Mr Clutch does it again!

[NumanR]

This story is unbelievable, but it is true, and I think, it shows you get what you pay for.

A new customer of ours (now at least thanks to Mr Clutch), came in yesterday with all his warning lights on, on his 2001 punto 1.2, engine wouldnt start and he was mighty upset. He came in and asked could we help, no problem I said and came out to check the car over. After opening the bonnet I saw the gearbox earth strap loose, it needed two complete turns on the securing nut before it even started to grip the earth strap. Also noticed the speedo transducer was disconnected! I started to think this was a set up as I couldnt believe anyone could turn this rubbish out. I asked the customer if I could call Mr Clutch to arrange him to pay us directly for sorting the earth and resetting all the screwed up ecus. So I called Mr Clutch @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ was the response I got. So I sorted the cars ecus and dropped the price to look after the customer, and heres the best part of the story. The manager came down from Mr Clutch and said that it must have been all ok when the car left the day before, anyway the customer would have to pay the charges and then write to head office to try and claim it back, but as the customer hadnt called Mr Clutch first they wouldnt pay. I spoke to our customer and asked if the manager had come in and seen him, "no" he said, "was he here?". I started talking to this guy and he said that the clutch had been changed the day before, his second in 9 months. But heres the rub, because the clutch wasnt changed under warranty because the warranty inspection hadnt been done every three months?????? Can this really be true that they can get away with this and get out of a 1 year warranty because it hasnt been inspected by their guys, what are they going to do to inspect a clutch? Take it out agin and then pop it back in?????? Is this Mr Clutch policy or are they just taking the p...?

I now have a grateful customer who has realised that you get what you pay for and service doesnt always cost as much as he thought.

 

[dc cars]

i used mr clutch years ago on my mg turbo they said it needed a new clutch because it was sliping and a new fly wheel if i wanted a warrenty with the clutch for 2 years.i paid 600 quid picked up the car it was no change it was still sliping they said give it time to bed in , i done that and it got worse took it back a the branch had closed. the tradeing standerds had shut them down but i had lost 600 quid they had not put a clutch in they had just ajusted it up please keep away from these places as they dont care get a local garage and get frendly with them you be good to them they will be good to you ? (the branch of mr clutch was in newcastle

 

[oilrag]

I now have a grateful customer who has realised that you get what you pay for and service doesnt always cost as much as he thought.

The way I see it is that the Fiat Dealer gives a fixed price for a job too which is adhered to even if there are difficulties that slow the job down. Also the certainty of
the best parts and a warranty on the repair that gives confidence.

I do all the regular servicing myself, but there is no way I would put a job that I no longer wish to tackle to other than the Fiat Dealer I bought the car from.
The reason is that I have seen many situations, I once knew a car owned by a female colleague who was clearly being repeatedly done over by her trusted VW independent.
Unecessary replacements, shocks replaced (twice!) clutch replaced then recommended for replacement again 10,000 later.
( it was still fine 40,000 later and I suspect they overlooked that they had already done it)
They did all her servicing but the cambelt snapped and mashed the valves.
She thought they were great as they let her have the car back while she went and got a bank loan to pay for it. I had a look under the bonnet and noticed they had re fitted the old glazed and cracked alternator drive belt.......( hoping for another repair?) I think so.
There was a lot more than this including low oil pressure and oil consumption......
Now I REALLY knew this car and engine and had been servicing one of the same
for some time. The independent had been `milking ` her for cash on repairs not even needed and I suspect using sub standard oil at services. This was in the depression of the 90`s and it seemed to me looking through her repair receipts that the garage had found its own way to survive those years by generating its own work.

A disgrace really and good reason (IMHO) to let a known good main dealer do a repair if its beyond a persons DIY capability.

 

[x Alex x]

wouldnt go to mr.clutch again if they offered to do the work for free! they're a joke

 

[sumplug]

The way I see it is that the Fiat Dealer gives a fixed price for a job too which is adhered to even if there are difficulties that slow the job down. Also the certainty of
the best parts and a warranty on the repair that gives confidence.

I do all the regular servicing myself, but there is no way I would put a job that I no longer wish to tackle to other than the Fiat Dealer I bought the car from.
The reason is that I have seen many situations, I once knew a car owned by a female colleague who was clearly being repeatedly done over by her trusted VW independent.
Unecessary replacements, shocks replaced (twice!) clutch replaced then recommended for replacement again 10,000 later.
( it was still fine 40,000 later and I suspect they overlooked that they had already done it)
They did all her servicing but the cambelt snapped and mashed the valves.
She thought they were great as they let her have the car back while she went and got a bank loan to pay for it. I had a look under the bonnet and noticed they had re fitted the old glazed and cracked alternator drive belt.......( hoping for another repair?) I think so.
There was a lot more than this including low oil pressure and oil consumption......
Now I REALLY knew this car and engine and had been servicing one of the same
for some time. The independent had been `milking ` her for cash on repairs not even needed and I suspect using sub standard oil at services. This was in the depression of the 90`s and it seemed to me looking through her repair receipts that the garage had found its own way to survive those years by generating its own work.

A disgrace really and good reason (IMHO) to let a known good main dealer do a repair if its beyond a persons DIY capability.

