Leicester - Leicester van centre

[calikev]

I bought my Cali from Leicester vw who I found friendly enough I had a good test drive
The only criticism I would have was the salesman wasn't all that clued up on the Cali
I suppose he is more used to selling just vans so I would advise anybody that is thinking of buying a Cali, do your homework and find out as much as you can before you go
I would use them again they are part of the parkway vw group with branches in Northampton,derby,Kettering,Leicester.

 

[Staff 2]

Ordered my Cali from Leicester a couple of weeks ago, and agree with Kev; salesman wasn't too clued up (I reckon I knew more than him, having done my research (most via the FB forum)), but he did at least have the decency to admit it up front.
On my second visit he'd arranged for another salesman to be on hand to answer any questions I had - a Cali owner himself, I think (or at least T4/T5) so was much more gen'd up and able to answer many more questions.

Steve

 

[calikev]

I have spoken to Stuart the comercial sales manager at vw Leicester
And he tells me they have improved there knowledge of the Cali
So will be able to deal with customers much more proficiently .
Thanks Stuart and well done.

 

[Stewart MCG]

Van Centre Leicester

We have took delivery of our California on 10th Febuary, the guys at Van Centre Leicester were professional, and knowledgable, very easy to deal with, willing to negoiate. We part exchanged our T5 which started out as a commercial. Thanks to all the guys. Definately worth the visit, happy hunting your new California.

 

[Anonymous]

I went in today to see Gary. I had previously got to know him about 18 months ago when I was think about a Caravelle and I thought him knowledgeable and approachable - the dealership is my local and only about 5 miles away.
Unfortunately about a year ago I ended up dealing with someone else - and in fairness, things did not go well, hence why I started shopping around the midlands. However, that person is now gone (I may not have been the only one to have not had the best customer experience) and it was a delight to be able to speak with Gary again. He has a box of Club business cards on his desk for potential Cali customers.

Well done VW Leicester.

 

[swigle]

11 week old Cali has been in at VW Leicester for some minor warranty work today - broken adjustable reading light and torn front windscreen blind.
No quibbles with any aspect of the service given - admittedly both things were minor, but I think the fact that they treat minor issues professionally (no questions about either being done under warranty) bodes well for if there were ever anything more serious that needed to be dealt with.
Was offered replacement vehicle for the day without asking (didn't take them up on it, so don't know what they provide as a replacement) - I know that some dealers don't offer, you have to ask.
Only minor quibble (and this is only cos I feel I have to report something 'negative') was the length of time it took to get through to them on the phone when booking the Cali in - a good 5 minutes of 'lift music' before call was picked up.

Steve

 

[Dylan]

We have just taken delivery of our 180 DSG from the Leicester VW Van Centre, and wish to express our appreciation for the excellent service we have had from James and Stuart. The whole process from initial contact through to the handover was professional with a personal touch.

At no time did we feel pressurised or doubted the knowledge of James and Stuart in discussing the sale and future service requirements. Both have been very approachable and spent time explaining and demonstrating all the features of the California. Well done to both of them.



Martin & Chris

 

[Ramscali]

I picked up my Califirnia 180 manual Reflex Silver some eight weeks ago, as with all new additions to the family there are teething problems. However, both James in sales and Ania in service have been excellent in their support through a new challenge for us all (roof raising, or lack of it problems). If you are interested in purchasing one or having work done then I would definitely recommend them. Well done !

 

[Barefoot62]

Having ordered my California Beach through Liecester Van centre in June they have been very helpful and have even loaned me a Califonia SE for this week as there seems to be a problem with mine coming from Germany. I would definately recommend Liecester to anyone thinking about purchasing a van or Cali they have been brilliant

 

[Hammer]

We have had a total nightmare with Peterborough van center for warranty issues so decided to switch to Leicester van center. These guys are great and can't do enough for you. There have fixed all the problems Peterborough were unable to sort and I can't speak highly enough of them.

 

[CannellWalker]

Good tip about Peterborough. We were looking that way after Newark closed.

