Utter shitshow of a garage damaged my car bonnet while in for MOT. I collected car in wet/dark afterwards hence only noticed the next morning in daylight. Stupidly I didn’t think to check for damage (why would I?!) before leaving the garage. 100% consistent with some ****wit pushing down on the bonnet to close it instead of closing it properly. Of course, they're denying any knowledge or responsibility. D&G Autocare, to name and shame. 'Kin raging doesn't cover it 🤬
Very much my word vs theirs.
I’m hoping a dent removal person can fix these but the complication is the bonnet’s double-skinned at this point. It's an otherwise pristine 2014 MINI.
Other than Bombers / frozen sausages / lawns / dogs, any suggested course of action? I don't want to let them off the hook with this, but equally I've got lots more important things going on in my life and this isn't highest priority.
Do I have any leg to stand on here?
Any chance you've a 4k doorbell camera that might show it OK before taking in ?
(or a dashcam - worth checking just in case?)
I had the very same thing. I picked my car up from a garage after getting work done. The car was driven up me, the mechanic got out, I got in and drove home. I parked in my garage and when closing the door saw the dent in the back.
You've left the premises. There's nothing to be done as far as I'm aware.
If it was there for a short time, you could demand to see CVTV, but there's no guarantee that it would show. In my case, my car had been there for 3 weeks while they sourced a part. No way are they going through 3 weeks of CCTV.
You'd have to have video or picture proof of your bonnet up to your leaving the car and then CCTV proof of it on their premises as dented to get anywhere.
I put it down to one of those things. My dent was about 6-8" circular. I found a local repair shop that came out and he did magic with a heat gun, a huge light and a hammer and over about 60 mins it vanished. Expensive...but i paid and got on with life and vowed never to go back to the garage.
A lesson for everyone, when dropping off your car, do a quick 360 with your video or a few pics. 99.999% of people will never need the use the pics, but for that odd chance it could save you a lot of money.
Unfortunately no CCTV etc. Have decent CCTV at home but typically I reverse into the drive off the main road rather than forwards, so front of car not visible. No dash cam footage.
Definitely a lesson learnt. Ironically, my car was at Mini main dealer a few months ago for recall work and I took a video walk round of the car at drop off and checked it again on collection, due to my distrust of garages. I'd used D&G a few times annually for MOT on a recommendation from my usual mechanic (who does other work on my vehicles), so foolishly it didn't enter my mind to do the same.
Filing this in the life's too short box and moving on. I've asked them for access to their CCTV but suspect they'll come up with some reason that prevents me viewing it.
Thankfully, general advice from other Mini owners is this type of damage on this bonnet is usually 99% fixable by a decent PDR person. I just need to find one now.
All you can do is vote with your feet.
As for the dent, a good PDR man in a van will get that out no sweat. Get any door dings done at the same time.
And tell everyone you know never to use that garage.
Or send them a letter before action then go via the Small Claims route for the PDR costs. Just saying they didn't do it shouldn't be enough. I'd go this route just to be bloody minded even if it ended in a stalemate. I did this a few years ago with Snappy Snaps when they ruined a couple of films of mine. They denied liability, I claimed the costs of repeating the trip to retake the pics. They paid at the Court immediately before the hearing.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but are you sure such a dent could be made just by pushing the bonnet shut?
Looks more like something has been dropped onto it.
A right pain in the arse though, I hope you can get some recompense from the garage to sort it out.
Or send them a letter before action then go via the Small Claims route for the PDR costs. Just saying they didn't do it shouldn't be enough.
And then what?
You can't prove they did it and you can't prove it wasn't there before.
All you'll do is incur more costs.
I dropped a rubber mallet on my car bonnet and it looks like that. It was me who did it so only miffed for a day.
Various garages have scratched my car over the years, I go back and ask the owner what happened. Twice now they ve fessed up and repaired at their cost. I think they think no one would notice.
You can tell the ones who know and just deny it, no eye contact and just look everywhere but you and the dent, fidgety hands and feet.
My main dealer asks that dash cams are turned off when the car is in for a service. I've no idea why, but that's a bit of a worry. I did check the mileage etc before dropping the van off (I don't have a dash cam).
Those querying the mechanism of the damage - there’s symmetrical dents either side of the badge, close to where the catches are, just where someone would push the bonnet down with both hands. I’d be amazed if it was achy other mechanism of ‘injury’.
I’ve been recommended a local(ish) PDR guy who’s apparently very good, so will be contacting him in the new year.
https://www.jagautoengineers.co.uk/
Tell John I sent you.. Not cheap, but they are excellent and never had an issue in 15 years of using him and the team.
https://www.jagautoengineers.co.uk/
Tell John I sent you.. Not cheap, but they are excellent and never had an issue in 15 years of using him and the team.
Thanks Matt. I'm lucky that I've got a local mobile mechanic I trust fully, but being mobile he doesn't do MOTs.
There's a garage/MOT station 200mtrs from my front door which would be very convenient if it wasn't for the owner's 'interesting' political views...