Clark Commercials

[AlisonF]

I’ve been posting a thread about my experiences trying to get a tow bar and wind out awning fitted to a T6 (2016).
As local Clark Commercials in Dyce, Aberdeen weren’t top of my list based on previous experience (I also later asked them if they would do the work in my desparation and then discovered they were not interested) I contacted Clark Commercials Edinburgh on 5th May (2018).
After many many calls, emails back and forth, repeated requests whether I had prep kit or for vehicle reg (yawn, all were given in first contact). It’s been a whole saga since and not yet finished.
At this stage my van was booked in for a ‘6 hr’ job (their definitions), I’m at day 10 of no vehicle and no likelihood for another few days and most likely another 2 weeks or more...
The most irritating thing (out of many) is that every time I call I amm assured they will call me tommorow at 11am with an update. It has never happened. And sadly when I’ve waited until 4pm the news has been bad. A full stort will be posted (many pages) when this is sorted and resolved.

I’m really starting to wonder if they’ve pulled a swift one and my van has been sold off never to be seen again...

 

[Ryemslie]

That’s ridiculous! I’d be demanding my van back if I were you free of charge regardless of works carried out. Wouldn’t touch Clark Commercials Dyce myself either as they are far from competent when it comes to inner workings of a cali. Plenty other garages around Aberdeen capable of carrying out the above mentioned work though.

 

[Digger]

This level of service is totally unacceptable. I know VW UK do listen to owners complaints 're service level ( how much is open to question) but I would let them know. Hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment in the future. Also it seems MP owners are also seeing the harsh reality of useless dealerships.
For what it's worth Liverpool and Preston have much better staff . We travel more than 600 miles for servicing while you wait and they have never let us down in 7 years.

 

[Jay586]

I went in there a few years ago & got the impression it was mainly commercial, not much spit or polish.

Defo get onto vwcs.

 

[VW Guru]

Definitely speak to vw customer care and get a case raised the dealer will have to react. Also remember to fill in the survey you will get after anything carried out by a dealer you will need to rate 1-5 1 being bad obviously. This will hurt the dealer as we are all ranked in the way of customer service anything less than a 5 and we drop down the ranks if you drop to low then we are under measures from vw. Also make sure you do get a survey some dealers are sneaky and will remove customer info so that they don’t get a survey from vw which is against the rules.

On a quick point of your towbar it’s about a day long job that involves both your front seats lower dash and front flooring to be removed and refitted.

 

[Alan Andrews]

Well I can only comment on the contact I have had with the VW Van Centre (Edinburgh).

I have recently bought a used 2017 T6 California Ocean. I bought this from a campervan centre where the VW had been taken in part exchange. I haggled a very good price!

Reading through the provided documentation, I noticed that it was originally supplied by the VW Van Centre (Edinburgh). I had a couple of questions regarding the original build configuration sticker inside the service book. Particularly the original specification, as some details did not tie up with what I was driving.

I sent the VW Edinburgh centre an email describing my questions, and asking them if they could dig out the original specification details.

A chap called Craig came back within the day with everything I needed. No hassle and no charge. This is what I call good service.

 

[calimera]

Definitely speak to vw customer care and get a case raised the dealer will have to react. Also remember to fill in the survey you will get after anything carried out by a dealer you will need to rate 1-5 1 being bad obviously. This will hurt the dealer as we are all ranked in the way of customer service anything less than a 5 and we drop down the ranks if you drop to low then we are under measures from vw. Also make sure you do get a survey some dealers are sneaky and will remove customer info so that they don’t get a survey from vw which is against the rules.

On a quick point of your towbar it’s about a day long job that involves both your front seats lower dash and front flooring to be removed and refitted.

Thanks for information. Good to be in know.
Never had survey from Snows despite several warranty repairs.

 

[AlisonF]

That’s ridiculous! I’d be demanding my van back if I were you free of charge regardless of works carried out. Wouldn’t touch Clark Commercials Dyce myself either as they are far from competent when it comes to inner workings of a cali. Plenty other garages around Aberdeen capable of carrying out the above mentioned work though.

I went to Clark Commercials as I wanted to ensure the work done did not invalidate my extended warranty. Clark Commercials Aberdeen (Dyce) wouldn’t do the job.

 

[AlisonF]

Well I can only comment on the contact I have had with the VW Van Centre (Edinburgh).

I have recently bought a used 2017 T6 California Ocean. I bought this from a campervan centre where the VW had been taken in part exchange. I haggled a very good price!

Reading through the provided documentation, I noticed that it was originally supplied by the VW Van Centre (Edinburgh). I had a couple of questions regarding the original build configuration sticker inside the service book. Particularly the original specification, as some details did not tie up with what I was driving.

I sent the VW Edinburgh centre an email describing my questions, and asking them if they could dig out the original specification details.

A chap called Craig came back within the day with everything I needed. No hassle and no charge. This is what I call good service.

It seems like the Sales / after Sales and Service etc are all completely different entities. So just because Sales / After Sales didna good job I would still be cautious for Service. Or I’ve just been incredibly unlucky.

 

[AlisonF]

Definitely speak to vw customer care and get a case raised the dealer will have to react. Also remember to fill in the survey you will get after anything carried out by a dealer you will need to rate 1-5 1 being bad obviously. This will hurt the dealer as we are all ranked in the way of customer service anything less than a 5 and we drop down the ranks if you drop to low then we are under measures from vw. Also make sure you do get a survey some dealers are sneaky and will remove customer info so that they don’t get a survey from vw which is against the rules.

