22 replies to this topic

[GTIAlex06]

Bit of a rant/review of my experience with some items iv purchased from minispares over the years.
Iv had the mini three years and drove nearly 50,000 miles so that parts i buy do get a good road test.
Anyway.


My main gripe is the the "Heavy Duty Blades and Arms"

I got purchased these two Christmas ago to replace to standard black bosch arms and blades i had fitted which worked perfectly, cleared all water, NO smears...Perfect.
However i replaced them for purely cosmetic reasons.

First problem was that i got supplied with two different types of arms, one with a wider end than the other, meaning the blades would fit...so took a trip to get it changed...no problem

Finally fitted the heavy duty kit, no real problems with that until it came to actually using them.
They cleared nothing...and i mean nothing. Id of done a better job leaning out the window and using a rag...smears all over the place, terrible and dangerous. Item not fit for purpose.
I inspected the rubber and it was serrated and rough, rather than being smooth, so they never stood a chance of clearing and water.
No problem, il go and exchang them. So i popped into Minispares , again, (during the refurbishment) to be met with an unfamiliar lack of customer service, (put this down to the shake up of the refurb) being told that "minis never could clear the screen properly" and that I shouldn't expect them to clear the water very well.

Not the response i was expecting.
However the offending items were replaced and i was on my way. This second set looked fine but once fitted, the drivers side cleared water OKAY, but still left a smear right at eye level and the passenger side was again, terrible.

I had to put up with this for a month or so, due to time/work/uni commitments. However, after a while the problem got worse and within weeks, the rubbers had split on both blades...again, not fit for purpose.

Another exchange took place, and another period of having to put up with awful wipers until this week AGAIN the rubbers have totally split and have now left hairline scratches (which polished out) in the throw of the wipers.

I have re fitted my old blades, and they clean the screen perfectly.

Overall, not impressed and will be visiting minspares again this week to resolve the issue.

SECONDLY

I got purchased these http://www.minispare...|Back to search

as a gift and was not impressed to see that stainless steel screws are not provided, meaning the screws have gone rusty spoiling the finish...seems a bit pointless to me? No real problem as iv sourced my own but don't feel i should of had to in the first place.
The rubber is also of poor quality, leading to it "leaking" down the paintwork every time it rains/gets washed.

THIRDLY

Fuel caps...

Iv been through three of them now, all from minispares.


First one didn't seal....could of done a better job using some gaffer tape over the tank
Second one the lock fell out.
Third one, the rubber perished within weeks and leaked and then the lock feel out last week.
(again yes yes they do leak fuel i get that, however my tatty ORIGINAL one never leaked a drop. So why should i put up with poor quality NEW items?)

Will be also exchanging this AGAIN


I could carry on and talk about times iv been given the wrong items and had to go back...or had items missing from kits etc etc but i wont.


Feel let down by the quality of the items recently from minispares and starting to loose faith in them.
The customer service is usually very good have a few very good members of staff who they would be lost without however using the car Daily and having to put up with poor essential items is getting frustrating.


EDIT: The mirrors iv posted are the chrome ones but i meant to post the stainless version

Edited by GTIAlex06, 05 December 2012 - 04:52 PM.

[mk3 Cooper S]

Yep cheapo far eastern parts fill the lists these days.

I'm sure Simon will be along soon to make it better for you but this is happening all too often these days.

Edited by mk3 Cooper S, 05 December 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[GTIAlex06]

Id like to add that the adjustable rear camber brackets are frankly useless as well.
Poor quality welding, lots of splatter, holes dont line up and once fitted, dont allow for any toe adjustment without modifying the bracket. There is a thread running on this already so i wont add much more than that.

[JackF]

I think, like others, a lot of the problems actually come from the manufacturers. Although I think that the larger companies should do as much as possible to ensure parts are fit for purpose.
I had a similar problem with heater valves that just disintegrated withing seconds of operation. (meaning a huge loss of coolant, see my thread for photos).

Having said this, I was more than impressed with minispares response to the matter.

[jamiestevenbell]

I had a mini spares adjustable camber brackets weld brake on me! Utter trash 1/2 penetrated welding!

[mars red mike]

To be honest mate i thinkk you have had a run of bad luck with parts. Ive been using Minispares Midlands for nearly 15 years and can count the problems ive had in that time on one hand. Whenever I did have to return something it was sorted out there and then no probs at all. As for customer service Dave, John and Paul at Oldbury are sound guys. Always very helpful and I always have a laugh with them when I go in. The Jag guys are sound too and always do thier best to help.

There were a couple of guys that worked the counters a fair few years ago that I could of dragged over the counter and smacked but they have long gone now. On the whole, fantastic service.

[1964Woody]

I have had the same experience with the 'Heavy Duty' wiper arms and blades. They did not work well from the moment of installation. The blades disintegrated after about a month and a half- it was mid-summer and they probably were not used 5 times. It was not worth the effort to try to return them from western Canada so I just found some other blades. Even then, the 'Heavy Duty' springs on the arm are no such thing and barely do the job.

[mk3 Cooper S]

I have had the same experience with the 'Heavy Duty' wiper arms and blades. They did not work well from the moment of installation. The blades disintegrated after about a month and a half- it was mid-summer and they probably were not used 5 times. It was not worth the effort to try to return them from western Canada so I just found some other blades. Even then, the 'Heavy Duty' springs on the arm are no such thing and barely do the job.

Exactly - EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE OR IN THIS CASE THEY APPEAR NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE THEY WILL STILL BE DISPATCHED HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD!!!

Edited by mk3 Cooper S, 06 December 2012 - 02:01 PM.

[GTIAlex06]

Im not knocking the guys at the branch, their more than happy to help.

Its the quality of the parts im not happy with.

Just been out playing with the array of fuel caps now have and its a joke looking at the quality. Shouldn't really be having to carry round a spare.

[mk3 Cooper S]

Yep Cheapo parts will cost em in the long run

[GTIAlex06]

Problem is there isn't much of an alternative

[mk3 Cooper S]

There is for most things. It just costs a bit more

[[email protected]]

I have Pm'd the original poster to find out which parts were purchased and when in more detail. Once they have been returned to Midlands, they can be sent back to the (UK) manufacturers to see what has occurred

Both the mirrors above and the HD wipers are manufactured by Tex which are wholly owned by British Motor Heritage. Back in 2009 there was a quality issue with the fitting of these, (not the issue above) which meant they were out of stock for many months. If a product is faulty, and returned to us, we will fully investigate any issues inconjunction with our suppliers

[GTIAlex06]

See as I said, good customer service :)

[minidaves]

shame but seems to be the case on lots of stuff from lots of places, I aint worried about the price I worry about the quailty.