Best and Worst Stealers

To add to Pulp84's recommendations for the South West, I'd like to include Tetbury.

Had brilliant experience on the sales front both with OH's A1 a couple of years ago, and my S3 this year. For me, the salesman went the extra mile in getting an S3 for the test drive and in a totally non pressured environment gave me the right deal. Our combined experience was so good, OH's son subsequently purchase a pre loved A3 from them.

That said, there have been a number of issues with the paintwork insurance on the A1 and also the infamous window rattle on the S3, but through the process Tetbury have gone out of their way to resolve. Only slight downside is that whilst calls are always returned, they're not always within the promised timescale. eMail works a treat :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pulp84
Cannot speak highly enough about Exeter Audi. Nice people (especially Dominic), competitive prices and good communications. I have bought both our TT and A3 from there and have no regrets at all. Dominic even "persuaded" me NOT to take some options on the TT as he said they would not be sensible, despite him reducing the cost of the car and therefore his commission.
 
Chimp said:
Southampton Audi are the worst I have ever dealt with over the years for a number of reason like price hiking on servicing, scratching my car whilst in for replacement side window and then the mechanic swearing in front of me!! Then when I gave them a chance to redeem themselves by letting them quote me an S3 on a "special price for a long term customer" It turned out to be about the same as what everyone on here was getting to no exactly "Special" to win my confidence back they managed to supply the car with courtesy swirl marks all over the car, and when I say all over I mean every single panel/angle etc!

Long story short, I ended with half the money to get it fixed by a detailier after lengthy discussion purseuding the manager to allow me to buy the car!! I had some more good will from Audi UK that made the difference up.....avoid like ebola!

Salisbury on the other hand are superb! My G/F and I went to a "special" event after as she was looking for a replacement for her A1 Sline, we went straight from a mini dealer to there (it was pretty much in her mind the mini as she didn't want to go Audi after my treatment) and they gave an amazing deal, gap offered at price of ALA, decent offer on her car - CAP + £1000 and houred this on delivery of the new car even with more mileage.

Matt the sale chap couldn't have made the whole experience better she was over the moon and I was too.... he will be getting my RS3 order when announced.
Click to expand...

Good to hear someone else happy with Salisbury. Must be the same Matt I deal with. Matt Peers is his name. Top, top bloke - joy to deal with. I waited 5 months for my S3 and he emailed every other week with updates.

Service department fantastic too - couldn't help me with a warranty claim few months in to ownership, but they took time to explain to me why and to cover off any concerns rather than just fobbing me off.
 
I have so far purchased nine A3s and all have been purchased through the same chap at Huntingdon Audi. Both he and the dealers in general have always been excellent and kept me informed throughout each order. I use them for all my servicing and have never had any cause for complaint.

My wife now has an A1, purchased on a PCP through the same chap. She had several Polos before the A1 but Huntingdon could supply the A1 for a better overall price than another Polo.
 
Worcester Audi. In particular, Bill Moses in Sales, who sold me both my S3's. He made sure I had a very positive customer experience, no bullsh1t, straight talking, worked hard to ensure that we both achieved what we wanted.

After I bought the 8P, he called me 1 month in, and 9 months in for nothing more than a quick short friendly follow up chat to ensure I was still a happy bunny.

I had no hesitation buying my 8V S3 from Bill, Top Bloke, great attention to detail, doesn't get orders wrong, and good old fashioned customer service.


Also top marks to the Service dept at Crewe Audi. The boys and gals there give high standard of customer care, always arrange Courtesy cars no probs, the ladies on reception very friendly, plying me with endless cups of tea, and the service guys always updating me on progress, and taking time to talk through the technicals with me.
 
Last edited:
I had a problem with Manchester where I had to leave a £500 deposit until the V5 came back from the DVLA for my trade in car. I gave it to them and asked for the money back, and it too over two weeks (with me constantly asking the sales guy by email/phone).
Ended up emailing the general manager there with a bit of a rant about them holding £500 of mine for 2 weeks, and he sorted it within 10 minutes and a very apologetic email back.
 
