London - citygate branches

[Anonymous]

Has anybody used them?

 

[Andy]

Not the Colindale branch but their High Wycombe branch before it moved to Wooburn Green & lets say I'm not in a hurry to go back !

 

[Rozzie50]

Haven't used I for the van, but my other half takes his car there all the time.

 

[Spotlight Kid]

Purchasing my new T6 Ocean from Citygate Colindale was a fantastically pleasurable experience. It would have been totally stress free except for VW's ludicrously opaque options but Neeral went out of his way to glean some meaning from the arcane nonsense in literature and I received exactly the vehicle that I wanted. I was kept speedily informed of every development from order to delivery and the handover was thorough and complete with nothing whatsoever missing or faulty. I am now thoroughly enjoying my wonderful new vehicle.

Well done and thank you!

 

[GrannyJen]

So nice to read positives.

A fabulous vehicle deserves to be sold with fabulous service and it's great to be able to feel that's what has happened,

 

[Spotlight Kid]

Just like to add that I've now used the service department at Colindale as well after a catastrophic failure on my new Cali (the tap fell off! ) and had an extremely good experience all round.

 

[andyinluton]

Has anyone got any experience of the city gate branch on the Highway by Tower Bridge?
Ive been trying to book a service there for the last hour & a half but not actually got through to anyone yet, & the google reviews are horrendous.

The only reason I am considering them is that I can arrange to be working within walking distance of them, so i wouldn't need to take a day off.

Having tried both Kettering and Hatfield previously and sworn not to return to either I'm running out of options!

 

[Ricotansky]

Is that Alan Day? Had my car serviced there a couple of times and they are no worse than other VW dealers!

Also seen Californias in for service there too, but never taken ours there.

They seem to be more expensive, but will price match other dealers if you ask.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[WelshGas]

Sorry, but I don't get it. If the reviews are so bad then why would you even consider them? I understand about not having to take time off work, but isn't there some recommended Dealership where you could drop the vehicle off and catch the train or get a courtesy vehicle?

 

[Rich20]

I have to agree with WG. I would rather drive 100 miles to get my Cali serviced by someone who gives a damn rather than trust it to a garage with suspect credentials.

 

[andyinluton]

Ricotansky - sorry you are right its Alan Day City

WG
Ive used Hatfield in previously & wouldn't go there again, I bought the van from Kettering took it back for a replacement brake light lens which I posted about previously - 2 visits 2 days wasted, paintwork damaged, greasy marks all over the interior & that was just them checking to see what needed to be done, I ended up buying the light and fixing it myself.

Luton dealer - shut up shop
Bedford - only do cars
Watford - can't get to work easily from there

I get paid by the day - a day off = no money, if I'm having a day off I've got better things to do than spend half of it sorting out a service, I go out at 5.30 in the morning get home at 7pm which doesn't fit in with normal drop off / pick up times.

 

[Ricotansky]

I can't comment on the reviews, but I have had no complaints other than the price which you can normally get reduced if you play them off against another dealer.

You could also try Abridge in Loughton (they are on the central line) who I have used for van servicing and we're fine.

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[fred]

Alan Day city is my local dealer and I use them all the time for service and repairs. No complaints, they've always been excellent.

 

[andyinluton]

Well I've booked it in & will report back...

 

[andyinluton]

Van in at Alan Day City today for its first service at 2 years 22k miles. So reporting back as promised.

Staff extremely helpful, warm welcome etc & no queue to book in at 7.30
Vans dealt with at the same desks as the car customers & its hard to describe but it felt like I was treated more like an upmarket car customer.

Parking - plenty of spaces! (most unusual for a VW dealer)

Cost was exactly what I had been quoted so no surprises. I might have saved a few quid somewhere else, but the location - 2 minutes from where I had arranged to spend the day in the end dictated where I went.

First time in years that I've had a service anywhere on any car & not had someone ring up half way through the day trying to persuade me to have an air-conditioning service or the like - huge bonus points from me for that.

