Good & Bad VW Dealers - We need your feedback!

[Martin]

We are currently building a list of preffered VW Commercial dealers as the most common complaint we get is from people who take their Cali into a dealer and receive bad service or the service department will not be familiar with the VW California.

We already have a few dealers on board but we want to try and build up a nationwide network so all members will have a trusted dealer nearby.

Here is the plan:

- You tell us which dealers are good and which are bad
- The club will contact the dealers that get the best feedback
- We request from them a named point of contact within the service centre
- They have the option to offer a VIP discount of between 5-10% off servicing
- If they fail to offer good service and start to receive bad feedback, they will be removed from the list

The ones we have already spoken to were more than happy to offer the above so we hope the others will follow suit.

All we need now is your feedback please so we can start this database. ( Please remember we only want feedback on servicing and not sales )

 

[calimera]

What a brilliant/useful idea .

Recently posted a review on Snows Plymouth.
All good so far. Used for 1st interim service & replacement of sliding table (under warranty). Also x2 wing mirror parts ordered(colour coded to Cali ).

We opted not to have Cali washed by them ,have a detailer who does it .Or I do it.

Courtesy car or collection/return service available.

Lee Marshall(service manager) is aware I've posted a review.

We didnt buy from Snows. Bought from Eurovans Crawley.

 

[Martin]

What a brilliant/useful idea .

Recently posted a review on Snows Plymouth.
All good so far. Used for 1st interim service & replacement of sliding table (under warranty). Also x2 wing mirror parts ordered(colour coded to Cali ).

We opted not to have Cali washed by them ,have a detailer who does it .Or I do it.

Courtesy car or collection/delivery back service available.

Lee MarsHall (service manager) is aware I've posted a review.

We didnt buy from Snows. Bought from Eurovans Crawley.

That is good to know Mandy, thank you. We should also have Carrs Exester onboard as well, I have a meeting with them in a few weeks.

 

[Loz]

What I would like to do is offer my local dealer a Saturday once in a while where I will go in with a VWCC T-shirt on and help the salesman demonstrate the Cali to potential customers... may after 3 Saturdays I could earn a free small service??

 

[MattBW]

Always found Coventry very good, Justin is the sales chap I usually deal with.

Service dept very good too, although you just had a more recent experience with them I am sure

 

[Martin]

Always found Coventry very good, Justin is the sales chap I usually deal with.

Service dept very good too, although you just had a more recent experience with them I am sure

Yes, Justin was excellent, he said he has been there 12 years and he certianly knows the California inside and out

 

[calikev]

It no good mentioning parkway vw ie Leicester and kettering vw they were not interested.

 

[MattBW]

Yes, Justin was excellent, he said he has been there 12 years and he certianly knows the California inside and out

Yes many of the staff there have used a California for a weekend and are encouraged to which I think is why he knows it so well.

The walk through of everything he gave me when I bought the beach was superb.

 

[GrannyJen]

The dealership that looks after my vehicle is well known and has had a long association with this club, which is SMG Cowfold. They creak and groan a little on the communication side but their willingness to do that extra bit cannot be faulted and I am always well pleased with how they have looked after Albert.

They always collect and return, which I am quite pleased about as their customer "lounge" is hardly salubrious, unless your taste in magazines extend to "Mens Health" and two year old editions of the Caravan club mag.

Less well known is Eurovans, Crawley, part of the JCB dealership group. Mike Harbison is the sales guy who deals with Californias and I have always found him to be professional and knowledgeable. He is at present pricing up Edward, Son of Albert, and is being quite flexible.

They have also serviced Albert a couple of times but could not provide collect and return so it was hang around in their waiting area, albeit a much more pleasant waiting area than the one down the road in cowfold.

 

[JohnGuppy]

JCB Eurovans of Eastborne offered 5 star service and there waiting room is small there staff are friendly and helpful they would if asked offer a discount on servicing and purchased parts , they offer a on line booking service open at 7am to 7pm for servicing they are another branch of the JCB as per Granny Jen dealer 20 miles away

 

[T6 VCO]

JCB Eurovans of Eastborne offered 5 star service and there waiting room is small there staff are friendly and helpful they would if asked offer a discount on servicing and purchased parts , they offer a on line booking service open at 7am to 7pm for servicing they are another branch of the JCB as per Granny Jen dealer 20 miles away

Good to know as these are my nearest dealer.

Alas from past experience with Vauxhall, Ford and Land Rover dealers if they can cut corners on servicing they will. I am a stickler for a proper job and check work afterwards as I hate being ripped off paying for work that has not been done or parts charged for and not fitted

 

[jet4415]

We can recommend VW Preston as firstly, the initial buying experience was positive and straightforward. Secondly, during the 20 months we've had our Cali it has been back to the garage for attention on five different occasions with various issues with a satisfactory outcome each time. Thank goodness all work has been covered on the warranty.

 

[larrylamb]

He is at present pricing up Edward, Son of Albert, and is being quite flexible.

If you are looking to change Jen, @Borris remarked there are 70 odd Calis now available on the VW site, might be a new demo available with your spec at a good discount.

 

[GrannyJen]

If you are looking to change Jen, @Borris remarked there are 70 odd Calis now available on the VW site, might be a new demo available with your spec at a good discount.

Thank you Carl, not seen one yet I note 2 of the 4 204DSG4Mo are priced at £69,950 which is more than I'm getting from the configurator for my "from scratch" spec. "A case of I don't want Dynaudio but I do want mudflaps"

I am not in any hurry though, happy to wait a year or so.

