# Thank you MH's (NOT)



## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

Firstly I have tried to be as neutral as possible and not add other bits are really relevant but hear say

Purchased and only serviced my GTR Black Edition at MH and have ignored the forum criticism of their service/pricing etc

My GTR was stolen from my home (with keys) mid April – Luckily it was recovered not long after. The car sat in the police pound for 3 weeks while I chased for information and recovery details. Long story short, informed me after 3 weeks it was now my decision whether I wanted to have the car forensically examined or not as they couldn’t get into it !

I decided to have the car repaired by Middlehursts (delivered 1st week May), between my own recovery cover, GTR assistance and the insurance company it took a week to arrange transport to MH.

Visual inspection showed :

Lower Front Lip Damaged
Side Skirt scuffed
Small ding in rear QP
All 4 alloys Marked
At least one seat damaged 
Carpet, bulkhead lining and soundproofing damaged
Glove box cover removed
Various other interior parts marked as they hunted for the tracker

Crap pic's as i couldn't get into the car !















































Asked for pictures to be taken by MH's as car was locked – none provided

Are you sitting down ? here is the quote from MH’s.....................(note date printed 8 weeks after car was delivered – great customer service !)




























£4k for front seats !
Car will valeted to new condition - my wife could do a better job

Now the saga starts, once insurance approved. I call MH for 4 weeks continually to check the status and get updates and being told “we are still awaiting parts” no mention of which parts.
I decide to take a back seat and wait – low and behold the 1st communication from MH’s (10 weeks since car has been delivered for repair) is a reminder that my car needs a service. Upon calling Linda, I discover that she was under the impression the car has been repaired and delivered back to me already, when in fact we are still awaiting parts. Upon investigation I am told that it is the interior carpets (ordered 10 weeks ago and pencilled in for delivery in 4 to 5 weeks time (15 weeks in total)) that is causing the delay.

A call to XXX to politely ask what the delay is and within 10 days the carpet is delivered and I have the car back. I am informed that parts XXX, yet after XXX somehow circumvented the process to have the parts delivered and car returned within 14 days (MH’s did deliver the car back).

Now I ask the question :

•	Why has it taken so long for the part to arrive ? I have heard various stories from MH’s which range from somewhat plausible to the plain ridiculous
o	A delay of 15 weeks for a part would have prompted at least :
***61607;	a phone call to me 
***61607;	alternative route to obtain parts
o	Lack of real customer service or care (I was told)
•	Zero help from GTROC – as it is a parts issue (when other members have issue don’t contact GTROC, even though it states “Direct Support on issues from Nissan GB “)
•	I have omitted how I eventually got the parts, as in the spirit of openness helpfulness that has been provided to me !
•	MH’s saw my insurance companies open cheque book ..... and we wonder why insurance is so expensive !


Dear Mr customer as a gesture of goodwill from XXX not MH’s ! £250 for having to wait 13 weeks for the part to arrive (call me cynical but £20 a week for the delay) I almost laughed but have lost the will to fight ! I will never use MH’s again (they would not discount a service or any other parts for me - plus no offer of anything) and this is my own personal experience and view, I have been as neutral as possible in my summary – the entire ownership experience has been SXXT when it started off so well ....

Should have bought a 911 Turbo, R8 or AM V8 in the first place I bet customer service would I have better (so I’m led to believe)

I don’t want to start a discussion, this is from my perspective and for the information of others


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## rob wild (Jul 30, 2007)

Doesn't sound very good! So have you got the car back yet? Is it ok?


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

EA74GTR said:


> Should have bought a 911 Turbo, R8 or AM V8 in the first place I bet customer service would I have better (so I’m led to believe)


Having owned Porsches and Audis, I'd disagree with the fanciful idea that their dealers are above serious complaint too.

And I have a close friend who has been shafted by AM quite recently to the point that even watching a Bond film makes him kick the cat.

Feel for you buddy, but your parts come from Japan which has had a little problem recently....

