Glasgow Audi - dealership experience Oct 2012

[JimC64]

Hi all, just had my car in for a service at Glasgow Audi today and wanted to share my experiences with you......

A little history first - When I was looking at a new car around 5 and a half years ago I visited them and had a look around. To be honest the surroundings were ( still are ) impressive but not so much the personnel / staff etc. I was there for an hour, then left and went to Stirling Audi ( part of the Lomond goup- now taken over by Lookers ) and had a great experience.....5 hours later I was the proud owner of an A6

Well 5 years on and I can report a huge difference, at least IMO.

I had my car booked in today for an interim service, basically an oil / filter change, quick look around the car etc etc.

Drove in at 07.45 am today and the place was busy with plenty of staff around.

Initially I was greeted by a security guard of sorts, but he was busy so I drove straight in and parked up. Getting out of the car I was approached by one of the site personnel who asked for my keys and said they would park it at the service reception area for me and take care of things from there for me.

Walking on I came across one of the suits ( turned out to be the Head of Business ) and we had an exchange of pleasantries.

Walking into the building, I had got maybe 15 feet in and was heading towards the service desk at the other side when I was approached by another member of staff who asked politely, Mr Campbell?
Yes I replied, wondering how he knew my name?

He asked for my car keys at which point I told him one of his colleagues already had them. No problem we'll get right onto it for you sir!

Had a chat with the service manager who I know well and caught up.
Around this time there were around 3- 4 service personnel + the service manager, half a dozen or so sales staff, various others around and about, head of business and customers starting to arrive.

I had already been given a complimentary coffee and bacon roll at this point. During the course of my time there I was offered another 3 or 4 coffees, soft drinks etc.

I got chatting with the Head of business again later, talked about the marque and where it was and where it was going, the takeover by Lookers and various other points. I was quite impressed by the fact that he was around and took the time to speak to customers.

The attitudes seem to have changed, or at least improved dramatically IMO.......Everyone was very friendly and helpful and couldn't do enough to for you.

The interim service / oil change + checks etc took around 3 hours. This was as I adivsed them of a "juddering" when in high gear at low speeds.
Ok, so there is a stall speed of course but this feels more violent and happens at higher speeds than I would normally expect. I'm used to it now and change down a little earlier to avoid this and so ease any uneccessary strain on the engine.

The diagnostic couldn't pick anything up, but a manual check found the inlet manifold actuator was faulty and needed replacement. I was advised that the part was fairly cheap at around £15 but it was labour intensive to fit. The advice was to let the fault develop and do as necessary at a later date as it would be around £280 all in to do and the part wasn't available ex stock anyway.
No hard sell!!

The service completed and a sidelight bulb changed, service indicator reset, washed n vacuumed, advised of tyre depths and pads / discs getting close to needing replacement in a few months I was relieved of not a lot of money and was very pleasantly surprised.

The cars in great shape generally as is but.......

I'd like to perhaps look at the "slip ring" as the steering is still squeeky and getting slightly more annoying and probably the inlet manifold actuator so I guess thats around £500 or so all in.
Tyres are 5 mm on the rear and 3mm on the front which is fine, but personally I'll look at replacing them sooner rather than later - personal preference so I guess around £800 - £1000 there
Pads n discs all round - they're in good shape and should last another 4-6 months at least I guess but I'll consider getting them done at some point soon probably. I'll go with OEM as they just last n last and that'll be £500 all round.
In all honesty I cannot remember the last time I changed them, and IMO are really good value for money against alternatives.

The above are not desperately needed but at some point for sure. I suppose £2000 is a lot of money but other than tyres a year or so ago at £600 and a few MOT's at £40 or so I haven't needed to spend a penny on her ............not bad at all!


The experience today at Glasgow Audi was superb IMO and I'd have to give them a definite 10/10

Highly recommended

In the words of someone quite famous........"I'll be back"

[zollaf]

thats cool, glad you had a nice experience, suprised you wern't offered a massage as well or at the least a foot rub.
it all costs though and explains why the labour rate may be a tad higher than the likes of me who will talk to you, give the same sort of service to the car but without all the (rude word) that goes with it. coffee, yes you can have one. bacon sarny, yes i will cook you one, but they are £3.50 each, although i did give a regular customer 2 complimentarty slices of toast on tuesday.

[JimC64]

Zollaf - I hear what you're saying, believe me.

Guys like you are invaluable, do a great job and save customers money I know that.
Lets be honest, the reason people like you are in existance is primarily down to the costs involved with dealing with the main dealers, generally. A fast, personal / local service with savings.....all good.

I'm just saying that not all dealers are necessarily rip off merchants and there are deals to be had and good experiences too

Just for reference, using Hverfordwest as a guide, they're around 400 miles or so I'd guess from your location so its unlikely you'll be stepping on each others toes anytime soon....

[chody]

To be honest they had to improve, i have 2 friends who swear they will never buy another Audi because of the experience and lack of customer service they got from Glasgow Audi in the last 3 years, they must have lost so much custom to other dealers because of the attitude

[zollaf]

jim, absolutely. if you can or want to afford the main dealer experience and they treat you well, then why not. if they didn't sell the cars in the first place then i would have no work when they are on their 5th owner who is keeping it going on a tight budget. they are also handy for us little people as well as we need parts from them and sometimes advice. true, there are gooduns and baduns. i know of a few that would still be here (not vag) if they actually treated customers like real people instead of cashcows.
yes you pay more to go to them, in most instances, but not all and you should be treated like the only person in there as they need you to come back for more.

[JimC64]

To be honest they had to improve, i have 2 friends who swear they will never buy another Audi because of the experience and lack of customer service they got from Glasgow Audi in the last 3 years, they must have lost so much custom to other dealers because of the attitude

Hey Chody, I have to admit, I agree with your comments.

As stated, I initially went there 5 years ago when I was looking to buy........seemed to be almost ignored / over looked and generally not treated overly well. Even 2-3 years ago the service side etc wasn't particularly hot either.

My experiences in their sister company at Stirling Audi was the exact opposite. Friendly helpful staff falling over themselves to make you happy as a valued customer and keep you that way.

Once again though, I say, it seems to be all change at Glasgow Audi and perhaps worth another look if / when necessary!

Chody / Zollaf - Please believe me when I say, I'm not all dealer this or dealer that, and there are certainly good ones and bad ones in all marques........I've experienced both good and bad myself over the years