Confidence In Dealers

edition

edition

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Does anybody actually go to a Uk dealer and have any confidence in the fact they will look after the car correctly? i.e take car of it and actually know what they are doing regarding maintanance!


Following on from my service the cars:


Paintwork has picked up a fair few swirl marks (fair play i wouldn't want to be washing cars all day long but *** its somebodys pride and joy your damaging!)
Service book incorrectly stamped.
Spark plugs not changed according to the service book timings (says 60km or 40k miles) they read it as 60k meaning miles. I suspect they don't know what km are.
Had to wait 2 1/2 hrs while they did the haldex after them not knowing it needed doing.


I rang Audi Uk up this morning and another dealers to ask (to double check) when the plugs should be changed. Was told by Audi uk that nobody could answer that question until monday/tuesday as nobody technical was in! The dealer bloke asked me what engine was in my A3 "3.2" i said, ah its a diesel he said...... and he didn't know when they needed changing would have to ask a technician but they had gone home!


Really thinking of going to a specialist next time as i just have no faith in the dealers. I mean have they put the right oil in the car, would they put the correct plugs in.....


On a side note how does one get a job at the dealers? They don't seem to need any interest in cars or know there product, only a small percentage need to even look interested


Rant over!

Anybody know of any good Audi specialists in the Yorkshire area?
 
Yes I do. I have been using the same Audi dealer since 1998. I have purchased six A3s from them to date and I have just ordered my 7th.

They have done all the necessary work both servicing and warranty work and I have never had any reason to be dissatisfied with them.

The dealer in Huntingon Audi in Cambridgeshire. Several other forum members have used them as well as have been quite happy with them.
 
In my experience most car dealers (not just audi) have no interest in doing a good job, and as you say they dont even appear to know the product that well.

I'll only use a dealer to get the service stamp, if any other work is required, I'd go elsewhere. I rather not have to use them for servicing, but you get stuffed even more at trade in/sale time if you dont have a full book of dealer stamps.

You dont need to take it to a dealer for service work, you can take it anywhere as long as they're a registered garage and follow the manufacturers servicing guidelines and use genuine parts. If you do this, audi still have to honour the warranty etc.

So is it really necessary to get a book full of dealer stamps, when you could have a book full of non dealer stamps?

Would anyone buy a car second hand if it hand a full service history, but those services were all carried out at an independant garage? or would you expect to pay less for that car?
 
I've had my car scratched but very very luckily for me it polished out suprisingly easily! I always tell them not to wash my car so as to avoid them inflicting more swirl marks.

Have you used any other dealers before? Not all are bad.
 
:yes:YES I most certainly do.
Sinclair Audi in Bridgend, Have been using them for over tenty years:thumbsup:
:kissmyrings:
 
Try VAS in Hunslet. At least I think that's what they're called. I'll check for you...
 
Whilst not in Yorkshire, I have no complaints about Stratford Audi. My car was there yesterday, it went straight into the workshop, had the job done, was not washed and then parked for me away from the main car park to avoid anyone bashing it!!
prt57
 
julians said:
Would anyone buy a car second hand if it hand a full service history, but those services were all carried out at an independant garage? or would you expect to pay less for that car?
Click to expand...

I would happily buy a car second hand that had been serviced at an independent dealer and I wouldn't expect it to cost less. There was a thread about this the other day and opinions were split as to it.
 
My local dealer have been ok, Peterborough Audi, always return calls etc and the work seems fine, on the opposite hand I wouldn't use huntingdon audi, never return calls etc so obvioulsy don't want either a sale or service work, which is different to daves experiance of them.
 
I would recommend the parts guy at brighton audi but as for sales/service, no comment as sales are tbh useless & service well could be better, but parts guy is just brilliant, cant say enough about the guy, he goes completely out of his way to help out & to the point gonna drop the guy a few notes for all his help over the time used them, he should be running that stealership I tell yer.
 
You need to set expectations.

Make it clear you don't want vehicle washed and put a note on the passenger seat to that effect. Give them a note of any existing damage however small that the vehicle has and get them to inspect on arrival so they agree with you.

My dealer is very good, parks my car in workshop or away from others, I respect them for that.
 
royjk said:
:yes:YES I most certainly do.
Sinclair Audi in Bridgend, Have been using them for over tenty years:thumbsup:
:kissmyrings:
Click to expand...

Well they must like you then!!! They and Cardiff Audi have been ***** with me.
1. Told cam belt needed changing at 120K miles. Disagreed and asked to see the schedule. It was actually 120K Km
2. Fitted new front discs and pads. Discs had no locating screw fitted and the brake warning sensor was fitted with a jumper cable to disable the warning sensor.
3. Investigated vibration from speaker. Told speaker blown. was actually a wire off
4. Refused under warranty to fit a lower door trim properly as they said it was a body shop job. Sent 40 miles to body shop who fitted properly in the time it took me to smoke a ciggie
5. Changed timing belt. Told the fixed price. On collection price was double as they had so say done loads of other stuff. No call, just did the work, so refused to pay.