 

[Borris]

Our personal limited experience of researching and purchasing a Caravelle/California are as follows:
JCB Sittingbourne. Several visits. Very helpful but the poor young chap who showed us around a Caravelle on the last occasion hadn't got a clue. He did phone back later with the answers to our questions though.
JCB Ashford. Only one visit. Never again. The salesman made it very clear that we were an inconvenience and that he had better things to do.
JCB Eastbourne. Very similar reception to that of JCB Ashford. Disinterested to the point that they told us to go to their other branch in Guildford. All this was after we had made an appointment and driven miles to get there!
Hereford Garages. Extremely welcoming, business like and very helpful. They didn't put any pressure on us to make a decision there and then. Highly recommended.
SMG Tonbridge. Absolutely brilliant. Couldn't have been more helpfull. Their staff really know the California inside and out and obviously enjoy selling them. We purchased an SE and a Beach six months apart and on both occasions we were looked after by Laine Watts. He is clearly a California enthusiast and he went the extra mile to ensure that we got a good deal. Both vehicles were spotless and complete on collection. Both have been faultless since and my limited experience of servicing with them to date has been very positive.
CVS VW Commercial Canterbury. Despite being my local dealership I have very little experience of this garage. They appear very freindly and efficient but the customer/dealer relationship bombed when I looked into purchasing a low mileage Audi TT Cabriolet for Mrs B. It turned out to be a CAT C insurance write off. They said that they didn't know anything about that!!! It had been on their forecourt for ten months.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I'm a relatively new Cali owner (since Feb this year) and only had experience of two dealers from a perspective of SERVICING.
VW Van Centre Birmingham - carried out a small electrical warranty job for me while I waited. Polite, Respectful, communicative and a fresh airy customer reception area. 8/10
SMG Cowfold - fitted my bike rack for me while I waited. Polite, even if the job did take longer than expected. Customer waiting area very small and cramped. 6/10
Edit: Forgot about SNAB in Bologne, France. Very helpful (with English too) sorting out a leaking oil cap. Replaced without argument while I waited - 15 mins. Parking area very crowded making reversing with bike rack a nervous time! 7/10

 

[Jabberwocky]

We are currently building a list of preffered VW Commercial dealers as the most common complaint we get is from people who take their Cali into a dealer and receive bad service or the service department will not be familiar with the VW California.

We already have a few dealers on board but we want to try and build up a nationwide network so all members will have a trusted dealer nearby.

Here is the plan:

- You tell us which dealers are good and which are bad
- The club will contact the dealers that get the best feedback
- We request from them a named point of contact within the service centre
- They have the option to offer a VIP discount of between 5-10% off servicing
- If they fail to offer good service and start to receive bad feedback, they will be removed from the list

The ones we have already spoken to were more than happy to offer the above so we hope the others will follow suit.

All we need now is your feedback please so we can start this database. ( Please remember we only want feedback on servicing and not sales )

Martin, I hope you will include overseas dealers as I'm sure many of us have had to stray off the black stuff for the odd repair when outside the UK.

 

[T6 CFO]

VW Bristol.
Excellent knowledge of the Cali and great service and solution when factory made an error on the build.
Not had any service issues requiring attention yet but Cali has been in for a general post build modification. No issues and service was excellent.
They have two possibly three with specialist knowledge of the Cali and I dealt with Adrian.


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[zcsccg1]

Very useful information emerging.

For something like this, it might be worth creating a SurveyMonkey questionnaire. At least then the comparisons can be made on specific areas rather than everyone submitting a narrative.

I'm sure one of the standard survey templates would cover all basis.

I'm not an expert on this, but having completed a few in my time for a whole host of suppliers I deal with, i'm sure the information collected would open up a better understanding of performance and service from each dealer.

 

[motacyclist]

The service from North Wales Van Centre in Llandudno Junction has been very good since we bought our van off them. And there's a Mercedes dealer just across the road so you can check out the competition while your van is being fettled!

 

[Harrythecat]

It no good mentioning parkway vw ie Leicester and kettering vw they were not interested.

Just by way of balance Parkway at Leicester did me a good deal on a pre registered van, albeit 5 years ago.

The Sheffield van centre has been good on service issues and the service manager couldn't do enough for me when the roof became an issue. Top man. Perhaps not the place to buy a Cali. though. They are predominantly a van centre and don't shift many campers.

 

[Digger]

Made me smile on MP forum. Sorry but after the slagging
Having collected my Marco Polo this morning, which by the way was made a very underwhelming experience by Mercedes Benz ***********and their quite woeful customer service, very poor vehicle presentation (dirty and looked like it had been valeted by Stevie Wonder) and simply non existent knowledge of the MP operating features at the handover

 

[Mr T]

Off to VW Van Centre Swindon in the morning so will report back, having a "campaign" done as they like to call it, a recall to you and me!

 

[Splitrich]

VW Van Centre West Yorkshire, gets my vote every time. Ordered our T5 SE just 3 years ago from Mark, really helpful and incredibly knowledgeable. First salesman i have ever met who would simply say, "i know you have ordered that option, but you don't need it". Whenever we have had issues, he's always helped.

He's been so good, just been back in and ordered our T6 Ocean - look forward to next March/April when it should be arriving.

In addition to Mark, there is Steve who is in their service team. Ours, like most has been back for warranty issues, alongside normal services. Cannot fault Steve. Always helpful and fought our corner when had lacquer lifting on one of our alloys - all sorted and replaced - not refurbished.

Cannot fault West Yorkshire Van Centre and have recommended them to many.

 

[Ricotansky]

Everyone seems to like thier VW dealer, where did this sudden harmony come from?! Haha

I use Lancaster VW in Loughton for our van servicing and also some bodywork when we first got a the van. We've had good service from them, nothing to complain about and they have always been pretty accomodating. They don't sell California's, but we've not had to put them to the test on the camping side of the van.

SMG Cowfold did all the roof warranty stuff for us and had no complaints with that either.





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