 

[Richard H]

I bought my Cali from the Leicester vw van centre in June 2012, my contact was Gary, I was travelling up from Surrey and Gary assured me that I would have first refusal on the Cali I was interested in. I bought the Cali after a test drive and can only speak from my experience, and say I was treated very well, shown everything about this complex vehicle. I returned to collect the cali after it had been registered and serviced without a problem. If I lived closer they would be looking after my vehicle. Well done to Gary who made the sale a pleasure.

 

[Bramco]

Leicester van centre have been great through all the trials and tribulations of our messed up order. (See my posts on build lead times).

James, Chris and the guys have really made the very frustrating experience more than OK.

If you're reading this guys - thanks!!!! Just get VW UK and manufacturing sorted.....

So for anyone in these Midlands I'd highly recommend you to use Leicester.

 

[gatvol]

I have had a series of poor interactions with vw Leicester over the last three years on warranty matters. I kept going with them as if you don't, centres can "blame the other fella" for things.

The staff there are all perfectly nice, but the guys servicing the cars are not up to the job on a 50k vehicle.

Initial pickup involved wrongly connected iPod wire and a series of missing items on my pre-reg vehicle (table, gas tap that screws into the 907 .....). It had the wrong service book.

When my driver's door was scraping on the sill, Leicester re sprayed the door but not the sill. So it went back

Leicester then scratched the lens on the instrument panel when valeting the car, so this had to be replaced

When my 4 alloys were replaced under warranty, Leicester damaged the little black vw logo discs in the middle by gouging them out with screwdrivers. These then needed to be replaced.

Leicester then had two attempts to replace my broken upstairs reading light, and just did not bother doing it. So vw customer services got involved and arranged for another service centre to deal with it

I have had so many wasted trips to Leicester over the past three years on what were all very basic warranty repairs.

Take care people

 

[Bramco]

Sounds like a nightmare for servicing!!!!

Still quite a while to go before our first service, so I'll be interested to see how we get on when the time comes.

 

[daisyduke]

can highly recommend Chris who knows his stuff with Cali's and no pressure sale. Sent a little personal video of the van as wasn't able to get to view in person immediately.

Great customer service

 

[GrannyJen]

Merged threads

 

[kp64zl]

Viewed a nearly-van there recently. Salesman very pleasant, and we did a really good test drive on different types of roads (to test cruise control etc) which I really appreciated. I also appreciated the time the salesman took to show me around the vehicle so comprehensively and that he was kind with my 7 year old son.

However, in my view, the salesman was much more focused on selling the vehicle in hand rather than giving me a balanced view on the various options that were/weren't on that vehicle. Absolutely totally unwilling to negotiate on price and didn't offer any other sweeteners. He was polite and business like about it which I liked.

One thing that put me off this dealership was that the van was incomplete, and a little bit messy (bit muddy on the carpet and rubbish in the storage box (although only ~1200 miles on the clock, 9 months old van )

In terms of what was missing - this included no cushion on multiflex board so I couldn't properly test the bed, the satnav/media unit had been removed leaving a hole in the dash with wires sticking out (apparently for security reasons as they get stolen, but it could have been replaced before my test drive??), no curtains for the front windows. Left me with the feeling of "what else is missing that I haven't noticed".

 

[calikev]

i agree my van was filthy i gave them a days notice i was going to view they still didnt bother cleaning it

 

[Jason wallace]

However, in my view, the salesman was much more focused on selling the vehicle in hand rather than giving me a balanced view on the various options that were/weren't on that vehicle. Absolutely totally unwilling to negotiate on price and didn't offer any other sweeteners. He was polite and business like about it which I liked.

One thing that put me off this dealership was that the van was incomplete, and a little bit messy (bit muddy on the carpet and rubbish in the storage box (although only ~1200 miles on the clock, 9 months old van )

In terms of what was missing - this included no cushion on multiflex board so I couldn't properly test the bed, the satnav/media unit had been removed leaving a hole in the dash with wires sticking out (apparently for security reasons as they get stolen, but it could have been replaced before my test drive??), no curtains for the front windows. Left me with the feeling of "what else is missing that I haven't noticed".