This is just a few of the things they have messed up, which is why I travel to Tetbury 70 miles away who have always done exactly what you want
 
SteveTDCi said:
My local dealer have been ok, Peterborough Audi, always return calls etc and the work seems fine, on the opposite hand I wouldn't use huntingdon audi, never return calls etc so obvioulsy don't want either a sale or service work, which is different to daves experiance of them.
Click to expand...

I called in to Peterborough Audi a week or so ago to for them to give me a price for changing my Sportback. Everyone I spoke to was pleasant and efficient but their trade-in price was £1250 below what Huntingdon offered and they seemed very reluctant to consider any discount on the new car.

I have never had any problems with the service team at Huntingdon and for sales I have used the same chap for the last 11 years. He always returns my calls and emails promptly and goes out of his way to help. Mind you he is a nephew of Nigel and Gary Vindis who own the whole Vindis Group of 14 dealerships with VAG.
 
I use East Kent Audi, and I've never had any problems with them. Helpful, friendly, explain what they've done, and not noticed any problems with their cleaning (though I'm not really a detail nut, so probably not so perfectionist!). They've even a couple of times waived the labour charge for small items. Much better than Tonbridge audi from whom I bought my car... Tonbridge Audi were hugely arrogant and I wouldn't go there again.
 
cdb2 said:
You need to set expectations.

Make it clear you don't want vehicle washed and put a note on the passenger seat to that effect.
Click to expand...

I do that too! Type up an A4 saying 'Please do not wash the car' and leave it sitting on the passenger seat. I don't spend hours of careful washing / polishing /waxing for some numpty with a dirty sponge to ruin it!!
 
Hi Edition,

My dealer is Teeside Audi, as you know ive had probs with them already over the wear patches in the roof, but that aside i found the Service Receptionist (im sure she has a different job description...) a very poor liar.

I took my car at the agreed time to have the roof inspected while i waited as the dealer is 25 miles away. 80 minutes later the car still hadnt moved from the spot where i parked it. I spoke to the receptionist and she assured me that the car had been moved back into the space i parked it bcos the garage area was full, but the pics had been took of it and she was just waiting for the keys back.
I told her to go collect the keys and paperwork now while i stood at her desk and waited. She went away for 5 mins, came back and passed the keys for the FIRST time to the mechanic, and tried to bluff me that the car needed more photos taken.
She was lying through her teeth, my car had been forgotten about and hadnt ****** moved from the spot i had parked it in the 1st place.

If your gonna lie to the customer at least do it well!!

With Teeside Audi i feel like i was a VIP when handing over my £23,000 and since then im a nobody. They are very mistaken, especially with this roof warrenty problem i have......

So at this moment i have no faith in either the mechanics, warrenty dept or admin staff....hey ive only had my Audi 4 weeks:mad:
 
Filthygorgeous said:
Hi Edition,

My dealer is Teeside Audi, as you know ive had probs with them already over the wear patches in the roof, but that aside i found the Service Receptionist (im sure she has a different job description...) a very poor liar.

I took my car at the agreed time to have the roof inspected while i waited as the dealer is 25 miles away. 80 minutes later the car still hadnt moved from the spot where i parked it. I spoke to the receptionist and she assured me that the car had been moved back into the space i parked it bcos the garage area was full, but the pics had been took of it and she was just waiting for the keys back.
I told her to go collect the keys and paperwork now while i stood at her desk and waited. She went away for 5 mins, came back and passed the keys for the FIRST time to the mechanic, and tried to bluff me that the car needed more photos taken.
She was lying through her teeth, my car had been forgotten about and hadnt ****** moved from the spot i had parked it in the 1st place.

If your gonna lie to the customer at least do it well!!

With Teeside Audi i feel like i was a VIP when handing over my £23,000 and since then im a nobody. They are very mistaken, especially with this roof warrenty problem i have......

So at this moment i have no faith in either the mechanics, warrenty dept or admin staff....hey ive only had my Audi 4 weeks:mad:
Click to expand...
All went downhill after Ian Thompson left, there have been to many changes recently and not for the better.
 
The guy asked if anyone knew a decent specialist in Yorkshire, this thread has now turned into who knows the best dealer and what kind of service everyone is getting across the country...

If your dealer is **** get rid and move on and tell the new dealer that or complain to your dealer and get them to sort it out....

You guys dont half waste your time, these posts just contradict each other.. When you take your car in, clarify what is what and if you dont want some spotty little oik washing your car, tell them not to wash it, simple.... If you know the cam belt is 120km and not 120k miles then why the **** ask....
Use your brains a little, these garages are businesses with local mechanics working there, not umpa lumpas sent over from germany....
They just happen to be able to stamp your book with the audi stamp..
 