Not standing up for MH, but bear the issues in Japan in mind when complaining about parts deliveries for Japanese cars.


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## MARKEER35 (Jul 25, 2011)

Bought a black edition 370z new from middlehurst a year ago.called them when i was looking for a second hand r35 didn't even return my call ,yet still get these stupid flyers though my door.
and as for workmanship had rear parking sensors fitted from new then continued to hear a rattle from boot area after several weeks trying to locate the rattle took it to my local dealer.Rear bumper not fitted correctly!!!


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## TheMinel (Jun 12, 2011)

never really been keen on them, I used them a couple times when I had my 350Z, let's just say they cocked up both times...


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## Karls (Jul 12, 2010)

charles charlie said:


> Having owned Porsches and Audis, I'd disagree with the fanciful idea that their dealers are above serious complaint too.
> 
> And I have a close friend who has been shafted by AM quite recently to the point that even watching a Bond film makes him kick the cat.
> 
> ...


Understand what you're saying there but, the lack of comms from MH is unforgiveable and is appalling customer service. Regular updates should have been provided and there is no excuse for that whatsoever. :chairshot


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Karls said:


> Understand what you're saying there but, the lack of comms from MH is unforgiveable and is appalling customer service. Regular updates should have been provided and there is no excuse for that whatsoever. :chairshot


but the repair contract is between insurance company and MH :thumbsup:


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

Zed Ed said:


> but the repair contract is between insurance company and MH :thumbsup:


And common courtesy dictates updates to the customer, without which MH wouldn't be getting their ludricous £13k insurance work


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

MIKEGTR said:


> And common courtesy dictates updates to the customer, without which MH wouldn't be getting their ludricous £13k insurance work


I can't see what the price of the work has to do with anything.

a) Middlehurst surely can't control the price Nissan supplies parts for
b) Their labour rate is lower than some other HPCs
c) the customer is not paying anyway (other than the excess)

Lack of comms is always annoying, but I've always found it possible to get through to someone who knew what was going on if I made the effort to call.


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## KingOfTheGT-R (May 21, 2011)

Man your story is terrible... I'm so sorry to hear.

Note to self... Don't got to MH.


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## vxrcymru (Sep 29, 2009)

Most frustrating, I think they could have kept you more informend but as for the price and delay, we know these cars are damned expensive to fix which is Nissans fault and the trouble in Jaspan no doubt has delayed delivery.

You have the car back now, get on and enjoy it :thumbsup:


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

After complaining - the part arrived in 7 days...go figure
The customer is not paying ? how do you figure that ? do my premiums not increase ? do i not lose my excess ?
And we may ask why is the cost of insurance so high.....shall we start a list ?
Do you think MH called my insurance company, if they can't return customer calls what chance has anyone else.

Cars back and will be traveliing to see a certain Mr L for servicing


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## OldBob (Oct 18, 2010)

Timely continuous feedback to customers whether the news is good or bad is *essential*....vendors reading take note!


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## Glen (Jan 21, 2011)

Think you were too cruisey with them. I would have been in their face the entire time. That wheel alignment is crazy expensive... I do such cheap wheel alignments here in NZ.. If you moved here you would be a millionaire haha!


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## Andyuk911 (Jul 22, 2008)

Sorry to read this ...

Apart from all the rubbish they told you, we can now see why we are ripped off for Insurance....

The motor trade has a lot to answer for in the respect of hearing 'Insurance job' and then just going hell for leather ...

I hope the car is fixed to your satisfaction !


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## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

Isn't this one of those one bad post can do a lot of damage situations.

It's unfortunate what's happening, but the problem here is the supply and cost of parts. That's Nissan - not MH, and it's a 60k car from Japan - why would you assume it would be cheap?

I think the MH aspect of £45 labour is very reasonable! you won't pay less than £100 here.

So all they are guilty of really is not phoning to let you know the parts are delayed.

I would imagine that for every complaint there's probably many many satisfied customers, but I have a feeling this complaint will cost them far more than one positive post from someone else will make them.

