jdc
have you tried the Subaru approved service agent in Stockport. I understand he is a lot better than the dealer in Rochdale and even better than the one in Alderley Edge?
If they are so good (mainly because they do a lot of souped up scoobies) I will want to take my Forester XT there.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
Espada
No, I haven't tried the guys in Stockport, mainly because I am within walking distance of the Rochdale dealer.
Over the years I have had 6 or 7 different Subaru from Robinsons - so something like 300,000+ miles with barely a hiccup and when something minor has needed doing, I have never felt overcharged, ripped-off or screwed.
In fact recently they fixed my wife's Impreza (annoying rattle and broken bonnet catch) for nothing - "It only took us a couple of minutes, no charge"
Good simple honest service that is not rocket science from guys who know what they are talking about.
When I read all the above ot really makes me feel I driving the right car .....
By the way my, Subaru's included one of the earlier Forester s-Turbo's - at the time insurance group was 17 - what group is yours now ?
jdc
|
|
|
carl233,
I can only think that you have been very unlucky. I've had dealings with four Ford dealers and I've always been very satisfied. It's not that I am not critical. I always check very carefully the work that has been done, and I would not hesitate to complain if I found something with which I was not happy. A dealer is only as good as the people that work for them, and I think it's a bit unfair to tar all Ford dealers with the same brush. I'm sure that there are some people that would berate all dealers of other makes of car, purely because they've been similarly unlucky with the particular employees of those dealers that they have encountered.
In a similar vein, there are people who would never buy a particular make of car. Car manufacturers that make indifferent cars today might well make superb cars tomorrow. It all depends on who works for them during a particular era.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
|
|
You go to a main dealer because you believe they will know how to fix your car correctly, lets be honest they sell them. However, from my experience this is far from the truth.
Experienced constant problems with a Ford Main Dealer. Returned there 3 times with various problems ncluding a fault on the brakes, but needless to say the faults are still there. They tell me they can find nothing wrong, but the guys at work checked it out and diagnosed the fault in 5 minutes..... Maybe I should keep going back until the faults are fixed but it just means a hell of a lot of inconvienence to me. They make you sit there for anything up to 2 hours for a courtesy car (which has supposedly been booked in advance) just to be told there is nothing available and you have to find your own way home.
When I purchased the car from them their garage MOT'd it the day I collected it. Wasnt until 2 days later (and driving from one end of the country to the other) I find out it should never have passed due to a problem with the tail lights and reflectors.
Got to take it into a dealers for some recall work to be done and I really am not looking forward to it at all .....
|
When I purchased the car from them their garage MOT'd it the day I collected it. Wasnt until 2 days later (and driving from one end of the country to the other) I find out it should never have passed due to a problem with the tail lights and reflectors.
It may well have passed an MOT on the day you bought it. Passing an MOT one day is no guarantee that the car will not have developed a fault two days later. Having an MOT certificate only certifies the condition of the car at the time of the test. This is not just a generally accepted fact, it is also a stated fact.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
I find out it should never have passed due to a problem with the tail lights and reflectors. Having an MOT certificate only certifies the condition of the car at the time of the test. This is not just a generally accepted fact, it is also a stated fact.
>>
I can accept a bulb may have failed but unless a reflector was damaged after the MOT it does sound a bit iffy.
|
|
Well there werent any reflectors!!! The car also had completely clear tail light lenses, not E approved, with no special bulb holders to provide a coloured background (you know the things I mean). I would have had to paint clear bulbs yellow or red or buy those "for off road use only".
|
|
|
|
|
|
My local Alfa/Fiat dealer has just changed to Subaru. Most of the staff remain. The Alfa dealer was appalling. It will be interesting to see if their service level improves.
|
Well, they will have a lot more time on their hands as they will have litle repair and waranty work to do!
So maybe it will improve.
In answer to jdc.....My Forester XT Auto is in Ins Gp 15, but tis still expensive.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
|
mlc
This will be very interesting indeed - I can't imagine Subaru would take on an existing 'appalling' dealer without either some serious re-training or else future planned changes of personnel.
As we can see from this thread, it can only take one bad dealer to create bad feeling for the particular marque ....
It seems that the smaller, family-originated dealership provide the best levels of customer satisfaction / service, in other words, keep away from the multi-national, multi-town network of major brands.
jdc
|
"When I purchased the car from them their garage MOT'd it the day I collected it. Wasnt until 2 days later (and driving from one end of the country to the other) I find out it should never have passed due to a problem with the tail lights and reflectors.
Got to take it into a dealers for some recall work to be done and I really am not looking forward to it at all ..... "
The fact that the car underwent an MOT test implies that it was/is more than 3 years old. I'm surprised that a car over 3 years old should be the subject of a recall. Was the car merely given a sort of simulated MOT test (which might be as comprehensive as a proper MOT test) or a test that was legally due?
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
OOps!
<<......(which might NOT be as comprehensive as a proper MOT test)or a test that was legally due?
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
|
|
Hi, I had a Ford Sierra recalled for a seat belt problem. I was the 4th or 5th owner, I had bought it from an auction and it was about 10 years old. I think it has to do with some kind fear of a court case if it was found that there was a serious fault and someone gets hurt and they did nothing about it.