Hi There,

Not being funny but the guys 1st question was...and i quote

"Does anybody actually go to a Uk dealer and have any confidence in the fact they will look after the car correctly? i.e take car of it and actually know what they are doing regarding maintanance!" Edition then gave instances of poor service or work carried out on his car.

To which the majority of us have answered no, and have given instances as to why we have no confidence either. The secondary question was if anyone knows an Audi specialist in yorkshire.

Obviously no one knows of a specialist inYorkshire and so only replied to the 1st question asked in Editions post, just to clear things up :eek:)
 
So can anyone recommend an Audi 'stealer' in the Herts, beds, bucks area? My nearest is probably Amersham Audi, but heard some real horror stories about them. What about Slough or Milton Keynes Audi?
 
PaulMc said:
So can anyone recommend an Audi 'stealer' in the Herts, beds, bucks area? My nearest is probably Amersham Audi, but heard some real horror stories about them. What about Slough or Milton Keynes Audi?
Click to expand...
If you facncy a drive up the A1, Huntingdon Audi are my dealers and I have no hesitation in recommending them. They are quite close to the A1/A14 junction. If you need further details , let me know.

Several forum members have used them and been quite happy and I have personally been using them for both buying my cars and all servicing since 1998.

Bedford Audi are also part of the same Vindis Group and I think some members have used them as well.
 
edition said:
Does anybody actually go to a Uk dealer and have any confidence in the fact they will look after the car correctly? i.e take car of it and actually know what they are doing regarding maintanance!
Click to expand...

Nope - no trust or confidence in them.

Never used Audi as they rip you off, thrash your cars on test drives (i live 2 mins from manchester Audi and regularly see Audis' being thrashed about by young mechanics) and they dont have a clue what they're doing.

i went their once for a goodwill gesture on the IMF (being a common fault) and as my car was a company car, they used their own garage to service it with Audi invoices on parts, And even though they're was a recal on the model after, they refused!

And i went to buy a seal for the imf and they gave me the wrong one! And i asked them to order a screw for the brake disc and they'd call when it arrives but 4 months later, still no phone call.

So all in all - they're robbing idiots. My local garage who has an ex-vag technician and used to work for Audi/vw is miles better! And they never let me down once on my mk4 or my Audi (and dont charge for a diagnostic check!)
 
I've had very bad experiences with S.G. Smith (Bromley/Beckenham Audi) and have moved all my business to Tonbridge Audi. My car is in there now for the second time in a month and I've been very impressed with them. They look after the car well, do as I ask & always give me a lovely loan car, despite being 21! I've never bought a car from them previously, and only had one AVS with them, but they are changing my clutch and repairing paintwork failure under "goodwill". They've completely restored my faith in the brand, so far...
 
These are the greeters at my local garage:

morons%2520copy.jpg
 
Had good and bad experiences with all dealers, not just AUDI.
They are a necessary evil IMO.
Im always suspicious of them, but still use them reluctantly.

Had a bad experience with Wearside AUDI when enquiring about a car.
So far had good experience with Tyneside AUDI (Silverlink).

Use the dealers for servicing (to get the stamp) for resale reasons, any reputable independants for general work, brakes etc....

cheers
Paul
 
My car went into be fixed at Manchester Audi, i was impressed with them, i got a women from the shop to check my car first with me before i let it go ,they gave me an 08 a4 which was OK.... then they phoned me next day to say job done i couldn't fault em to be honest very quick work ,,, very polite at the showroom ... great guys at Manchester,Lancaster Audi on trafford park ..... but Derby Audi never again will i set foot there, horrible pressurized sale technique when we walked in people just looked at us and carried on talking like they were royaly they work at audi for christ sake they dont own it. We wasn't offered a drink like Manchester treated like **** basically because we were only spending 15 k..... And to top it off when they dropped the car off scuffed all the alloys on one side and derby just blanked us after that wouldnt fix the alloys instaled the ipod lead instead of the dock which we paid cash for i hope derby Audi implodes lol i really do.... if anyone is thinking of getting an Audi i mean it don't go to derby there horrible.........We then complained to audi uk they said just take it up with your dealer tbh i wont be getting another audi we have had three now deffinatly goin bmw next ...
 
mhill said:
I thin this thread should be emailed to Audi Uk and every Dealer in the country pmsl
Click to expand...

As Audi currently sell in the region of 100,000 cars a year in the UK, I don't think the comments of a few members of a rather specialist forum would be of much interest to them.
 
h5djr said:
As Audi currently sell in the region of 100,000 cars a year in the UK, I don't think the comments of a few members of a rather specialist forum would be of much interest to them.
Click to expand...

Fair point, there are probably dozens of dedicated forums in the UK slagging off their specific dealers.

Good to have a good old moan though.:)
 
h5djr said:
As Audi currently sell in the region of 100,000 cars a year in the UK, I don't think the comments of a few members of a rather specialist forum would be of much interest to them.
Click to expand...
Hi, i think mhill was probably joking hence his 'pmsl' at the end of his sentance ;o)
 
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