I have my own issues with MH. They just supplied me a car that needs some corrections done to it, but their handling of me, given circumstances that were beyond their control has been exceptional, and I can't complain about their customer service at all.

If you feel that the insurance company and subsequently you are being ripped off, why not go to an approved independent garage to have it fixed?


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## vxrcymru (Sep 29, 2009)

Adamantium said:


> Isn't this one of those one bad post can do a lot of damage situations.
> 
> It's unfortunate what's happening, but the problem here is the supply and cost of parts. That's Nissan - not MH, and it's a 60k car from Japan - why would you assume it would be cheap?
> 
> ...


Paint corrections?



I bought my car from MH and their customer service was as good as I've had anywhere over the years. But I dont service my car there so cant comment from purchase onwards.


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## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

Yes, paint corrections and a scratched MFD.

No questions asked, I just sent photos and they said they will sort it for me.


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

MH's have Nissan logo and sell their cars - how can they not be associated with them ?
So from being quoted 15 weeks for the 1 part it arrives with 7 days - go figure 

Cost of call to Customer = Free
Customer Satisfaction is important

I have nothing against MH - tirade of BS was unbelivable
Put yourself in my shoes - what would you have down ?


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## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

Probably what you did, but I wouldn't blame MH for the price.


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

The price is the price - don't care but calls into question if it is a fair price !

Oh well we all end up paying in the end - so my story has an indirect impact on all


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

So to summarise:

- Middlehurst (admittedly after a bit of prompting) managed to obtain the delaying parts probably quicker than any other dealer would have been able to via their very close links to Nissan (as you said, "after XXX somehow circumvented the process to have the parts delivered")

- They charged your insurance company £45p.h. for the work and the Nissan list price for the parts (as all dealers would have to)

- Nissan GB did in fact discount your servicing by £250 as a goodwill gesture

- Middlehurst did deliver your car back to you free of charge

- You were eventually satisfied with the work done

Compared to some of the horror stories we've all read on here about other companies, I'd say you have very little to complain about... :nervous:


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

If i had not prompted would i have had to wait the full 15 weeks and then fitting time ...
MH did not off their own backs get the parts any quicker ! 
I was quite happy to pick the car up - no issue for me would have enjpyed the drive back
I can spend 250 pounds quite easily - it the grand scheme of things - doesn't mean much vs the value of the car


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

EA74GTR said:


> I can spend 250 pounds quite easily - it the grand scheme of things - doesn't mean much vs the value of the car


Youve lost more than that in depreciation while it was there lol


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

With reference to the 250 gesture of goodwill. I though he was talking the PXXS when it was offered

In Summary :

MiddleHurst - Service way below PAR, No appreciation of customers, Lack of issue 
resolution, No commuincation internally, BS excuses for parts delay

Learnt my lesson - stay away from Main Dealers unless Warranty related


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## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

EA74GTR said:


> Learnt my lesson - stay away from Main Dealers unless Warranty related


To be fair, sounds like a valuable lesson to learn, and they gave you £250 thrown in!

Litchfields all the way!


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

The reason I went the main dealer route is a "Berkshire" based Subaru tuning firm wrote off my 425 bhp Impreza Type R (it only need a new rocker cover gasket).....

His insurance cover was ShXXE

May still be lurking as a post over on Scoobynet


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## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

Colin?


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

I don't intend to get into a huge debate on this, I just thought it might help to explain a few things in more detail:

Aside from the below par customer service (from your perspective) I don't see what more MH could have done for you. Not all parts are available ex-stock even when placed on a VOR (vehicle off the road) basis, there are some parts that are so rarely ordered for example carpets that they are probably not held in stock for supply to the dealer network without a long lead time.

Cars are manufactured on a "just in time" basis these days and to pull parts from the production line is very very hard and would impact on not just one vehicle as it would hold up a production run, with all the issues that manufactures are facing in Japan today I think you would agree that the service you received on the parts supply would not have been that hard to understand.