Ford was done in the US for fitting a petrol tank in an"unprotected "place on one model. There was an accident and the back seat passenger was burned. Paperwork was found that showed that Ford had costed fitting it there against the probability of a court action. Ford lost.
Clive.
|
The Crown Victoria I think.
--
Adam
|
Your right, they were police vehicles too.
The ford one was this one and it was significant because of the size of the fine.
"Closely following the publication of the Mother Jones article, a jury in Orange County, Calif., awarded Richard Grimshaw $125 million in punitive damages for injuries he sustained while a passenger in a 1971 Pinto which was struck by another car at an impact speed of 28MPH and burst into flames. Although the award was eventually reduced to $3.5 million by the trial judge, the jury's reason for the figure of $125 million was that Ford Motor Company had marketed the Pinto with full knowledge that injuries such as Grimshaw's were inevitable in the Pinto and therefore the punitive damages should be more than Ford had made in profit on the Pinto since its introduction, which was $124 million."
Clive. (sorry, strayed from the thread).
|
|
|
|
|
It seems that the smaller, family-originated dealership provide the best levels of customer satisfaction / service, in other words, keep away from the multi-national, multi-town network of major brands.
My local family-owned major-brand official dealer (never mind which make of car!) employs just 2 fitters and an apprentice fitter. I would be very much surprised if they had the level of expertise that you would find in a large dealership who would no doubt have specialists in the various parts of a car.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
|
Main dealers like to pin up the courses their staff have attended. Whether they listened is another matter, unless there is a pass/fail rate, by examination. Which I think is rare.
|
Incompetence can rear it's ugly head at ALL dealerships - large or small, main dealer or franchise. It's all the same. The last commentator is right, they do like to hang up and display their 'certificates' but at the end of the day you can always anticipate where and how they will shoot themselves in their foot. it's sad really but doesn't matter if you're a 'Master Technician' @ VW or 'Senior Engineer' @ Vauxhall - they all seem to go to that same school which msut teach them not to read the 'comemnts' on the job sheet or ignore what the Customer has told them.
However I ahve found the Service department at our local Ford dealer here in Milton Keynes to be first rate - in terms of service, work carried out attentiveness. But i guess you good and bad with all...
|
I've no complaints with the service I've received from Ford dealers , although I was quoted 3 weeks wait for a service at one of the larger dealer groups in the North West - my local smaller dealer did it inside 3 days and still provided a courtesy car.
There are good and bad dealers for every make - the market they operate in tends not to lead itself to providing good service as service departments seem to be a licence to print money - they hide behind the manufacturers logo and suprious claims that modern vehicles need specialist car - most modern stuff has an annual oil change and a few filters every 3 years. The distrust of independant garages by many owners also helps the main dealers cause and thus they have little competition and get away with extortionate charges for providing a second rate service in some cases - if your workshop is booked solid for 3 weeks there is little incentive to please every customer who walks through the door, particularly if you're the mechanic on £7 an hour and you know your labour is being charged out at ten times that. The proliferation of service advisors with absolutely no mechanical knowledge doesn't help matters - they don't know what questions to ask to help diagnose faults effectively, and the mechanics can hide in the workshop safe in the knowledge that they don't face the wrath of customers complaints.
|
Do you think it all depends on what car you put into service, i mean if the car was purchased when new, because some main dealer garages dont like taking imports or vehicles brought from a supermarket!?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
>>Do you think it all depends on what car you put into service, i mean if the car was purchased when new, because some main dealer garages dont like taking imports or vehicles brought from a supermarket!?
Only time they had a problem with this.Is when it was PDI time(pre delivery inspection).Most mechanics would rather take a PDI than take a service.or any other problem/except fitting an alarm.Which back in the late 80`s.Was a regular occurance..As PDI`s are now twice a year.Mechanics earn more.than doing a service.I can understand dislike for imports.Certain parts may be different.And cross referencing is needed to make sure the part is correct..Can be a nightmare
--
Steve
|
To provide an update of the situation. The service manager was very apologetic and they have agreed to provide the next service free of charge. I have lost faith in this dealership however and wonder what would damage they would cause if I did return.
I have also reported the dealership to Ford customer service. It seems a total lack of respect to damage another persons property due to sloppy and poor workmanship. Ford need to take action and perhaps randomly inspect dealers to keep an eye on the quality of service. Perhaps every customer should need to fill in a questionnaire after work and if the results were monitored correctly then action could be taken regarding particular areas that need attention.
|
<< Perhaps every customer should needto fill in a questionnaire after work and if the results were monitored correctly then action could be taken regarding particular areas that need attention.
When I've had my car serviced I regularly receive a questionnaire from both the dealer and from a market research company acting on behalf of the manufacturer.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
When I've had my car serviced I regularly receive a questionnaire from both the dealer and from a market research company acting on behalf of the manufacturer.
I'm not sure if all Toyota dealers do but our customers get a follow up questionnaire after they've had a service done.
Also when you buy a new Toyota you get a follow up from Toyota asking you about the purchase process
|
|
|
|
|