They rent out the demo vans so guessing some don't come back fully intact......the one i rented was brand new and returned as such.

I also found them pretty good on pre-sales but when it came to the crunch they were adamant there was not enough markup on the ocean for them to do a deal or discount of any kind and i would find the same at any dealer.....the next dealer i called offered 7%.

If your local i'd also avoid their Kettering branch for service/warranty work, not worth the hassle in my experience

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

They rent out the demo vans so guessing some don't come back fully intact......the one i rented was brand new and returned as such.

I also found them pretty good on pre-sales but when it came to the crunch they were adamant there was not enough markup on the ocean for them to do a deal or discount of any kind and i would find the same at any dealer.....the next dealer i called offered 7%.

If your local i'd also avoid their Kettering branch for service/warranty work, not worth the hassle in my experience

I got my 1st Ocean, 150 DSG ex demo registered July ‘16 from Robinson’s Van Centre.
The salesman Lukas Korbel was, and is, helpful, courteous and efficient. So much so that I ordered my new one from him, 204 DSG 4motion. Owing to a couple of mistakes by VW I did secure some discount.
Although I live near Kettering I choose to go to Robinson’s for servicing. The service department always manage an appointment to my choice. ALSO they take the vehicle in when you get there rather than expect to have it for a day!

 

[DG1]

We had an odd experience with Parkway Leicester Van Centre a couple of weeks ago.

We made an appointment to look at two manual 150 bhp Oceans at Parkway's Kettering branch, a silver one and a red one, on the Saturday morning. Their usual van salesman was away on holiday. When we arrived, it was very busy and there was no obvious reception or receptionist. Eventually we found someone to speak to and they didn't seem to be expecting us. Eventually one of the car salesman showed us the vans, but with no test drive and in a rather cramped forecourt that prevented us opening the tailgate.

As others have said, Parkways rent vans out, and to be honest both vans were quite dirty inside, which didn't exactly sell them.

The company seem to move vans between sites, and we were told these vans had previously been at the Leicester branch. One our way home we decided to call in at the Leicester branch and spoke to the van salesman there, who was very friendly and helpful. He gave my wife a test drive in a manual Caravelle to let her know what a T6 is like to drive. He said we could purchase one of the Oceans we had looked at at Kettering through the Leicester branch, as it is much closer for us than Kettering.

We thought about it over the weekend and on Monday I rang Leicester to say we would like to buy the silver one. A couple of hours later the salesman e-mailed to say he had had lots of phone conversations with Kettering about the van, but the van had been sold on the Saturday to someone from Ireland, the same day that we had a look. We were told they would get back to us about alternatives, but we never heard anything more.

We therefore started looking elsewhere. Having decided to consider a DSG instead of a manual and budgeting a bit more, we ended up buying a pre-reg 150 bhp DSG Ocean from Listers in Coventry a week later - delivery miles, pristine condition and never rented out, so it all worked out best for us. Only draw back is we have to wait until September for it to be released.

But the strange thing is the silver van is still showing for sale at Parkway in Kettering. I don't know why Parkway never got back to us, especially if it was a case of the the sale falling through.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

I bought my Cali from Leicester vw who I found friendly enough I had a good test drive
The only criticism I would have was the salesman wasn't all that clued up on the Cali
I suppose he is more used to selling just vans so I would advise anybody that is thinking of buying a Cali, do your homework and find out as much as you can before you go
I would use them again they are part of the parkway vw group with branches in Northampton,derby,Kettering,Leicester.

I use Robinson’s van centre Peterborough excellent. If you’re buying Lukasz Korbel is your man!

 

[Gasgas]

Umm ,sounds like Kettering didn't want Leicester to have their van and forfeited the sale ... Internal politics

 

[Gasgas]

There is a lot of arrogance and complacency in car sales when something is easy to sell and in high demand imo