The thread title doesn't make any sense, surely if you get a good one then you should call them a dealer.
 
ruddocksp said:
Aberdeen Audi great for sales, Graeme and Tony i have dealt with for my last 3 Audi's.

Service dept, rubbish. Mark Taylor, the customer service manager is a decent bloke though, they clearly dont have enough staff. Each time i called i was asked to leave my number and wait to be called back, they are slow to react. Getting a booked courtesy car takes weeks. Although they did collect and deliver.
Click to expand...

Aberdeen have been fine for me, no trouble at all.
Service department definitely seem under pressure at times though so I just make sure I give them plenty of notice if I need a courtesy car when booking in and I usually drop off the car after the mad early morning rush and ask them just to phone when it's ready rather than put a collection time on it, it obviously helps that it's not my main means of transport.
Also can't fault the quality of work by the technicians.
 
Audimad said:
The thread title doesn't make any sense, surely if you get a good one then you should call them a dealer.
Click to expand...

Even if you get a good one they are there to make a sizeable profit unknown to you so yes, it does it make sense
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bristle Hound
I certainly don't mind dealers making a profit when I feel I got a good deal & got good service, but you're right, most will try to get your money any way they can.
 
So am I - I would never regard my dealer as a Stealer. If you want cheap dealer costs you should have purchased a cheaper car.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Martinbanshee
My verdicts:

Warrington Audi - mixed good and bad experiences

Crewe Audi - excellent

Macclesfield Audi- excellent
 
veeeight said:
Listers Coventry do well on the price, because they deal with brokers such as Orangewheels and CarWow.

The bulk discount is made through fleet at Coventry, rather than retail.
Click to expand...

First post from a lurker, but.....

I'm on the verge of cancelling my S3 order through CarWow and Coventry Audi. Initially the experience was first class. Anthony Richards was excellent, setting everything up was slick. Calls were returned immediately. Since taking the deposit 2 weeks ago, sending me the order form and switching me to their fleet rep, it has been appalling. In these 2 weeks I've sent a letter, an email and 6 unreturned phone calls regarding the order. All I want to do is confirm the spec is right. Last week I was told I would have that confirmation by the middle of this week. Guess what, nothing. I rang this afternoon, rang again an hour ago to leave yet another message. No call back as yet.

Maybe I should have paid 2K more and gone with the local dealer. This is taking a massive shine off the potential S3 purchase. And I thought BMW dealers were bad. Wow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bamber
I've never dealt with Anthony, however I went through Carfile and been dealing with Ben at Coventry at their fleet department and I have nothing but good words for him.
I don't really understand why people use Carwow when Carfile is cheaper and it's the same Audi Dealer.

If it's a problem with location, then get them to deliver your car.
 
Liquidfusion-S3 said:
I've never dealt with Anthony, however I went through Carfile and been dealing with Ben at Coventry at their fleet department and I have nothing but good words for him.
I don't really understand why people use Carwow when Carfile is cheaper and it's the same Audi Dealer.

If it's a problem with location, then get them to deliver your car.
Click to expand...

All I actually want is confirmation of the right spec for the order.

Sounds like I should have gotten Ben as my rep. Shame he doesn't pass on the level of customer service to his colleague. No call back, again, dealership closed now....fed up.
 
Thing is Cov Audi are taking massive amounts of orders due to their discounts so its only fair that you can't expect that personal touch.

When it arrives they'll want it off their court asap, if they could they would tell you get lost until arrival day - it's how it is when a dealer chases quantity over quality. On reflection I would have gone to them and would have saved a few hundred.
 
Liquidfusion-S3 said:
Does your order form not state what you've ordered?
Click to expand...