Van washed well & not a trace of a greasy fingerprint inside.

High level brake light also replaced without me asking.

Had a chat with their MOT man he runs a T4 & mentioned they maintain the fleet for a California hire company, & although they are not a california "seller" they have a lot of experience working on them.

On the basis of the above I would be happy to go back & see no reason not to recommend them

 

[RTWoodstock]

Bought a T5 Ocean with 50 miles on it from these guys. The sale man was such a nice guy but literally knew nothing about the van and no one else seemed to know very much either - they knew less than me about how to pop the roof etc (and if just watched a few YouTube videos). Watching them attempt to put the awning out etc and look for the gas holder etc was funny up to a point - but, sort of expected a bit more just basic knowledge for the 50,000 I spent.

Anyway, came back the next day and bought the van - when it was handed over it hadn't been cleaned or seemingly prepared in anyway. And to top it off got have way up the motorway and the roof started to lift off as at some point in I guess some previous demo/whatever it hadn't been closed properly.

Have written to them about a couple of niggles and missing items but with no response.

I thought Porsche could be off hand about 50k but to be fair to them in comparison I now think they are in a different league.

Anyway, long and short of it love my van and have already put 1200 miles on it in a couple of weeks. But the dealer was just hopeless but very nice and now they have my money they just ignore me.

 

[Meoncoast]

Hello and welcome. One part of ownership is finding a dealer you can trust.(for future work)

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , seems your happy with your Cali dispite the crappy dealer , maybe others on here can give you tips on where to look for a good dealel with some Cali-knowledge in your nearby.
Myself had the same expirience when i bought mine here in Belgium , i skipped to a Dutch dealer and now the drive is 160km one way to the Netherlands to the dealer but at least they know what they'r dealing with....

Love to see and read about your adventures...

 

[Bigted]

Got mine off them and they were awful with me as well - complain to VWCS

 

[Velma's Dad]

Sorry to hear about your dealer woes. We got ours from the other Citygate branch, which is near Beaconsfield and High Wycombe. Have to say they were very good all round in our case.

Hope you have a fab time with your Cali now you've ironed out the initial wrinkles,

 

[RTWoodstock]

Many thanks. Yes, to be honest it didn't really sour the experience for me I had sort of decided I wanted that particular van and knew what I needed to know. But, was pretty bad. My experience at the couple of other dealers I visited to be honest wasn't much better and arguably worse as at one I was quite badly mislead I suspect because there was a slightly used van they wanted to sell rather than take my order for a new van.

Having owned the van for 3 weeks and having been away every weekend of those 3 weeks I have completely fallen for it. To the point I am going to do some research on this forum and find a decent dealer and order the new van I had wanted in the first place.

Bought the van to extend my road trips distances; terrain and to manage at different times of the year so looking forward to taking it as far as I can in every direction.

Done two multi thousand mile road trips already this year - from Sweden to Sicily to Croatia and one all the way to Marrakech and then back round Spain. Both in a 30 year old Porsche with limited space and no air conditioning! So looking forward to some big trips as soon as practical in what will be relative luxury - though sadly not quite so much fun sliding round mountain roads ...

 

[Velma's Dad]

To the point I am going to do some research on this forum and find a decent dealer and order the new van I had wanted in the first place.

Good luck with that. As you'll have seen, there is tons of stuff on the forum about dealers (the Good, the Bad and the Ugly).

Blue is the best colour for a Cali, BTW.

 

[California Dreamin]

I would second the recommendation for Citygate Wooburn Green - fantastic guys with spot on after sales.

 

[GrannyJen]

Merged threads

 

[Dealer Reviews]

Original Review from @hirsty

Bought my pre-registered zero miles demo T6 over the phone from CityGate Wooburn Green in April 2016. No experience of their Service unit.

Several errors in van ad listing & missing options at (rushed) handover. Salesman, and subsequently Sales Manager, have been difficult to deal with by phone & email.