Had to chuckle at the person who wrote to HJ's torygraph column complaining that he went to a skoda dealer to arrange a test drive but the dealer had no demonstrator of the model he wanted!
Indignantly, he asks how can the dealer expect anyone to buy the car! Do these people expect every dealer to have a demonstrator of every model in the range waiting to go?
I thought 'disgruntled of Tunbridge Wells' was a figment of newspaper columns but apparently not.
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I think you're being a bit harsh. There's not so many engines in the Fabia range that Skoda shouldn't be able to rustle up a demonstrator from a dealer in the area with the right engine at least.
I thought HJ was a bit harsh on this person too. It's not easy to get your hands on a Fabia at all - not exactly popular in car hire fleets etc. - so if the dealers don't have them, there isn't much way for drivers to see if they like them.
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Also agree with the writer. You can't be expected to decide on the car by sniffing the lovely new interior and admiring the gleamimg bodywork-a drive in the car you want is essential, given that it's the most expensive purchase you're going to make aside from a house. I experienced this prior to purchasing my bike, a Honda VFR, one of the most popular models around. The one and only dealer I contacted prepared to give me a test ride got the sale. Enough said.
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FYI: Eurocar has a few Fabias (though mostly Meganes and Bravas)on their fleet - I rented one from Edinburgh Airport a couple of months ago and was very impressed
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The dealer usually runs the demonstators as part of the salemens' pay.Each salesman gets a different car and makes them available to customers for demos.
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I don't think Im the one being harsh at all. I can just imagine the profile of the person who wrote to HJ but, I wont share it here as it may upset some folk.
Lest to say, I was once in my local Boots store, it's not a big one because its in a small town. However, that didn't stop a married couple of a certain age group taking the store manager to task because his store didn't stock a few items they could get in their local department sized Boots situated in the city where they lived.
Oh well, takes all sorts I guess.
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TW,
No problem if a dealer couldn't promptly arrange a test drive for me, they'd lose a sale....their loss not mine.
Pretty amazing they should expect someone to lay out £10K on something they may dislike within the first ten miles.
The best test drives I've experienced was when in conventional employment with lease cars supplied. We could always swap cars with another employee for a day and really see what our intended choices were like. Actually that showed how the 15min controlled route test drive the dealer often gives is lacking.
David W
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David W
This is rather worrying. Shouldn't you be gazing across the Irish Sea with a dram in your hand not a mouse? Surely you haven't taken a laptop/pda/the full PC on hols? I was in Stranraer on Friday and there were a couple of showers but the forecast didn't really suggest it was time to hit the Yellow Pages to hunt for an internet cafe either.
If you haven't left the safety of the Fens yet, the Galloway News carried a story about the wrong sort of tarmac (non-setting) meaning more delays on the A75 this coming week. Also, if you explore Burns Country further, Ayrshire police seem to be very active with roadside speed checks involving traffic cars and motorcycle bobbies for pursuit.
To get back on thread, I didn't see many local Skodas so probably a shortage of demonstrators. Plenty of Frenchies though.
David
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Ayrshire anti-motoring police - this is traditional. Many years ago they skulked in hiding to spoil the UK start to the Monte Carlo Rally. One of the reasons it was given up, I expect. Don't think there were any Skodas, though.
By the way, I'd expect you'd get a decent Skoda trial in Dundee. Norman Fairweather's, who do Skodas as well as Proton (and Mitsu) actually brought round a Proton to the house for me to take out SWMBO to see if she liked it - all by ourselves.
I must have looked responsible!
Tomo
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Tomo,
Re your Proton test.
That is exactly what they should be prepared to do in order to get your cash.
One of our female friends works at a new car dealership over the weekend as a "meet and greet" girl. She deals with all the time-wasters and then things move up a notch when you get in front of the sales guy as a serious buyer. They are always ready to give a test run in almost every model.
David W
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David M,
Don't worry, our start date is the end of this week. Sorry to say I will have a laptop with me on hols (motoring writing to do, deadline to keep).
Just doing some route planning for the two day trip up there as it happens. Looking to see which towns will have useful shops open on Saturday afternoon for food shopping.
We do hope to be resting at the cottage looking out to sea, it is located at the edge of the shore....east facing across Wigtown Bay.
No worries with the speed checks, kids in the car and we're relaxing. The wrong sort of tarmac will be avoided though, don't want to be looking for a rag and white spirit on day one!
David W
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David W
Maybe SWMBO will hold the dram for you.
The paper tells me the A75 re-surfacing should take just three days this coming week and the affected bits are on the Glenluce bypass and between Ardachie and the Three Lochs junction near to the Kirkcowan turnoff. It seems the speed with which this is being re-done might not be unconnected with the chairman of the relevant local council committee being one of the motorists who lost his windscreen to the flying chippings!
Shopping wise, I use Carlisle ASDA at the end of the M6 (junction 44) for petrol, cafe and other things on my trips north. There is a good Safeway in Dumfries just off the town centre on the left after about 2 miles if you take the first Dumfries exit off the A75 and go in past the Little Chef/Travelodge and Honda garage. Castle Douglas might have one too, or it could be a Somerfield, but Newton Stewart is the biggest shopping town between Dumfries and Stranraer. Petrol varies from 72.9p/litre at Safeway and its neighbours to 76.9p at Q8 stations and 80p+ in remoter places.
To avoid being accused of hijacking the thread, can I point out the Skoda dealer is Dean of Dumfries, Edinburgh Road, Heathhall, Dumfries, and they have a used 01 Fabia Tdi 100 to be tried out, according to the local paper.
Enjoy the Machars.
David
PS: Coming from the Fens, you will of course be making a visit to the Hunters Wellie factory outlet in Dumfries.
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This is probably too late to be of use to the author of the original message, but may help anyone who experiences the same problem in future.
My experience was entirely different. Wishing to replace my ageing VW, I faffed around for ages before settling on a Skoda Fabia. On two occasions (a year apart), I just pitched up at Hall's Skoda dealers (Ruddington, near Nottingham) and, each time, was just given the keys to a demonstrator (first, the SDI and then the TDI that I eventually bought (and I'm delighted withit.)) The salesman urged me to take the car out for half an hour, unaccompanied, so that I could do what I wanted with it. The SDI struck me as terribly slow, while the TDI was a delight - an excellent replacement for my VW Vento 1.9TDI, but at several thousand£ less!
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Stupid way to make your buying decision based on a 10 minute run up the road in a prospective new car purchase.If the drive is really an important part of your decision then rent one for a day /weekend or even longer that way you can really tell if that car will do what you want it to do.A joy ride around the block is just plain daft.
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