Yep. The order form was missing the silver headlining colour, which is all I am trying to confirm they have amended. I sent back the signed order form with the amendment and a covering letter. 2 weeks later and no reply. The car's not due til March, if they just confirmed this I'd happily ****** off til then :)
 
My nearest dealer is preston audi, but I wouldn't ever buy from them.
Ordered my bw47 s3 sportback through orange wheels, Coventry audi at end sept. Dealt with Ben or max, they have been very good. Car built and awaiting delivery to them. I can then sort my train from preston to pick it up.
I called in at end oct to see them, very impressed. They are fleet, had 70 ish sales between them in sept, and 500 ish for the year.
 
txosbi said:
My nearest dealer is preston audi, but I wouldn't ever buy from them.
Ordered my bw47 s3 sportback through orange wheels, Coventry audi at end sept. Dealt with Ben or max, they have been very good. Car built and awaiting delivery to them. I can then sort my train from preston to pick it up.
I called in at end oct to see them, very impressed. They are fleet, had 70 ish sales between them in sept, and 500 ish for the year.
Click to expand...

Again Preston Audi are my local dealer, I live in Lytham. I was never impressed with them, the salesman tried to make feel that he had gone really out his way to arrange a test drive 2 weeks later. I ended up at Bolton Audi and beat them by quite a margin.
 
z4convert said:
First post from a lurker, but.....

I'm on the verge of cancelling my S3 order through CarWow and Coventry Audi. Initially the experience was first class. Anthony Richards was excellent, setting everything up was slick. Calls were returned immediately. Since taking the deposit 2 weeks ago, sending me the order form and switching me to their fleet rep, it has been appalling. In these 2 weeks I've sent a letter, an email and 6 unreturned phone calls regarding the order. All I want to do is confirm the spec is right. Last week I was told I would have that confirmation by the middle of this week. Guess what, nothing. I rang this afternoon, rang again an hour ago to leave yet another message. No call back as yet.

Maybe I should have paid 2K more and gone with the local dealer. This is taking a massive shine off the potential S3 purchase. And I thought BMW dealers were bad. Wow.
Click to expand...

I've found Coventry to be an absolute nightmare. I haven't had a single response to any emails I've sent, and have lost count of the number of phone calls that don't get returned. Without doubt the worst customer service (or lack of) I've ever had. Amended the spec on 12th October and despite several promises, I still haven't had conformation of the new price or PCP payment. Was last given a 'guarantee' that I'd have the revised numbers by last Monday; guess what? - Still waiting. :wtf:

Max dealing, have spoken to Ben once and that was the only decent contact I've had with Coventry.

Got so annoyed at one stage that I came very close to cancelling, but took a step back and thought about the cost saving, and having to start all over again elsewhere. I guess that service is what you have sacrifice if you use a broker. Makes a complete farce of the 'Audi promise' though, and takes all the shine off the experience.

That said, if you going to take on a high order volume, you should be sure to staff up to cope with demand.

Mine's due to be built this week, so almost home straight for me. :yahoo: I expect I'll forget all about the frustration once it arrives. Hang on in there, it gets easier once you accept you're not going to get the love you'd like, just think about the saving, and how much fun you'll have when your new toy arrives :shrug:
 
Liquidfusion-S3 said:
Even if you get a good one they are there to make a sizeable profit unknown to you so yes, it does it make sense
Click to expand...
Very true LF :thumbs up:

Both my Father & my Brother were in the motor trade, collectively for around 70 years, in management & selling new cars from a main dealer, then used cars from their own garage. Having seen first hand what so called 'Car Sales Executives' get up to, if any thinks they are doing you a favour, I'm sorry your seriously deluded

Believe you me IT IS all about the money

If the Salesperson wants to be your friend, then haven't worked hard enough on your discount & he's being the smiling assasin thinking of the extra commission he's making out of you because you didn't try hard enough

Not opinion this time, it's fact :hi:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pulp84 and Liquidfusion-S3
I bought thro' Carwow & as it turns out the price difference between Carwow & Carfile was less than £100 as my spec is pretty basic in comparison to most new S3's on here (Didn't know about Carfile at the time :()

Touch wood, no probs so far with Coventry Audi

My contact is Ben after the intial contact with Anthony. Ben always answers my emails the same day & has kept me updated.