I do understand your position at the end of the day it is "not your problem", it is for Nissan to sort out and I believe that best efforts were made, it was unfortunate that your car needed so many items of interior trim.

As has been stated previously the prices are set by Nissan ... not the dealer and with a VOR order the discount offered to dealers is much lower than normal leaving a VERY small margin in the parts, I know because I had my own dealership for 25 years dealing with all ends - Customers, Dealers and Manufacture.

With regard to labour times they are set by the Manufacture and are called "standard times" most of the time these are accepted by Insurance Companies especially with interior trim work but can still be challenged and with bigger jobs will be rounded down.

The price for the parts is what it is, most defiantly not MH's fault (they don't set them) and they was no collusion going on, in fact I would not be surprised if MH had to give the Insurance company the bulk of any discount on the spare parts, the contract for the repair was between the Insurance Company and MH, your contract is with the insurance company. If you think for one minute that the insurance company would be ripped off my MH then I think you need to look at that statement again.

By and large with non approved repairers with largish estimates an assessor is sent out to see if all those parts are really needed ... often the assessor will ask for things to be repaired rather than replaced, but MH can only do what the Insurance Company will allow and flag anything they don't like up to you so you can make a stink with the Insurance.

In closing I would like to address two of your other "questions" as they deserve an answer as well:

***8226; MH***8217;s saw my insurance companies open cheque book ..... and we wonder why insurance is so expensive !

As I hope from my explanation above that you can now see your statement is a pure knee jerk reaction and to be honest pretty insulting, yes premiums have shot up and some is due in part to the large price of spares but the increased premiums are mainly due to the large fraudulent claims made for 3rd party compensation claims.

***8226; Zero help from GTROC ***8211; as it is a parts issue (when other members have issue don***8217;t contact GTROC, even though it states ***8220;Direct Support on issues from Nissan GB ***8220

As far as I know the GTROC was not contacted for any help with this situation, if we are contacted about an issue (by a GTROC member, of which you are NOT one) we will generally offer help and advice where appropriate so long as no legal action is pending, membership of the Forum is NOT the same as membership of the GTROC ... they are two separate entities.


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## Papa Smurf (Sep 25, 2008)

Arcam said:


> I don't intend to get into a huge debate on this, I just thought it might help to explain a few things in more detail:
> 
> Aside from the below par customer service (from your perspective) I don't see what more MH could have done for you. Not all parts are available ex-stock even when placed on a VOR (vehicle off the road) basis, there are some parts that are so rarely ordered for example carpets that they are probably not held in stock for supply to the dealer network without a long lead time.
> 
> ...


Very well explained. As an owner of motor dealerships I see both sides of the story. Knee jerk reaction may sound a little simplistic, but in the bigger scheme of things, this is an experience that on the surface sounds dreadful but in reality is fairly commonplace.

Middlehursts have only done as instructed and I would suggest have made little money out of the repairs. If anyone is at fault then it is generally the insurance company or the manufacturer. In this instance, consideration has to be given to Nissan, who have had to cope with the devastating disaster in Japan.


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## EA74GTR (Sep 13, 2010)

Whats done is done. Its my experience. What would you have done in my shoes - waited 15 weeks without question ? 

When I asked for help if someone had told me become a member (which i was considering anyway) I would have done so.


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

EA74GTR said:


> Whats done is done. Its my experience. What would you have done in my shoes - waited 15 weeks without question ?
> 
> When I asked for help if someone had told me become a member (which i was considering anyway) I would have done so.


I would not have been happy with a 15 week repair schedule either and I do appreciate it was your experience. I would have spoken to the service manager Gary Finney or to Andy Middlehurst as occasionally things can get overlooked / go wrong.

Like I said before I was not aware of any request for help, so if I missed an open forum post I am sorry. Hopefully things are now well with your car and you can get back to enjoying it :thumbsup:


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## fozi.g (Sep 3, 2007)

a 15 week wait for parts is really not on in my opinion. i suppose it give s you a valuble lesson not to go back to MH's for anything. if i was in that situation i would of taken a cash in leiu settlement from the insurance company, sold the car as a stolen recoved and gone out and bought another car. at least you would of made a little bit of cash back for your inconveinience and i'm sure all of that wouldn't of taken you almost the four months it took MH just to repair the car!