Well from my experiance and hundreds of people ive dealt with, the Fiat main dealers are some of the worst places to get your car serviced. Fixed menus mean fixed time on your car. If they come across a difficult bolt to undo say, they have to make time up elsewhere and cut corners. Ive worked in a main dealer, and this went on repeatedly. With an independent, you will get a better service. There are good and bad main dealers as well as independents.
What that person should of done with the punto is get a written letter of work done to rectify the trouble, then seeked trading standards to sort a claim out.
if you go onto the many car forums, there are many stories about Mr Clutch, and ive been telling everyone i can to stay well clear of them.
I once took a clutch out of a Rover 214 Mr Clutch had replaced 3 months earlier. It had done 2000 miles, and Mr Clutch use there own refurbished clutches. The pressure plate had 2 springs broken, and the clutch plate had fractured and was moving around. I think;-

1. there was a manufacture failure due to poor reconditioning.
2. they did not tighten the clutch bolts properly.

Also they had put 2 bolts in the gearbox wrong!! They didn't want to go back to Mr Clutch as they just did not trust them. Within 9 months, the clutch centre was closed down again due to trading standards!!
As general, i do not like any of the fast fit centres, and if i need to [emergency]use them, i watch them like a hawk and refuse to wait in the waiting room.

Andy.

 

[Hellcat]

hear hear.

When the tipo was shafted by a Mr Clutch clutch job.. I decided scrapping it and finding a new car was a easier, cheaper and less stressful way of getting about. They put bolts in the wrong places. Stripped threads in aluminium parts, and the judder from the clutch was awful.

I was not going to waste time asking them to put it right. Scrapped it with only a few hundred miles on the new clutch.

 

[mr pie]

Soory for the cold intro ppl, but I saw this thread and I had to post...


hello everone!





Oh Dear.



Mr Clutch Reading Branch....... :bang:

My wife bought a car from her father who owned it from new, the only problem was it needed a replacement clutch.

I called Mr Clutch and spoke to the manager who assured me that if I book the car in for a new clutch that day it would take 24 hours.

It sounded reasonable so we decided to drop it off, less that 2 hours later I received a call from the manager who informed me that the gear box bolts had been crossed threaded and the fly wheel needed skimming as it was scorched.

At that point I called a reportable mechanic who informed me that it was a ploy that Mr clutch use to obtain money and it was doubtful that the fly wheel need work. And he could have used inserts to repair the threads.

I informed the manager at Mr Clutch that I don’t want the work done to the flywheel but I need a quote for the work on the box.

Over the week I kept calling the manager for an update on the gear box but was told the gear box has gone to London some 35 miles away for a quote. Why London as I live in Berks.


I was quoted £200.00 for the repair of the damaged caused by there fitters, at that point I ask them to return the gear box and I would have the car collected and repaired by a reportable mechanic.

I arranged for a transporter company to collect the car and deliver it to a garage of my choice at a cost of £55.00.

Later that week I collected the gear box and delivered it to the mechanic who was doing the work, I was discovered that the treads where damaged along with the bell housing.

The mechanic arranged for the repair of the gear box and the work was carried, after trying to sauce new bolts as the originals went missing it was fitted.

I was informed today that there was a problem with the gear box as the gear selector was not working, after further inspection it was discovered that the bolts were just thrown it to the sump cover and the bolt heads were damaged.


A replacement was fitted and the car is on the road 4 weeks later…….. I have sent a detailed report to the complaints manager and waiting on a refund. Watch this space.


My advice DON’T USE THEM. I will start my own thread when I have a response from them and an out come has been reached. :slayer:

 

[Hellcat]

I'm sorry Mr Pie that you didn't see this thread before you went to Mr Clutch.

Mr Clutch is his name,
that name again is Mr Clutch.

And yes... he will shaft you.

 

[dave]

rule of thumb, if a garage can say they can do the job same day or next day that you ring, chances are they are crap. the goods ones have a queue

 

[Hellcat]

rule of thumb, if a garage can say they can do the job same day or next day that you ring, chances are they are crap. the goods ones have a queue

True that.

 

[auto_blanco]

I once had Mr Clutch put one in a Fiesta 1.1, the clutch job was to my knowledge fine, but they screwed one of the wishbones by removing and replacing it in haphazard manner and overtightened an engine or gearbox mount (cant remember now) to the point of splitting it, I sold the car a couple of weeks later, it felt knackered.

On the other hand I had a Volvo 940 Turbo that needed a clutch, I got the clutch kit (eventually) and gave it to a good bloke down the road who runs a small garage, bunged him 40 notes and he installed it, changed the Hyd fluid, replaced a bleed nipple he accidentally broke and sorted the overdrive wiring, aswell as topping up the box all for 40 quid and a flawless job to boot, he took all the time he needed to do it properly.

I never ever ever used Fast Fit centers for anything other than wheel allignment and they even cock that up, not even for tyres as they are rip off merchants too.

 

[gudgeon]

Hi guys, ive been in the motor trade as a mechanic/mot tester for over 25 years now and although i cant comment on mr clutch specifically its my advice to avoid fast fit centres at all costs, i know many people who have been ripped off by these type of garages but my main point here is to avoid main dealers at all costs because these robbers are even worse in my opinion, your best bet is to find a good trustworthy mechanic to do your work and stick with him/her.

 

[Butcher]

sigh, after reading this im glad my dad has so many good contacts of small garages and body work shops or i would be in a sticky siduation as im still on my first car.

i think the moral of the story is if there is no possible way of fixing somthing yourself (and ur not just been lazy)

then look on sites like this for recomendations and never go to somwhere commershal and has adverts on the t.v offering special offers!

 

[marcy marc]

The problem is the managers. Managers who have no experience of being on the tools expect jobs to be finished as per the book times. Managers who have done the job themselves know bolts seize and things break. When mangers are only interested in meeting targets the speedier the job the better. A decent manager will fire someone who keeps ****ing up. There is no hard and fast rule for deciding whether main dealers, fast fit or independent are best. There are good and bad examples of each. Take time to find the good examples.