationwide, and I let them have it for the day. On my return, they told me that they had given it a thorough test, including a road test, and saw no evidence of a leak. A few weeks later, it overheated again. Again I took it into Nationwide. They examined it for about fifteen minutes, after which they said they could see no evidence of a leak, and sent me away. I decided there was no longer any point in troubling Nationwide with this problem, as it was clear that they had no intention to even try to rectify the fault, and half-believing that the fault lay somewhere within the car for which Nationwide could not be held in any way responsible, I decided that the easiest course of action would be to keep topping up the coolant when necessary.
Within reason, this course of action seemed to serve well, until just before New Year this year, the car started to run very poorly, eventually refusing to run at all. I called for an AA patrolman, who spent some time with the car, and came to the conclusion that one of the apparent faults appeared to be a failed thermostat. I left the car with my father in law. When he came to replace the faulty thermostat, he discovered the disgraceful way in which it had been fitted by the Nationwide mechanic. Firstly, he saw the water was leaking from the housing of the thermostat (he couldn’t understand how this had not been seen by Nationwide). Then when he came to remove the housing, he found that it was held on only by one bolt – the threads of the other bolts had been stripped. He also found that the gasket that should have been in place between the thermostat housing and the rest of the engine had not been installed, and instead of the gasket, the “seal” had been made using sealant from out of a tube. He also found excessive amounts of sealant within the engine. Now, I am not a mechanic, but if I were to be asked to change a thermostat in an engine, I would make sure that I had the correct gasket to hand and that it was correctly fitted. I would also make sure that all the bolts and nuts securing the housing were tightened to the recommended torque settings, and if by chance I were clumsy enough to strip the thread on any of the bolts, I would take all remedial steps to ensure that the seal I created was appropriately leakproof. He also suspects that this failure of the thermostat housing to provide a satisfactory seal has probably caused the head gasket to fail again, and may have led to damage in other parts of the engine.
I chose to use Nationwide for my car servicing on the strength of the AA recommendation, and I am absolutely appalled that the AA would tolerate such shoddy workmanship from any garage approved by them, and since my experience, I have discovered many other reports of substandard service and workmanship by customers of other branches of Nationwide Autocentres. I regret the fact that I allowed myself to be persuaded by this recommendation . I am now faced with the prospect of some very expensive repair work on my car which I cannot afford, which would have been totally avoided had the Nationwide mechanic done his job and replaced my thermostat properly, or had identified the leak when I returned the car to them. this matter.
I received a reply from Mr Chris Travis of Nationwide, who said, considering the length of time since the repair, that Nationwide could do nothing to help me in this instance, and that I should have made them aware of the problems within the guarantee period of 12 months (please note, despite Mr Travis's comment, my letter to him highlighted the fact that I had taken the car back on three occasions during the guarantee period only to be met with very unsatisfactory action). Dissatisfied with this, I wrote to Mr Duncan Wilkes, Chief Executive of Nationwide Autocentres, and emailed the Automobile Association. The AA replied to say that they were unable to take any kind of action against Nationwide (a company they recommend and supposedly audit at six-monthly intervals). Mr Wilkes wrote to me promising an investigation. After his investigation, Mr Wilkes concluded that there was nothing he was prepared to do to help, and came short of calling my father in law a liar, by claiming that the thermostat housing could not have stayed attached to the car if only by one bolt. My father in law's reply to me was that apart from the one bolt, the only thing keeping the housing in place was "the amount of s**t they'd put on it".
This is not the kind of service I would expect from any reputable company, and judging by the number of complaints made by other people about them, this standard of shoddy incompetence is par for the course. Also, they have cost the Automobile Association my future membership after 26 otherwise more than satisfactory service. In these recessional times, can the AA really afford to allow members to desert them in favour of other motoring organisations. I hope that if the AA announce redundancies because of a drop off in membership, that they remember this case.
Gary Thomas
Before I start there seems to be a problem with this web site as I try to change the address of the company I am compaining about but it keeps reverting back to the one that is now displayed. The branch involved is NATIONWIDE AUTOCENTRE, 83 - 85 GUNNERSBURY LANE, ACTON, LONDON. I took my BMW 320 in following engine temp going high. They replace viscous fan coupling and expansion tank and sensors. When I got the car back there was excessive vibration, so I went back and told them it did not do that when I took it in. They told me to bring the car back the next day. They had the car the whole day and still did not know what was wrong, even after changing the only 2 week old spark plugs and two coil packs. They told me it was most probably the head gasket and would cost up to £1500 to repair and I should bring it back on monday. Sunday, I decided to have a look under the bonnet, it took me about 30 seconds to diagnose the fault and on monday £27 for the part and a further 20 mins to repair. It was a missing blade on the viscous fan, the very same fan they had removed and replaced to fit the coupling. I am not a mechanic, so I guess it would have been an even quicker job for them, so why did it take them a whole day of testing? I called the head office and was told the area manager will look in to it and get back to me the next day. I heard nothing. I then emailed the head office. I heard nothing. All I really want is for them to pay a BMW garage to check the car over following their work as I am very concerned that these mechanics at Nationwide Autocentre don't really know alot about mechanics, either that or they were planning to charge me £1500 for a new head gasket.
