Part 2: Don’t surrender if you know what is right

The large wing mirrors that are used by drivers to see cars to either side of them come with flashing yellow triangles, which is completely unnecessary. However, they do not automatically fold up.

We were contacted by the manager of our local office, who explained to us the situation. He also promised to pass on the letter of complaint to him.

In the circumstances, I suggested that the distributor arrange the production of a brand new vehicle that was identical to the one we had taken possession of, except for folding mirrors. I also proposed that I keep the vehicle I currently owned until an exchange can be made.

No additional costs should be incurred by me. However, I am prepared to pay for an additional package, which includes folding wing mirrors, even if reluctantly and in good faith.

A week later, I received an email from the distributor apologizing for our disappointment. It was our own fault that we did not accept the package with folding wing mirrors offered by the salesperson. They would, however, buy back the car at its market value.

Never give up.

We would have been left out of pocket, so in response we stated that, whilst appreciating the loyalty shown to their employee it appears that they have chosen to ignore the content of our letter.

In reality, we had three people in the room when we talked about the Mini Countryman purchase, me, my wife, and the salesperson. And there was no recording.

They are calling us liars by saying that he told us about the various options, even if we deny this.

We were ready to act despite the fact that there was no mention made of folding mirrors.

1 – Swear under oath to a notary or in court of law that no mention was made of folding mirrors

2 – Swear under oath to a notary or in court of law that when we returned the vehicle the first time, the salesperson stated that he would arrange for the mirrors to be programmed to fold.

3 – Swear under oath to a notary or in court of law that on two later occasions he instructed two different employees to programme the mirrors to fold.

We suggested that his mistaken belief that the supplied car had folding mirrors was the reason we reminded him of our suggestion to buy a brand new car.

It was also copied to German vehicle manufacturer’s complaints department.

The big companies are going to back down

Within 48 hours we received a call explaining that there was a brand new version of the vehicle available in Madrid which included extra features including folding wing mirrors (albeit in a different colour to our original choice) which we could have if we paid an additional €3,400 (which we would have paid in the first instance anyway).

We were a little disappointed that the color we wanted was not available, but we are more concerned about driving safely so we agreed. Now we just need to wait for the invoice that will cover the extra cost before we can make the swap.

It just goes to show that if you refuse to take no for an answer, then even multinational companies will see sense over consumer rights  when they are in the wrong.

The companies have not been named as they did the right thing by not naming them.