Problem Aygo

[telecasterisation]

Ah, so in fact you're now getting what you want, only without the alloys and A/C?

You're going to miss the A/C I'm afraid. Boy am I glad I DO have it on my "Black"...

Actually the courtesy car has alloys, they are quite clear in the link I supplied. I am not a fan of air con and that wasn't in the original spec I requested, less mpg and more to go wrong. I thought about what you said about 'missing it' and we have a Chrysler Voyager as the main family car which has air con, however I have never once used it and having just asked the wife, strangely neither has she. Guess it's just preference, I much prefer to open the windows - seriously.

On the subject of fairness to the dealer;

There is far more to this than I have detailed here, the service I have got thus far has been appalling, I switched to this dealer because the first one I tried to order a car from was beyond words.

When my car originally developed the fault I struggled to get it looked at, they eventually kept it for 24 hours and said there was nothing wrong with it, yet magically found the fault the second time having carried out the same tests. If honesty is paramount in such forums as this, then the burnt clutch diagnosis is a tentative one and the after much probing I got the service manager to admit last night that it is 'their best guess'.

Whilst I am, or rather was, quite happy with my original car, there reaches a point where you have to consider the future and having your mobility compromised by mechanical failure. Had Toyota gone straight to problem on day one, confidently replaced the faulty part/s then I would be driving it today. Circumstances have dictated that I opt for an alternative route, and although I acknowledge the conditions of the warranty are being met, it extends further than that for as the customer, I have to consider my needs ahead of issues of fairness.

[daveyjp]

So you are totally unhappy with local Toyota dealers, yet you are happy about giving them another £1000?

They are fixing your car, OK diagnostics not brilliant, but all symptons lead to clutch problems. Why it failed who knows, they sometimes do (my dad had manual Fiesta, the clutch failed after 3,000 miles - it was fixed and all OK).

One thing these auto clutch systems don't like is the clutch being ridden in any way i.e. applying power to stop it rolling back on hills etc. Neutral and handbrake every time you stop for a time will prevent premature failure.

BTW if you don't use aircon expect a large bill in the future as compressors and seals fail - ours is barely turned off.

[telecasterisation]

So you are totally unhappy with local Toyota dealers, yet you are happy about giving them another £1000?

They are fixing your car, OK diagnostics not brilliant, but all symptons lead to clutch problems. Why it failed who knows, they sometimes do (my dad had manual Fiesta, the clutch failed after 3,000 miles - it was fixed and all OK).

One thing these auto clutch systems don't like is the clutch being ridden in any way i.e. applying power to stop it rolling back on hills etc. Neutral and handbrake every time you stop for a time will prevent premature failure.

BTW if you don't use aircon expect a large bill in the future as compressors and seals fail - ours is barely turned off.

Thank for responding.

I am unsure how you reached the bizarre conclusion about me being 'happy about giving them another £1000'? I certainly never typed that and domestic harmony is far more important than my relationship with either my bank manager or any Toyota member of staff. The wife uses the second car in the evening for running the kids around and the burning smell was enough for her to make such a decision. She said she doesn't want the car back and that is the end of the matter.

As for the lesson in hill driving, is this directed at me or generically? Why do you quote hills specifically? I was driving up a hill about 15mph when the power failed.

However, the most important point that you appear to have missed, is that by the admission of the service manager, the conclusion they have reached as to the crux of the problem is 'best guess'. I clearly stated this in my last post - there is no definitive smoking gun, they are currently, and to quote his own words 'attempting' to fix the problem. From this I conclude that they are trying to locate the problem by swapping out major components - in other words, they are still unsure what has transpired.

As for the large compressor bill, the seals etc can do exactly what they care to, the vehicle has another 21 months of warranty and will be replaced in 9 months, I never keep a car longer than two years.

Incidentally, is 'barely turned off' the same as 'nearly pregnant'?

[Parts-King]

you should get something to compensate for your inconvenience and stress - perhaps a bit more than a full tank of petrol.

Sorry to hear you had a poor level of service, particularly the phone call incident. Make the Dealer Principle aware of what was said and to what has been done. I do hope they find the reason for the burnt out clutch, you don't want it happening again. As to compensation, you did have use of another car, and you should not be inconveinienced while away, sale of goods act says you should not be out of pocket, so dont expect too much, so tell them you cant get the car back until you return from holidays, hopefully the DP will step in with a reality check. Good luck Kingo

[telecasterisation]

you should get something to compensate for your inconvenience and stress - perhaps a bit more than a full tank of petrol.

