Thanks for all the contributions.
Like I said earlier, I had identified one supplier as being behind 13 out of the 23 "cases" I listed in the original post, and I wrote what I hoped was a polite and balanced - what do others think ? - enquiry as follows on September 12th 2016 :
Dear XXXX,
Nobody ever replied to the detailed email I sent you at the end of December 2014, I guess it wasn't terribly palatable.
I have since taken thousands of pounds of my business elsewhere, since I can cope with people getting it wrong or selling junk as long as they keep the discussion open.
I today posted an account of my experiences within the Mini business on TheMiniForum here
http://www.theminifo...ubbish-service/
and whilst I have remained anonymous regarding the identity of the suppliers, in point of fact out of the 23 instances quoted in my post, I believe 13 of them concerned parts I bought from yourselves.
These are : steering-rack exchange, camber brackets, stage 1 inlet manifold, drop-stop rubbers, wiper spindle rubbers, instrument bulb-holders, voltage regulator, bump-stop cone, hand-brake cables, rear brake hoses, front brake hoses, thermostat, Maniflow exhaust
I am therefore contacting you - as I am the other firms involved, there are 5 or 6 of you - to respectfully request you make some general comments about your feelings regarding the points I raised, and I will print them without making any specific link to the parts involved, since these were sourced several years ago and presumably these considerations have now been addressed ?
I would hope you might take this attempt at opening a dialogue more seriously than you did my attempt in December 2014.
Kind regards,
XX
As of close of play today, I've not had any reply.
To put this into context, the email I refer to from December 2014 - and to which I never received a reply - ran as follows :
Hi XXXX,
The rack seemed to be taken back with pursed lips because we'd had it a while ; technically that's fair enough - and out of politeness I didn't want to just send a manifold back without asking.
I cannot remember ever having asked for "technical advice", really, just for help with problems with parts that didn't fit, or were incorrectly supplied.
Furthermore, I haven't honestly been terribly impressed ; the issues regarding the camber-brackets were pushed off to XXXX to deal with, and I sorted a credit note out with them directly.
Handbrake cable ? "they're all like that".
Hose clamps ? Wrong sizes supplied twice despite pleas to check, took 3 attempts to get the right ones.
There have been so many other issues with the parts supplied that I have started to write an article (which will NOT name you because almost all Mini suppliers are selling the same junk, and it is NOT XXXX's fault - I've enclosed some pictures.
You'll note that I've not bothered you with any of these, but dealt with them myself. I just feel sorry for the amateurs who must end up with these same problems and do not have an extensive workshop, a deep pocket, and 40 years' of engineering experience behind them.
- Exhaust system - nothing fitted, all alignments way out, brackets incomprehensible, 'U's too short for thread engagement, no fitting advice or instructions. A joke. Took a whole day to make it fit, and remade most of the bracketry myself.
- Windscreen-wiper bezel rubbers ; originally these are hard plastic - because they are compressed by a nut. Those supplied are soft rubber and are now in the bin.
- Voltage-regulator ; first attempt at connection - the Lucar spades rotate on their rivets because they've not been compressed properly.
- Front bump-stops ; drunken and unidentifiable threads, had to force M6 nuts on and hope I never had to take them off
- Rear brake hoses ; too short by 10 or 15mm
- Instrument light bulb-holders ; the claws fall out (on all 3) the very first time they're installed
- Front suspension Ball-joint taper nuts ; made from chewing gum ? Loose and half stripped from new, threw in bin and used old ones.
- Hand-brake cables ; spring-end cups with no locating nose, so the cables just fall out sideways.
- Front stub-axle / CV assy ; threads machined torn and rough, tolerances on shafts/nuts way off-spec
and now .......
Inlet manifold ; no flow through the "water-cooled" feature - how long would that have taken Joe Punter to discover ?!
Please remember that I ran a business like yours for 20+ years (mail order, specialist vehicle, both to retail and trade) so I do have some idea what is involved, and about your frustrations and your difficulties with which I do sympathise.
In the hope that this frank exchange has not destroyed my chances of working with you in the future.
Kind regards,
As I re-read myself, I'm actually a little embarassed how compliant and conciliant I sound ! Once you've been in the same business as someone else you are actually acutely aware of how it feels to be in their shoes, and my tone is more of sadness than anger - isn't it ?
ANYWAY, I've just sent a polite reminder to all 3 email addresses I've used in the past, AND whilst waiting for them to reply I've been completing my Rogues-Gallery from older pictures and notes - to the extent that I'm now at 17 out of 28 instances where this firm was behind the supply.
Maybe they'll yet wake up and smell the coffee ............... ?