We'll see when my car arrives in the UK as my deal was set up in the beginning for a March 1st delivery. I'm going to be chasing some 'incentives' to collect early

You can always contact Audi Customer services for info & updates on your car
 
Newcastle Audi for me is always spot on. But then I do have a good friendship with the salesguy but even everyone else is helpful and friendly. Wouldn't go anywhere else!
 
Well both my A3's have / are coming through Coventry as chosen by my works fleet company. I have to say I reiterate the above comments with the lack of communication on their part. I now understand they appear to have a very busy fleet department, so I guess they prefer to get cars out the door than put the effort into the somewhat short relationship with a buyer. I just hope the comment above about once the car arrives they want it off the forecourt asap. I did wonder if the lack of care was because I am merely a business driver, not a private owner, but having read the comments I feel a little more settled i'm not the only one slightly frustrated. They just don't offer the finesse and attention to detail I have experienced with the service team at Harrogate Audi which I have begun to expect from the Audi Brand. I wished the new orders I have placed were through them. Although I have not had any dealings as such my experience with Huddersfield was on par with Harrogate.
 
Can't fault Guildford Audi fantastic service and Daniel has been outstanding to the point that after I bought my s3 my father two weeks later bought an A6 from him as well went well beyond the Car wow offer on both occasions !

Crawley Audi on the other hand; the general manager I spoke to after ringing up for a test drive of an S3 they turned around and said that due to my age they don't offer test drives .... even went so far as to suggest I organize my own insurance for a two hour test drive yeah sure....and a general not interested brash attitude thoroughly dissatisfied and I wish I had sent a letter to the executives of that dealership. It's almost like people think that the younger generation are here to take the p**s well you lost out on a genuine sale Crawley. Years ago ( 2009) when my father started to look at buying an Audi we visited that dealership and the whole experience still hasn't changed!

Tunbridge wells Audi - Offered me a test drive instantly after my disaster with Crawley at that point organised a two hour test drive for that afternoon, service much, thanks to Ranj genuinely pleased with the experience just beaten on price by Guildford the vast majority of customers I can imagine would have taken the offer on the table anyway as it was so good!

Five oaks Audi - a very small dealership in comparison and I think they struggle with making discounts as I believe they have a very small allocation per year, originally when I started looking at S3's contacted them and got a few quotes and had PCP run etc etc and a few sweeteners thrown in then when it came to the final deal all the sweeteners were taken of the table and in the end the deal just didn't feel right .

Aberdeen Audi - Originally where I started my interest and actually physically visited a dealership as work was up there at the time! Just turned up one afternoon and asked for a test drive Gordon obliged and fitted me in one before another pre booked test drive which was fantastic at such short notice ! Alot of interest from him in securing a deal from me and alot of phone calls! However after being told that " well this is the deal on the table and if you don't take it someone else will this is Aberdeen oil and gas capital...." I felt like I wanst being listened too and that I was just another quick sale and move onto the next one, the deal on the table was beyond atrocious I backed out and said no thanks and at the beginning of August was told a wait time until March 7 months, put into perspective I have ordered at the beginning of November and am expecting early March 4 months!
 
Just an observation about Coventry Audi - and a potentially controversial post:


Their fleet department have chosen to whore themselves to the public through brokers like Carwow, OrangeWheels, Carfile etc.

I have no problem with that, it means cheaper cars for the public, through volume sales.

BUT


Knowing this, are some people still expecting their cake and expecting to eat it?

You are buying through a fleet department who are geared up for dealing with the likes of Lex etc., who order by the hundred at a time, you've had your fleet discount through volume sales, and yet you still want all the benefits associated with buying retail? Yes, that includes regular communications, phone calls etc. the issue is that they are not geared for dealing with individual queries.

The problem is, too much moaning and complaining, it will reach the ears of Audi UK, who might change the nature of the availability of these deals. Then it's ruined for any future purchasers!