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## AndyE14 (Mar 22, 2010)

Even if the parts situation was beyond MH's control, the contact they had with the customer was absolutely within their control. Why couldn't they give proactive updates? Even if the insurance company is the direct customer here the owner is surely the one that MH should be developing a relationship with even if that is in a self interested way trying to ensure that the customer remains happy to do future servicing via them and/or source new cars from them too (and not just GTR's, maybe additional cars for the wider family too).

However you cut it the way in which MH have acted here was in neither the customers interest or their own. The less control that MH had over the supply of parts etc. the more control they should have exercised over regular customer updates and suggestions (e.g Nissan GB contacts etc.).

My last brush with MH led to a bad experience which may not have been the fault of MH, but they haven't been able to follow a simple instruction to remove any and all of my details from their marketing systems. I still get crap from them through the post and even phone calls despite repeatedly telling them to stop. This is a simple day to day management issue.


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## Impossible (May 11, 2011)

i tried to buy a car from them and had to ring them twice so they would send me an email THEY wanted for confirmation.


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

AndyE14 said:


> Even if the parts situation was beyond MH's control, the contact they had with the customer was absolutely within their control. Why couldn't they give proactive updates? Even if the insurance company is the direct customer here the owner is surely the one that MH should be developing a relationship with even if that is in a self interested way trying to ensure that the customer remains happy to do future servicing via them and/or source new cars from them too (and not just GTR's, maybe additional cars for the wider family too).
> 
> However you cut it the way in which MH have acted here was in neither the customers interest or their own. The less control that MH had over the supply of parts etc. the more control they should have exercised over regular customer updates and suggestions (e.g Nissan GB contacts etc.).
> 
> My last brush with MH led to a bad experience which may not have been the fault of MH, but they haven't been able to follow a simple instruction to remove any and all of my details from their marketing systems. I still get crap from them through the post and even phone calls despite repeatedly telling them to stop. This is a simple day to day management issue.


No argument from me on this one Andy and I think a lesson has been learnt by all concerned and hopefully will not get as far as this one did again.

Parts supply can be a real issue, particularly the rarely used items with showroom cars sometimes being stripped to keep customers on the road and or complete repairs, in the OPs instance I would not be surprised to hear that happened ... leaving a car that could not then be sold until the new parts arrived and with no chance of recovering the labour involved in the removal/refit process.

NHPCs are not allowed to respond on this Forum (or any that I know of) so it is hard when a post is made of this nature to give them a fair shout, I was attempting to offer the "other side of the coin" having being there myself, but good Customer Service is extremely important for all the reasons you have listed and it costs very little to pick up the phone / send an email to let the customer know they have not been forgotten.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Just ordered a new hamburger badge for my car; at least 3 weeks wait quoted

Front grill GTR badge in stock, thankfully!

£168


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

Why are you needing new badges Ed? I know east London is dodgy but wtf?


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Zed Ed said:


> Just ordered a new hamburger badge for my car; at least 3 weeks wait quoted
> 
> Front grill GTR badge in stock, thankfully!
> 
> £168


really?

i have one here you can have brand new in the packet

i bought it for my 34 but didnt need it (its a genuine nissan R35 badge)

£40


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

matty32 said:


> really?
> 
> i have one here you can have brand new in the packet
> 
> ...


I'll take it:clap:




charles charlie said:


> Why are you needing new badges Ed? I know east London is dodgy but wtf?


got nicked last friday night outside home; I'm camped in the front garden tonight, plus I'm off to get lagered up first in case he comes back.

taking the front gtr badge I can understand, but the Nissan burger is just deviant. perp arrived in his work van......................................................................................


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

ok just send me a PM and il send you my bank account details

il pop it in the post to you


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