What a Waste

Pictured is the panel in my boot that I have to lower down and “click” into place before I can lower the roof. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the clip on the left is visible, whereas the one in the right has a plastic cover over it.
I noticed the cover was missing just after I bought the car and asked the dealer to order one up as, without it, that panel didn’t always click into place, thus preventing operation of the roof.
No problem they said - we’ll let you know when it’s in. Four weeks later, and having heard nothing, I thought I’d add it to my “things to do before lockdown” list, and visited the dealer to chase it up. After some searching in the back, a part was produced which was totally different to that which is required. The Parts Manager had a closer look in the boot and, after a lot of head scratching and entering part numbers in his computer, came to the inescapable conclusion that you had to order the whole panel, not just the little plastic cover! Not only does this seem incredibly wasteful and unnecessary, but there is a cost element to consider. The salesman was quite happy to cover the expense of what he thought would be a small cover costing a couple of quid, but not so keen now it’s a whole panel costing £60 that is needed. I have made it clear that as the cover was missing when I bought the car, I do not expect to pay for it - let’s see how this plays out!
What I did discover though was that the service and parts side of the dealership will not be closing on Thursday. And the sales guys are looking at some sort of “click and collect” operation because they are still busy selling cars.
Looks like there won’t be quite as much staying at home this month as perhaps the government would like. It would seem the great British public are determined to keep the economy going, regardless of government intentions.
Let’s hope this lockdown does not prove to be a waste of time. I still don’t see how it’s going to work if schools and universities remain open, given that the mass return to these establishments seems to be a major contributory factor in the growth of the second wave. Once again, I hope I’m proved wrong.