Main dealer experience

[greas-E-monkey]

On the subject of car dealers. From my own experience there are a number of VW agents that have provided me with very good service if somewhat costly! I am in no way affliated to anybody but I would recommend Croydon VW for general servicing and diagnostics but there four wheel alignment facilities leave a lot to be desired in terms of cost and the final results of a £280 job.
I think my own vehicle handled worse once thay had carried out the alignment than before, It only went in because it was scrubbing tyres at the front and now handles poorly.
Any other good bad experiences at main delears ? lets compile a list of good and bad !?!

[bluetwo]

98 golf tdi, 185k miles FVWSH

I have had poor service fro Argents of Heathrow (5 years ago). Parts not fitted correctly, causing a visit to a different garage (even after a visit to correct the problem), Whites in Camberly (now Martins? (3/4 years ago) who seemed to do an ok job, still really expensive though.

Since then have used Mann Egerton in Exeter, who are really expensive, never know quite what needs doing on their recomendations lists (things not done sometimes don't re-apear next time) Was fairly happy untill a bout 6 months ago when things (AC caps, nuts etc.) started not to be replaced, had an engine under tray replaced which fell off in 100 miles. Turbo mass flow meter thing unplugged and not reconnected. Last service the car came back feeling as though the steering alignment had changed (even though they were not doing anything needing it to be changed), and the wheels were not put on properly... and came loose after a couple of 100 miles

Main dealer quality. Over 6 I have spent nealy the same as i paid for the car in the first place.

Never had a breakdown untill last week, gear box/drive seems to have packed up. A month after MOT, new tyers, cambelt, the works. how chuffed am i? (worth fixing?)

Just bought a 2002 TDI, looking for an independent.

[Huweth]

Bluetwo, if you are in the Exeter area there was an independant VW garage at the top of Pensylvania road in Exeter. I don't know if it's still there. Maybe it's worth checking? If you do find a good one in the area, let me know, as I'll be needing a service shortly.
Cheers

[bluetwo]

will do.

[thecoolalhambra]

Can anybody recommend indepenmdent garages in North or East London?

[Bryce]

Would be interested in an independent in the Farnborough area (hampshire), Main dealer in Camberley (Whites or MArtins) are really expensive, more than Barons BMW with my old car.

Barnett and Small in Farnham used to be good but no one answers the phone and I haven't had the time to pop over.

[sp900]

Try:

Laszlo Continental Auto Spares
Site 6, South Harrow Industrial Estate,
Brember Rd,
South Harrow
Harrow, Middlesex HA2 8XB
Tel: 020 8423 5590

They did my service and Cam Belt service on my Passat.

FANTASTIC SERVICE - and Great price.

10 mins from the A40 - just off the A312.

[blackie]

As far as buying anew car is concerned, steer well clear of JCB Medway - the salesmen know less about their products than me. Totally useless. As for servicing (well, I should say repairing persistant faults), they're not much better. The Service Manager (Mark) is first rate, but nevertheless I've still got faults that aren't being fixed.

Like I say, steer WELL clear.

[MalcQV]

I have just picked my car up from Smith Knight Fay in Bolton last night.
On Friday the car had a warning light "STOP" on the dashboard. Long story short I thought the thermostat had seized.

It went in (under warranty) to said garage. they quickly diagnosed water pump.

When I bought the car 2 months ago from another VW dealer, they had not entered the warranty details, however the Bolton VW and where I purchased it from sorted it all out.

I had a phone call Monday afternoon telling me what the fault was. The technician suggested I consider having my cam belt changed (the car is at 48k/4yrs old). Because the engine was stripped down for a new water pump, there would be a considerable saving in doing the belt.

I know they got a little extra money but in the long term it has saved me a few hundred quid

[brianf]

My VW main dealer story relates to the fitting of speakers in the rear doors of my Touran 2.0 TDi DSG and is hot off the presses - the bill received yesterday is an unbelievable €850.87 (£586.80). It's bad enough that they sell a vehicle of this class without rear speakers but their sales literature is misleading in that it tells the prospective buyer that it comes with a four-speaker system as standard. What they don't say is that all four speakers are in the front.
The car went in for its end of warranty check-up last week to deal with any faults that should be rectified before warranty expires on 12th Dec and I thought it would be expedient to have the speakers fitted at the same time.
They only dealt with two of four warranty items that I reported, the most time consuming of which was a modification to the front seats to stop them descending by themselves. I suspect that they are also billing me for that work because the total time listed is 11.31 hours.
Prior to asking the main dealer to fit the speakers, I did ask the importer how much it would cost and they told me about three hours of work plus the parts (double the price of Kenwood speakers) so about €400 in total.
I have sent a registered letter of complaint but you can imagine what this has done for my confidence in dealing with these people in future.