On a quick point of your towbar it’s about a day long job that involves both your front seats lower dash and front flooring to be removed and refitted.

Indeed I was quoted 6 hrs for the tow bar work and 1 hr for the wind out awning - hence the planned day trip to Edinburgh from Aberdeen.
I am also planning on writing the whole saga for VWCS as this is not all Clark Commercials fault - they received incomplete and incorrect deliveries from VW. All in all a classic Swiss Cheese debacle for which I am not prepared to pay. Let’s see what Monday brings - and I won’t be waiting for them to call me - I’ll be on to them first thing asking for my van to be delivered back ASAP.

 

[greenfintry]

Surprised by your difficulties as I have had good service from Edinburgh although they can be tardy at returning phone calls. Additionally a couple of the guys in the service department are real Cali gurus so figure out stuff others can’t.
Whatever you do DO NOT go to the Glasgow van centre, they are truly awful, dishonest and trash your van

 

[AlisonF]

I am delighted to be able to say that I had a very constructive, positive and open discussion with the manager and service manager at Clark Commercials in Dyce this morning.
We agreed the way forward on several issues I have been experiencing with the van. I have also received a couple of generous gestures of good will.
I am very pleased with this outcome and hope this is a good sign for the future.

 

[MartG]

Excellent - well done! and well done Clarks, I hope!

 

[AlisonF]

Sorry to labour this one. But I think it would benefit a lot of us in Scotland (not just North East) if people on here could help recognise the big effort being made to correct mistakes from the past... if anyone is in doubt then please speak to the manager. Thank you

 

[Digger]

Excellent news. Pleased for you.

 

[kurienp]

Excellent News Alison and fair play to anyone who is making the effort to get things fixed. No one gets it right all the time, especially with this complex machine and exacting customers. Good on CC Dyce.

 

[BeagleMum]

I am delighted to be able to say that I had a very constructive, positive and open discussion with the manager and service manager at Clark Commercials in Dyce this morning.
We agreed the way forward on several issues I have been experiencing with the van. I have also received a couple of generous gestures of good will.
I am very pleased with this outcome and hope this is a good sign for the future.

That’s excellent news after all the negative experiences

 

[joe g]

We got our Ocean there last July and have been very pleased with their support and service. All first class

 

[Perfectos]

Glad to see you got there In the end Alison, never a nice experience having to deal with the emotion and stress, hopefully the support and advice you received on this forum helped in those low times and hopefully the Dealer has taken on board that this forum is wide ranging and supportive of its fellow members?

Spring is just around the corner let’s hope you can get out and enjoy your Cali, like you should be able to, and forget about the issues and stress induced unnecessarily.

It was so last year daaahrling haha.

BTW FairPlay to you for the update

 

[Michael403]

We bought an Ocean from them last August. The whole buying procedure was very straightforward with no attempt to rush anything. On the day we collected it up a small defect that I had not noticed was picked up by the chap doing the handover, who promptly arranged to have the defect rectified as soon as the part was available. It was hassle free and inspired confidence in the dealership, and I am happy to say that we have thoroughly enjoyed using the vehicle.

 

[AlisonF]

We bought an Ocean from them last August. The whole buying procedure was very straightforward with no attempt to rush anything. On the day we collected it up a small defect that I had not noticed was picked up by the chap doing the handover, who promptly arranged to have the defect rectified as soon as the part was available. It was hassle free and inspired confidence in the dealership, and I am happy to say that we have thoroughly enjoyed using the vehicle.

My handover 4 years ago was poor. Spotted issues on pre inspection that were still there on collection. I think there has been a bit of a wake up call the last couple of years...
The current manager has been there for a year, I only got to know him through my issues recently and I am very impressed with him. Fingers crossed the positive experiences people have commented about more recently is a sign of change for good for the long term.

 

[ViceGripKev]

I have just recently bought our Ocean from them and to be honest, I had my reservations about their after sales from reading your previous thread. It nice to see you have both have come to an agreement and hopefully you won’t have to wait too long to have your wiring problems sorted.

 

[AlisonF]

I have just recently bought our Ocean from them and to be honest, I had my reservations about their after sales from reading your previous thread. It nice to see you have both have come to an agreement and hopefully you won’t have to wait too long to have your wiring problems sorted.

Not specific to this dealer, but I would suggest going through the threads on here about things that can go wrong in the first few years and keep an eye on those parts. The Cali has some specific weaknesses and if you catch them early can be dealt with as warranty issues instead of our of warranty or then classed as wear and tear...
The service department deal with lots of VW commercial vehicles (Aberdeen has been pretty affluent from the oil industry) so are pretty clued up around the engine side of things, but maybe less so about some of the specifics of the habitation side. Not so many people in the cold damp dark North East think a camper is their ideal vehicle...
Now I seem to have convinced them to join the forum, it would be great to share more experiences, good as well as less so.

 

[Richy]

Clark Commercials Edinburgh strike again !!!

I purchased a 3 service deal when I bought my Beach back in 2016,
I’ve had issues with both Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy service centres from day one,
but for the last 2 years I’ve been happy as I’ve not had any dealings with either of them until today !!!!
The van was booked in for a service today, when my wife dropped it off they informed her that there were several recalls on the van that needed attention and they would need it for 4 hours !!!!
Anyway one of the recalls was to inspect for roof corrosion, which was all clear

I arrived home from work to the following :

 

[Alied]

Is there a hole in the fabric. It beggars belief that main dealers don't know how to put a roof down on a Beach. I've been to two dealers that didn't know this. If this is the case I feel sorry for Coast and Beach owners.