Surely you already made a choice - faceless fleet cheap deal - or that lovely cuddling Audi dealer touch - not both! ;)

Or get the fleet price and go to your local dealer and negotiate a match! :p
 
  • Like
Reactions: JohnM100, Fox5150, Martinbanshee and 5 others
I couldn't agree more with @veeeight

Yes it would be nice to have more contact when you've ordered a £32,000 car but the reality is it would be a £34,500 anywhere else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Martinbanshee, veeeight and Pulp84
Blackburn Audi were great with mine. Abbie on service is fantastic - couldn't have asked for more.
 
Dtwm1 said:
I couldn't agree more with @veeeight

Yes it would be nice to have more contact when you've ordered a £32,000 car but the reality is it would be a £34,500 anywhere else.
Click to expand...

I also agree. People expect personal service and a cheap deal and often they don't go together.

In my case I have purchased all nine of my A3s from the same chap and the same dealers. He is now their Specialist Sales Manager and deals with supply to a lot of large companies and lease companies but has always said that as he has dealt with me for so long he is happy to continue. I always get a good trade-in figure for my car and a decent discount (9% on my current A3). He has also dealt with my wife's purchase of an A1 and managed to come up with a better deal on the A1 than the Polo she was considering at the time.

I have no complaints at all with this dealer on either the sales or service side. I recently attended an "After Sales Evening" where one of their Master Techs linked my car to Audi to activate an extra menu on my MMI and all for no charge. Shortly after I took delivery on my current A3 I found an item on another forum about how to make the 12v sockets on the car 'live' all the time rather than only when the ignition is on. I mentioned this to this Master Tech at an earlier After Sales Evening and he told me at the last one that his chaps have used it on quite a number of cars where the owners have asked if it could be done.
 
This is making some interesting reading as I'm at the point of changing my 8P S3 for a new 8V. Getting the Audi dealership experience is nice but let's face it, it's fake, so I'll be happy to be a faceless customer if it gets me >10% discount.
I will try Hereford Audi for a price match but going on mine and friends previous experiences then I don't hold out any hope. I am still waiting a call back about figures following a test drive nearly 12 months ago and you get completely ignored on their forecourt and in the showroom.
I bought my S3 through Worcester Audi and pretty happy with the experience, both from Allan in sales and the service dept since. I will definitely try there again but not sure they sell the volume of cars to offer large discounts.
 
veeeight said:
Surely you already made a choice - faceless fleet cheap deal - or that lovely cuddling Audi dealer touch - not both! ;)
Click to expand...
Don't hear any complaints from me V8 :thumbs up:

I'll take the 'faceless fleet cheap deal' everytime mate, which I have ;)

My experience, so far (fingers crossed) with Coventry Audi, in particular my contact there Ben, has been great. Don't feel as tho' it has been a faceless process at all TBH

veeeight said:
Or get the fleet price and go to your local dealer and negotiate a match! :p
Click to expand...
My local Audi Dealer, who I have bought my last 3 new A4's off, steadfastly refused to match any prices I was getting on 'tinterweb

Quote - ' we won't match any internet prices, ever'

Result - Lost sale on their part due to greed IMHO
 
The thing is that most Audi dealers can probably sell as many cars as their are allocated which is one reasons why Audi's are becoming so common on the road. I'm quite sure they are not bothered by the loss of a sale to an internet broker. In many cases they sell cars to the brokers anyway. I know my dealer does.
 
I would've been nice to see the discount price filtered down to me as a company car driver. I think our chosen fleet supplier have their fingers firmly in the pie LOL.
 
Good to see that Watford Audi have people praising them, I have no choice where i go as i'm serving in Germany (Brit forces), the agent we go through when buying a new Audi do all their orders through Watford so that's where I'll be collecting my new S3 from.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

GeoffT
Stealers!
Replies
9
Views
1K
pburv
pburv
A
What the best wax and polish
Replies
5
Views
2K
WingoWango
W
S32B
What if the worst happens?
Replies
27
Views
2K
Liquidfusion-S3
Liquidfusion-S3
mike price
Facelift Had the worst experience ever !
Replies
32
Views
5K
mike price
mike price
L
What is best and what needs improvement?
Replies
1
Views
843
cemerson
C
Top
Back