Sorry to hear you had a poor level of service, particularly the phone call incident. Make the Dealer Principle aware of what was said and to what has been done. I do hope they find the reason for the burnt out clutch, you don't want it happening again. As to compensation, you did have use of another car, and you should not be inconveinienced while away, sale of goods act says you should not be out of pocket, so dont expect too much, so tell them you cant get the car back until you return from holidays, hopefully the DP will step in with a reality check. Good luck Kingo

I will not be getting the MMT version back, I have opted to purchase the courtesy car I was given whilst mine was being er... looked at.

The changeoever is taking place tomorrow, paperwork, money and my insurance takes over. Regarding the Dealer Principal, he has been my main point of contact so has been up to speed all the way.

I must be brutally honest here. The standard of interaction I have experienced has been dire from the beginning. There are a considerable number of things I haven't bothered to document here, promises that never materialised, messages that were never forwarded, emails that went ignored, letters that were never replied to.

Customer satisfaction should be paramount, and I can state that it isn't, profit is definitely top of the list, and regardless of examples of excellent service or triple cheap servicing costs, let's not forget that whilst I have no problem with Toyota per se, let's not forget that just like a policeman is just a civilian in a uniform, British Toyota staff members are just a bunch of herberts in suits who sells cars for a living.

[daveyjp]

So you are totally unhappy with local Toyota dealers, yet you are happy about giving them another £1000?

They are fixing your car, OK diagnostics not brilliant, but all symptons lead to clutch problems. Why it failed who knows, they sometimes do (my dad had manual Fiesta, the clutch failed after 3,000 miles - it was fixed and all OK).

One thing these auto clutch systems don't like is the clutch being ridden in any way i.e. applying power to stop it rolling back on hills etc. Neutral and handbrake every time you stop for a time will prevent premature failure.

BTW if you don't use aircon expect a large bill in the future as compressors and seals fail - ours is barely turned off.

Thank for responding.

I am unsure how you reached the bizarre conclusion about me being 'happy about giving them another £1000'? I certainly never typed that and domestic harmony is far more important than my relationship with either my bank manager or any Toyota member of staff. The wife uses the second car in the evening for running the kids around and the burning smell was enough for her to make such a decision. She said she doesn't want the car back and that is the end of the matter.

As for the lesson in hill driving, is this directed at me or generically? Why do you quote hills specifically? I was driving up a hill about 15mph when the power failed.

However, the most important point that you appear to have missed, is that by the admission of the service manager, the conclusion they have reached as to the crux of the problem is 'best guess'. I clearly stated this in my last post - there is no definitive smoking gun, they are currently, and to quote his own words 'attempting' to fix the problem. From this I conclude that they are trying to locate the problem by swapping out major components - in other words, they are still unsure what has transpired.

As for the large compressor bill, the seals etc can do exactly what they care to, the vehicle has another 21 months of warranty and will be replaced in 9 months, I never keep a car longer than two years.

Incidentally, is 'barely turned off' the same as 'nearly pregnant'?

The £1000 - you have slated Toyota dealerships to high heaven, but then you are giving them another £1,000 and happy to be at the mercy of them again should you have another problem? If I wanted an Aygo type car I'd have considered a replacement from Pug or Citroen. If I was as unhappy as you about a company I'd never use them again - it's one reason why I would never have a Mercedes - bad experience has put me off for the foreseeable future.

Hill driving - it was a general comment and advice about how to treat auto clutch systems, it can't be directed at you as I've never seen you drive the car. I've owned various auto clutch system cars for over 6 years so have picked up quite a bit of knowledge about them. Over years of driving manuals many drivers use the clutch to hold on hills, rather than apply the handbrake. This is not much good for manual clutches, but on auto clutch systems its worse. You can apply a little power and get the car to hold on the clutch, but this wrecks clutches very quickly - I know a smart mechanic and he has replaced clutch packs after less than 1,000 miles due to such abuse, . Ride the clutch on my Audi DSG and the car shuts down to prevent expensive damage - they wouldn't fit such a system if they weren't aware of the problem

I am also aware of how flimsy the Aygo manual clutches are. I reversed up our drive and didn't do it quick enough so the front wheels ccouldn't mount the kerb. Applying power to get it over a 2 inch kerb resulted in a very strong burning clutch smell, so I rolled back down and started again, but drove slightly quicker.

Aircon - that's up to you, but when you reach the point where you may not be changing every two years you may change your thinking.

Barely turned off means it's on for 90+% of the time. It does sap power noticeably in the Aygo, epsecially when the car has more than one person in it, turning it off improves performance in the hilly area we live.