Agencies/London
Actor Richard E Grant has secured a replacement power steering pump free of charge from Mini Cooper after embarking on a furious Twitter tirade about how the steering on his daughter’s car allegedly locked on a motorway.
The star said he was left with “clenched fists” and “bared knashers” after the incident involving the Mini Cooper, which he described as a “Timebomb”.
He said it was the “what if” that has “done my head in”, in a string of 13 expletive-laden tweets on Friday, in which he said: “I hope they will rue the day!”
Grant on Saturday revealed to his 59,755 Twitter followers that his angry rant was followed with positive action on the part of Mini Cooper.
He tweeted: “Mini-Cooper Power steering pump replaced FOR FREE post TwitterAid. Acknowledged it was a manufacturing defect. Gratitude and relief. THANK YOU Tweeters for your incredible support. The ‘What if?’ nightmare scenario on the motorway has mercifully been avoided.”
A spokesman for Mini Cooper said the company was offering the repairs for free out of “goodwill”. He said: “We are undertaking the necessary repairs and it will be free of charge. There’s a willingness on our part that whatever the problem is it is rectified.” The spokesman added he was surprised that Grant said the company “acknowledged it was a manufacturing defect”.
“No one from our organisation has been able to assess the car yet,” he said. In 2010, about 80,000 Mini Coopers in America were investigated for potential power steering problems.