You only have to look at this thread to see why TM has so much potential. Intelligent, articulate, enthusiastic owners with a wealth of industry wide knowledge and experience that could in effect become free consultancy. If Simon could arrange "structured feedback" that is offered and accepted in a spirit of mutual respect, cooperation and benefit, what an opportunity that could be!
I know this is a thread in the M3W Forum and there are more than enough examples already cited by that community, but you only need to look at the contributors above to recognise that there are also "Trad" issues which deserve consideration as well. Quickly, and without a detailed trawl through posts, coolant hose routing, rear spring quality, cracked windscreens, and inadequately sealed cables routed through bulkheads leading water ingress, are just a few of many things discussed on this site which are not really "fettling" issues. Neither are they the inevitable result of variability of a hand build processes. They represent basic quality control deficiencies. Eliminating such issues are not bank breaking changes. Indeed, as Peter rightly points out above, if they are dealt with at source they can save money in the long term by eliminating expensive warranty claims or rework, and improve customer satisfaction.
So, to be clear, I'm not having a go at MMC, I'm not criticising the workers at the factory, I'm not criticising the management teams, I'm just trying to promote some very useful dialogue between an experienced, passionate owner group and the manufacturer that could be to everyones benefit.
I'll give up my crusade on this topic now before I begin to sound like a broken record (for those of you who are old enough to know what that means).... if I haven't already
